Baseball Playoffs: Six area teams play in state semifinals Thursday

Six New Orleans-area teams open play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Baseball State Tournament Thursday in Sulphur, each of them just two wins away from a historic state championship.

Historically, four of the six schools are no strangers to the big stage. None, however, has won a state title in the last 20 years.

Half of Thursday’s area representation comes in the Division I semifinals, where fourth-seeded Archbishop Rummel meets No. 1 seed Catholic at 4:30 p.m., followed by a matchup of No. 3 seed St. Paul’s and second-seeded Brother Martin at 7:30.

Both Division I games will be broadcast live on ESPN 100.3 FM in New Orleans with Jude Young and Emmanuel Pepis describing the action. These broadcasts will also be streamed online.

Rummel (21-12) reached the semis after a two-game sweep of Byrd last week at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium. It has won five championships, but none since 1997. A win over Catholic (26-10) would give the Raiders their first title game appearance since 2012.

The schools also met in the Division I semifinals in football last fall, with the Bears prevailing on a last-second field goal, 13-10.

Brother Martin (26-5), which is Sulphur-bound for the first time since 2015 after sweeping two-time defending champion John Curtis last weekend, has a pair of titles, with the last one in 1996.

St. Paul’s (25-6) – which won its only state championship in Class 4A in 1999 – is back in Sulphur for the second consecutive year. It reached the Division I final a year ago, losing to Curtis.

St. Charles Catholic (29-8) will need to defeat St. Thomas More in the second Division II semifinal at 7 p.m. to reach the championship game for the seventh time in school history. Still, the Comets are seeking their first-ever title.

Coach Wayne Stein’s team, which is seeded sixth in the Division II bracket, is in Sulphur for the fourth time in five years after taking a series at three-time defending champ Teurlings Catholic last weekend.

The other two area teams in action Thursday – Lakeshore and Kentwood – are each seeking a first-ever championship game appearance.

Lakeshore (33-4), a fast-growing program in just its 10th year of operation, is the No. 2 seed in Class 4A and faces Breaux Bridge at 2 p.m.

The Titans have allowed an average of 1.4 runs per game in five consecutive playoff wins. They face a Breaux Bridge team that has needed a third game to advance out of each of the last two rounds.

Kentwood (12-10) opens the day’s action with a matchup against Class 1A top seed Grand Lake at 10 a.m.

The Kangaroos got a first-round bye in the 1A bracket before run-rule victories over Delta Charter and White Castle.

CLASS 5A CLASS 4A CLASS 3A CLASS 2A CLASS 1A CLASS B CLASS C

DIV I DIV II DIV III DIV IV DIV V

Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Baseball State Tournament
at McMurry Park, Sulphur

Class 5A
Semifinals – Thursday
(5) West Monroe vs. (1) Barbe, 5 p.m.
(3) Parkway vs. (2) Sam Houston, 8 p.m.
Championship – Saturday (televised on CST)
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.

Class 4A
Semifinals – Thursday
(4) Tioga vs. (1) Benton, 11 a.m.
(3) Breaux Bridge vs. (2) Lakeshore, 2 p.m.
Championship – Saturday
Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m.

Class 3A
Semifinals – Thursday
(4) Berwick vs. (1) Sterlington, 10:30 a.m.
(10) Iowa vs. (3) South Beauregard, 1:30 p.m.
Championship – Saturday
Semifinal winners, 2:30 p.m.

Class 2A
Semifinals – Wednesday
(5) Kinder 5, (8) Loreauville 1
(2) Doyle 5, (3) Welsh 2
Championship – Friday
(5) Kinder vs. (2) Doyle, 5:30 p.m.

Class 1A
Semifinals – Thursday
(4) Kentwood vs. (1) Grand Lake, 10 a.m.
(10) Merryville vs. (6) Oberlin, 1 p.m.
Championship – Saturday
Semifinal winners, 11:30 a.m.

Class B
Semifinals – Wednesday
(1) Pitkin 9, (5) Glenmora 1
(3) Converse 1, (2) Quitman 0
Championship – Friday
(3) Converse vs. (1) Pitkin, 2:30 p.m.

Class C
Semifinals – Wednesday
(1) Summerfield 12, (13) Kilbourne 2, 5 innings
(2) Simpson 2, (3) Harrisonburg 0
Championship – Friday
(2) Simpson vs. (1) Summerfield, 11:30 a.m.

Division I
Semifinals – Thursday (both games on ESPN 100.3 FM)
(4) Archbishop Rummel vs. (1) Catholic-BR, 4:30 p.m.
(3) St. Paul’s vs. (2) Brother Martin, 7:30 p.m.
Championship – Saturday (televised on CST)
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.

Division II
Semifinals – Thursday
(5) Parkview Baptist vs. (1) University Lab, 4 p.m.
(6) St. Charles Catholic vs. (2) St. Thomas More, 7 p.m.
Championship – Saturday (televised on CST)
Semifinal winners, noon

Division III
Semifinals – Wednesday
(4) Calvary Baptist 4, (8) Catholic-NI 0
(3) Ascension Episcopal 8, (2) St. Thomas Aquinas 6, 9 innings
Championship – Friday
(4) Calvary Baptist vs. (3) Ascension Episcopal, 6 p.m.

Division IV
Semifinals – Wednesday
(6) Opelousas Catholic 8, (2) Ascension Catholic 3
(1) Ouachita Christian 3, (5) Central Catholic 1
Championship – Friday
(6) Opelousas Catholic vs. (1) Ouachita Christian, 3 p.m.

Division IV
Semifinals – Wednesday
(5) Runnels 7, (1) Claiborne Christian 2
(2) Northside Christian 4, (3) Family Community 3
Championship – Friday
(5) Runnels vs. (2) Northside Christian, noon