Retif Oil holds off Benton to stay alive in legion tourney

Jesuit-based Retif Oil stayed alive in the American Legion state tournament Saturday in Baton Rouge with a 6-5 victory over Benton at Dutchtown.

Retif Oil jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on for the win.

Retif scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning and one in the third before Benton chipped away with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth inning to make it 5-3. Retif Oil added a run in the bottom of the fifth before Benton scored twice in the top of the sixth.

Will Good had a base-clearing double for the big blow of the game which came in the second inning.

Everett Denny drove in a run to make it 4-0 before Jake Moreci singled home a run and it was 5-0.

Benton battled back to cut the deficit to 5-3 before on an RBI single by Connor Donnelly extended the lead to 6-3 and that was a run which was needed as Benton scored twice more to cut the deficit to a run.

Moreci and Scout Hughes each had two hits and scored a run for Retif Oil.

Gates Barre’ pitched five strong innings, allowing two runs on seven hits to pick up the win. Barre’ walked two and struck out two before Lee Bridgewater came on in the sixth inning and picked up the save, going two strong innings, allowing no runs or walks and he struck out three.

Both teams had 11 hits.

“The guys played hard today,” Retif Oil coach Kenny Goodlett said. “Lee Bridgewater came on with the save. Good got a big hit early. Overall, we’re just excited to continue in the tournament and we are just waiting to see who we play. We’re going to have to play solid baseball.”

The only negative was that first baseman Hunter Oufnac was injured in the top of the first inning trying to catch a foul ball.

Retif Oil (15-2) will play the winner of the Lafayette-Crowley game Sunday afternoon. Goodlett knows it will be a tough road Sunday but likes where his team is.

“If we win, we would have to play twice on Sunday,” Goodlett said. “If we win, we would face the loser of Gautier Amadee and Gibbs Construction. It will not be easy. I think we’ve been creative enough to have enough arms to get through two games Sunday.”