Jesuit Defeats Hahnville, 3-2, After 10 Exciting Innings
Come on Home, Blue Jay! Senior Derek Dunham (14) is about to be mobbed by his teammates after slamming a two out, solo homerun in the bottom of the tenth inning
to give Jesuit a 3-2 win over the Hahnville Tigers. A great team win was
highlighted by a tremendous performance by senior Brady Hadden,
who went the distance in earning the win.
|
The following article is courtesy of The Times-Picayune and nola.com. Home Run in 10th lifts Jesuit over Hahnville in Opening Round of Class 5A Baseball Playoffs Ryan Chatelain,
The Times-Picayune contributing writer,
May 04, 2010 11:52 p.m. Jesuit's Derek Dunham found a perfect time to hit his first home run of the season. With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, the senior catcher hit a solo home run to left-center field to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 victory Tuesday night over Hahnville at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium in the opening round of the Class 5A state playoffs. Dunham was an unlikely hero. According to Jesuit Coach Tim Parenton, Dunham had been struggling at the plate in recent weeks. He also started the game 0-for-4. "I was trying to stay back on the ball, " Dunham said. "I had been out in front all day, pretty much looking terrible. It feels pretty good. It feels good not to lose." The Blue Jays (18-14) advance to play today's winner between first-seeded Baton-Rouge-Catholic and 32nd-seeded Grace King. Jesuit is attempting to reach the finals for the fifth time in the past seven years. The score was tied at 2 for much of the night. Hahnville scored two runs in the first inning, and Jesuit scored twice in the fourth. Blue Jays ace pitcher Brady Hadden (4-2) pitched all 10 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and 10 hits. "Brady's a competitor, " Parenton said of Hadden, who also helped lead Jesuit's basketball team to the state semifinals this year. "He's going to take the ball. We kept him talking after every inning. We knew what his pitch count was. We just kept telling him, 'You're shooting a basketball a next year. You're not throwing a baseball.' "The guys on the bench wanted him out there. He wanted to be out there. If we thought he was going to get hurt, we would have taken him out." The Tigers' pitching staff was also sharp. Starter Ryne Robert lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs and five hits. But once left-hander reliever Jake Cologne entered the game, Jesuit could muster little offense. Cologne allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings, but that included the deciding homer to Dunham. "Good left-handers always do that to hitters who are aggressive, " Parenton said. "We hit some balls on the nose. We hit some ball right at them. They made the plays. Their lefty did a great job of just keeping us off-balance." Hahnville loaded the bases with no outs before scoring two runs in the first inning. After Austin Fremen reached on an error, Dillon Boudreaux and Mike Ford delivered singles. Fremen then scored on a fielder's choice when Jared Harrell hit a ground ball to Jesuit first baseman Briggs Barrios, who unsuccessfully attempted to turn a double play. Boudreaux scored on a groundout by Jared Vial. The Blue Jays tied the score with two runs in the fourth. After Johnny Morse lined a double to center field, pinch runner Alec Melendreras scored on a wild pitch. Gary Langlois singled to left field to score Ethan Oddo, who walked. Both teams had their chances in the seventh. Fremen hit a double to the left-field wall, but was left stranded at second. Jesuit had a runner on second base with no outs, but pinch runner Brady Williamson was picked off by the pitcher. Harrell also put a scare into Jesuit when he hit a fly ball to left-center field that was caught at the wall. | 
