Ville Platte tops SMC for Majors South Regional title

Ville Platte defeated St. Mary Central, 7-1, for the Louisiana Dixie Youth Majors South Regional title Tuesday at the Bayou Vista Community Center, while North Regional action at the same facilities again was hampered by inclement field conditions following rain but concluded today.
In the North Regional, rain Tuesday left the field in unplayable condition for evening action, St. Mary Central Baseball League President Ronnie Ratcliff said.
In action that was played earlier Tuesday, Vernon Nationals defeated Morgan City, 3-2, in seven innings, and Cleary handed previously undefeated Sabine its first loss, 5-2.
That meant three teams remained in the tournament with one loss each and they would draw for a bye to the championship game. Sabine won the draw, so Cleary and the Vernon Nationals will play each other and the winner will face Sabine. Cleary and Vernon played this morning at 9 a.m. and the winner faced Sabine for the North Regional title at 11 a.m.
In the South, Ville Platte pulled away in the bottom of the fifth.
Ahead 2-1 at the time, Ville Platte scored five runs in the fifth for a 7-1 advantage.
A two-run home run by Aiden Brignac gave Ville Platte a 4-1 lead. Later in the inning, Isaac Leger connected on an RBI-single, while two batters later, Dylan Blevins followed with a two-RBI single.
Blevins, who limited St. Mary Central to just two hits the entire game, didn’t allow any runs to cross the plate in the top of the sixth inning to preserve the win.
In a complete game effort, Blevins surrendered one earned run on two hits with four walks and fanned 11.
Ville Platte took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on Ethan Fontenot’s two-RBI single.
The score remained the same until St. Mary Central cut its deficit to 2-1 in the top of the fourth when Carter Williams grounded out to second base to score Clay Menard. Menard had reached base earlier in the inning via a walk.
Brignac led Ville Platte with a 2-for-2 performance with a home run, two RBIs and two runs. Other top offensive contributors included Fontenot, 1-for-2, two RBIs; Blevins, 1-for-3, two RBIs; Leger, 1-for-3, an RBI and a run; Bryce Deville, 1-for-3, a double and a run; Remington Guillory, 1-for-3; and Landry Lafleur, Sam Fontenot, Amarian Watson and Sam Fontenot, each a run.
Menard led St. Mary Central with a 1-for-2 performance with a run and a stolen base. Other top offensive contributors included Jackson Thorguson, 1-for-1; and Williams, an RBI.
On the mound, Ross Thomas suffered the loss. In three innings, he surrendered two runs — both earned — on three hits with three strikeouts.
Morgan City 12s eliminated
The Morgan City 12s were eliminated from postseason play Tuesday, falling to the Vernon Nationals, 3-2, in seven innings in a North Regional elimination contest at the Bayou Vista Community Center.
It was the second time this regional that the two teams played to seven innings and also the second time that Vernon beat Morgan City by a 3-2 count. The two teams met in their tournament opener Friday.
In Tuesday’s contest, Vernon took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Morgan City tied the score at 1 in the top of the fourth, but Vernon took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Morgan City again tied the score at 2 in the top of the sixth and held Vernon off the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Vernon connected on the game-winning single.
Vernon outhit Morgan City 7-3 in the win.
Menina suffered the complete-game loss. In 6.2 innings, he surrendered three earned runs on seven hits with one hit batter and nine strikeouts.
Offensively, Menina led Morgan City with a 1-for-1 performance with a double and an RBI. Other top offensive contributors included Dylan Cornes, 1-for-2, two runs, and Brayden Landry, 1-for-3.
With the win, Vernon advanced to today’s contest against Cleary.