Barbier no-hits False River as CCHS wins 11-0

The No. 3 seed Central Catholic Eagles didn’t waste any time in the first round of the Class 1A baseball playoffs, run-ruling the No. 30 seed False River Gators, 11-0, in five innings Thursday at the Amelia Recreation Center.
In a game that lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, Central Catholic relied on an eight-run third inning, which included a two-run homer by Stefano Guarisco and a grand slam by Nick Case.
On the mound, pitcher Bryson Barbier had a no-hitter with nine strikeouts.
“Bryson Barbier was amazing. He was on his game,” Central Catholic Head Coach Tyler Jensen said. “That’s the best thing that could’ve happened to us. From the very beginning, he was sharp all over the strike zone.”
After a scoreless first inning, the Eagles put up three runs in the second inning after getting doubles from Barbier and Sage Thibodaux.
Central Catholic extended its lead in the third inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs on four hits, including the two home runs by Guarisco and Case both to nearly the same spot in left-center field.
Jensen said before Case hit his grand slam, he walked up to Case a pitch earlier and told him to see how far he could hit it. “Just my luck, makes me look like I know what I’m doing. The ball leaves the yard. He squared some balls up. I was surprised we didn’t hit more, to be honest, with the way we were swinging the bat,” Jensen said.
False River’s starting pitcher, Hagen Jarreau, only got through one and two- third innings before being pulled, giving up three runs on two hits while walking three and a hitting a batter.
The Gators’ reliever, Tyler Leleux, fared worse, surrendering eight runs on five hits walking three and hitting a batter in two and a third innings.
“We swung the bat really well. We came out intense with a purpose. We were ready to play,” Jensen said.
False River made two errors while the Eagles committed one error on a line drive that hit off Barbier’s glove. “We didn’t have a whole lot to do on defense, but we were sharp on defense,” Jensen said.
Jensen was slightly concerned as to whether his team was ready for the postseason. “We definitely answered the call today. I was extremely happy with the way we played,” Jensen said.
“I never expect to 10-run rule anyone, but I knew if we played the way we could, we would take care of business. When Bryson’s that good, and we swing the bat that well, we’re very tough,” Jensen said. “When it was 3-0, I was a little worried because it kind of looked like we were settling a little bit in the second.”
Jensen said he plans to look at the scouting report for the Eagles next opponent before making a decision on who will be the starting pitcher in the next round of the playoffs.
“I have confidence in about seven or eight guys on the mound,” Jensen said. “I don’t know who’s going to throw next week, but we’ll see.”
False River Head Coach Nick Domingue said, “We knew it was going to be tough coming in from the start. They’ve been No. 2 all year long. They lost their last regular season game, but I knew that really wasn’t going to affect them that much.”
False River only had one senior who started this season so they will have eight returning starters, he said.
“Central Catholic, they came out and put it on us. Their pitcher did a hell of a job shutting us down,” Domingue said.
Central Catholic will face No. 19 St. Edmund in Eunice at 5 p.m. Tuesday after St. Edmund upset No. 14 seed Christian Life, 7-5 in other first-round action Thursday.