St. Frederick’s rally past Hanson Tigers in regionals

A senior-laden St. Frederick’s Warriors of Monroe earned a 10-3 victory over the Hanson Memorial Tigers in a Class A regional round baseball playoff contest Tuesday at the Amar Lancon Field.
“ We got beat by a better team ,” HMS Coach Ryan Stoute said. “We are a young team with one senior and I was satisfied with our effort. We had a good season and I was pleased with the effort and growth and I expect great things in the future.”
Second-seeded St. Frederick’s displayed its experience by climbing out of a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the top half of the third inning. St. Fred’s starting lineup included nine senior players and 10 seniors overall.
Hanson starter John Guienze fought toe-to-toe with St. Frederick’s Patrick Whipple through two solid innings before St. Fred’s bats heated up when Peyton Braswell and Whipple each collected home runs.
Hanson (15-15) opened the scoring in the bottom half of the first inning when Luke Lancon singled, stole second, and later tagged home plate on a ball off the bat of John Guienze in the bottom of the first inning. With Lancon’s run, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead over St. Fred’s.
HMS managed to keep the hard-hitting St. Fred’s bats in check through the second inning while clinging to a 1-0 advantage.
St. Fred’s rallied for a 2-1 lead in the top half of the third frame when Braswell belted a two-run shot.
St. Frederick’s added another run in the top of the fourth inning for a 4-1 lead before exploding for seven runs in the top of the sixth frame on the way to the 10-3 victory.
While trailing 10-1, Hanson manufactured two runs, slicing St. Frederick’s lead to 10-3 in the sixth frame. HMS’ Bo Barrilleaux reached on an infield single before Guienze ripped a RBI-double, plating Barrilleaux. Guienze rounded third base and kept running to beat the tag home on a hard shot by Jacob Hebert, giving the Tigers their third run.
St. Fred’s senior Patrick Whipple got the win, going seven complete innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Guienze suffered the loss, working five complete frames, surrendering five earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Brennan Young appeared in relief, throwing one frame, allowing four runs on six hits with one strikeout and no walks. Jacob Hebert pitched the final inning, keeping the Warriors at bay while not yielding a run nor a hit.
Leading hitters for the Tigers were: Luke Lancon, 1 for 4, run; Bo Barrilleaux, 1 for 3, run and John Guienze, 1 for 3, run, RBI.
No. 18 seeded Hanson scored a 15-0 victory over No. 15 seeded Country Day in the bidistrict playoff opener.