St. Mary Nationals Dixie Boys win State Title

WINNSBORO _ The St. Mary Sheriff’s Nationals 15-year old boys won the 2015 State Title here over the weekend. St. Mary Nationals went 5-1 on the way to the State Title.
The Nationals avenged their tournament-opening 2-1 loss to Oakdale by beating the same team by a score of 3-2 en route to claiming the State Title. The St. Mary Nationals notched wins over DeRidder, Vinton, Franklin Parish, St. Mary Americans and Oakdale on the way to capturing the State Title.
Sheriff Mark Hebert has sponsored the Pony League in Bayou Vista for the last two years and this year the entire parish was combined under the Dixie Boys Organization. All the communities of the parish were brought together this year for the first time in many years. Sheriff Mark Hebert wanted to bring the parish together and combine the talent from our area.
The Dixie program allows kids ages 13, 14 and 15 to play together and that allows more kids to participate. This year there were so many 15 year olds nominated for All-stars we made two teams _ The Nationals and The Americans. The 13 and 14 All-stars will be picked this week and they will represent St. Mary Parish in Thibodaux for District 1 Tournament starting July 2nd.
OAKDALE 2, ST. MARY NATIONALS 1
In the 15-year old All-Star Tournament opener, the road to the state championship began Friday with the St. Mary Nationals falling to Oakdale by a narrow score of 2-1. Oakdale jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the initial frame. On the arm of Brian Sonnier, St. Mary held Oakdale’s bats down. In the second inning, Brock Broussard led off with a single and later came around to score St. Mary’s only run. The final score was 2 to 1 with Oakdale holding the St. Mary Nationals bats to just two hits. Sonnier ended up with six strike outs and one walk in the game.
St. Mary Nationals 7, DeRidder 3
The second game was between St. Mary Nationals vs. Deridder. The St. Mary bats came alive for seven runs. Chase Mensman went 2 for 3 with a pair of triples. Brock Broussard also went 2 for 3 while singles were also recorded by Peyton Trahan, Matthew LeBourgeois and Brandt Lightsey. The St. Mary pitching held Deridder to just three runs with Mason Mendoza, Josh Frost, Brock Broussard and Jack Vaccarella combining for only three hits allowed and five strike outs. St. Mary posted its first victory by a final score of 7 to 3.
St. Mary Nationals 16, Vinton 2
The St. Mary Nationals exploded past Vinton by a final score of 16-2 in Game 3 of the tournament. St. Mary bats exploded with 16 runs while supporting the pitching of Brandt Lightsey and Josh Frost who combined to limit Vinton to just two runs.
St. Mary Nationals 9, Franklin Parish 0
Peyton Trahan and Brandt Lightsey teamed up to pitch the St. Mary Nationals to a 9-0 victory over the Franklin Parish 0 in Game 4 of the tournament. The St. Mary Nationals bats continued to roll, smacking 12 hits while scoring nine on the day. Matthew LeBourgeois was the leader of the pack, going 3 for 3. Brian Sonnier went 2 for 2 while Chase Mensman and Skyler Fitch went 2 for 3 and Mason Mendoza lining a single. St. Mary pitching held Franklin Parish down on the arms of Peyton Trahan and Brandt Lightsey, who worked three innings, fanning three batters. Josh Frost closed out the final inning.
St. Mary Nationals 16, St. Mary Americans 0
The fifth game pitted the two St. Mary teams against each other with the winner advancing to the State Championship game. St. Mary Nationals pitcher Josh Frost tossed a no-hitter, allowing only two walks with three strikeouts. The Nationals’ bats stayed alive scoring 16 runs with a final score of 16 to 0. With this win, the St. Mary Nationals advanced to the championship game versus the Oakdale team that had beaten them in the very first game of the tournament.
St. Mary Nationals 3, Oakdale 2
After a two-hour rain delay, the two teams squared off for a great championship game. Oakdale scored first putting up two runs in the third inning. With pitching from Brian Sonnier, Brock Broussard and Mason Mendoza, the Nationals were able to hold the Oakdale bats down. In the top of the fourth inning, the Nationals were able to get on the board with three runs. Leadoff batter Chase Mensman was hit by a pitch. Singles by Lamar Joseph and Mason Mendoza loaded the bases. Matthew LeBourgeois stepped in and was hit by a pitch to score a run and leaving the bases loaded. Brent Ina stepped to the plate and ripped a double over the centerfielder’s head to score two runs which turned out to be the game-winning hit. Jack Vaccarella appeared in relief, pitching the 6th and the 7th innings, allowing only one hit while striking out two, preserving the Nationals’ 3-2 victory to claim the 2015 State Title. It was a hard-fought game with all the drama a championship game should have.
With the State Championship tournament over and the St. Mary Nationals on top, they are headed to Ozark, Alabama this Wednesday to represent Louisiana in the 15 U Regional Tournament. St. Mary starts off the tournament on Thursday at 11 a.m. against Russell County.