Hanson Tigers stage comeback victory over Hornets

The No. 5 Hanson Memorial Tigers pulled off a dramatic 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the No. 13 Catholic of Point Coupee Hornets Friday in the quarterfinals of the State Class 1-A playoffs at Amar Lancon Field.
A resilient Hanson Memorial Tigers club replaced a 4-0 deficit with the resounding 6-5 victory with two runs in their last at-bat in grand fashion.
Hanson’s Britt Young plated Spencer Bishop with the game-winning run in the bottom off the seventh inning triggering a celebration with the players piling on Bishop and Young while earning their first quarterfinal victory in seven seasons.
In the third inning, Central Catholic of Point Coupee grabbed a 4-0 lead on a pair of one-out walks along with four consecutive base hits.
In the bottom of the third, Hanson trimmed Catholic High’s lead to 4-2 when Luke Lancon and Bo Barrilleaux tagged home plate.
Lancon, who was issued a free pass to first base, raced to second base on Barrilleaux’s liner off the third baseman’s glove, putting runners in scoring position. One out later, catcher Chase Mensman singled home Lancon as the Tigers cut the Hornets’ lead to 4-1. Brennan Young later brought Barrilleaux home with a liner, helping the Tigers narrow the gap at 4-2.
Hanson tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth frame when Britt Young and Barrilleaux circled the bases on a run-producing double by John Guienze.
Young lined a one-out single before Luke Lancon reached on a ball hit to shallow left field which could not be caught.
Barrilleaux later lined a double down the third base line which plated Young and Lancon and brought a loud roar from the hometown fans before the umpired ruled the ball was foul after a lengthy discussion.
A short time later, with runners at the corners, Guienze helped his own cause by slapping a long fly ball to the center field wall, scoring Young and Barrilleaux while tying the game at 4-4.
Catholic High took a 5-4 lead in the top half of the seventh inning when Logan Maggio reached on an error and Mason Barker lined a one-out double to center field giving the Hornets the go-ahead run.
Hanson pulled off its second double play of the game on a key play when Josh Sanchez caught a fly ball and made the timely throw to catcher Chase Mensman for the tag out Nathan Carriere that kept it at one-run game heading into the final at bat.
In the seventh inning, Hanson manufactured two runs to stage the dramatic comeback.
Brennan Young led off the seventh frame by lining an infield single before advancing to second base on a high throw and giving way to courtesy runner Josh Sanchez. After Sanchez entered the game, Spencer Bishop singled him home to knot the game at 5-5. On the play, Bishop placed his RBI-single over the glove of Carriere at third base to plate Sanchez with the game-tying run.
John Higdon’s groundout put Bishop at second base before Britt Young game-winning double scored Bishop from second base and set off a wild celebration as the Tigers pulled off the incredible 6-5 comeback victory.
With the win, the Hanson Tigers advanced to the State Class A baseball semifinals for the first time since 2009 on Friday where they will play St. Mary Parish and District rivals the Central Catholic of Morgan City Eagles.
Hanson starting pitcher John Guienze turned in a gritty performance as he overcame the four-run inning to shut down the Hornets the rest of the way for the mound victory.
He outlasted Catholic High pitcher Abram Glazer, who also went all seven frames. Guienze kept the Tigers in contention with with his arm and bat. After giving up four runs in the third inning, Guienze bared down the rest of the way while ripping a two-run double to knot the game at 4-4 in the bottom half of the sixth frame.
Hanson Memorial will enter the State Class A semifinals against the No. 1 seeded Central Catholic Eagles Friday at 5 p.m. in Sulphur.