CCHS to face LaSalle Friday

A year removed from a Class 1A state championship and with a near complete overhaul of its defense, the Central Catholic Lady Eagles find themselves in the same position as they did a year ago: a win away from returning to the Allstate Sugar Bowl/Louisiana High School Athletic Association Softball Fast Pitch 56 tournament in Sulphur next weekend.

To achieve that return trip, however, the Lady Eagles, Class 1A’s No. 12 seed, must make the three-plus hour road trip north and upset the No. 5 seed LaSalle Lady Tigers (20-8) in the Class 1A regional round Friday at 5 p.m.

Coach Joe Russo said his team has tried to forget the fact that they lost so many players from last year. He noted that only one player, freshman shortstop Brooke Lipari, returned at the position she played a year ago for Central Catholic (16-12).

Russo said 16 wins is a big positive for the team because he said he didn’t think the team thought they would do as well as they did.

“I got to give the credit to these kids,” Russo said. “They (are) motivated. They know how to win. … Some of these kids have been to Sulphur. One game out of going to Sulphur, we (are) excited. Those kids are very, very excited that they got to this point, won that first playoff game and have a chance winning that next game going back to Sulphur.”    

To get there, Central Catholic will have to knock off a LaSalle team that advanced to the second round after knocking off No. 28 Westminster, 13-1, in five innings Monday in other Class 1A first-round action.

The Lady Tigers were the District 3-1A co-champs with St. Mary’s after both finished league play with 9-1 marks. The teams split their games with each other. St. Mary’s is the No. 6 seed in the Class 1A postseason.

Russo said LaSalle is a talented team.

“Every report that I have received comments on their ability to hit the ball well,” Russo said. “Very good hitters, so we know we (are) going to go down there and we know they’re going to hit the ball well. To feed off of that, we were also told that they also have a few pitchers that throw mid-50s, and they do a good job of hitting spots, throwing the off speed pitches, and do their part on the mound also.”

But that’s not all.

“Then we heard that they’re pretty solid defensively, so there’s a reason why they (are) ranked fifth,” Russo said. “I think we’re going into a very, very strong situation Friday night, and we just gonna carry our game over there and hope for the best and play as well as we can play.”

Central Catholic (16-12) comes into the second round after coming back from a 3-0 deficit to beat No. 21 Ascension Christian in first-round action in Bayou Vista Monday.

“We have a very young team,” Russo said. “Lost a lot of seniors last year. We did sense some nervousness, but I was proud of the fact that after being down 3-0, we regained some composure, and they fought hard and managed to get a win out of it.”