Lady Eagles heading to Sulphur

BAYOU VISTA — Central Catholic outlasted False River, 2-0, in the second-round of the Class 1A playoffs Thursday behind Megan Landry’s 12-strikeout gem to advance to the quarterfinals in Sulphur.
Sulphur is home to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association State Farm Fast Pitch 56 Tournament on May 2 and 3. The two-day event features the top 56 high school softball teams in seven classes from all across Louisiana vying for state championships.
The Lady Eagles grabbed the early lead, scoring a run in the first and third innings.
In the opening frame, Brooke Lipari doubled and advanced to third base on an errant throw. Landry followed with an RBI to give Central Catholic a 1-0 lead. The senior added her second RBI in the third inning, scoring Halley Romero, who doubled.
Landry cruised in the circle until the sixth inning when she sailed a routine throw over first baseman Bridgette Swan’s head. The False River base runner promptly stole second base. Landry struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning. The Lady Gators’ base runner stole third base and Landry walked the next batter. False River had runners on first and third with two outs. Central Catholic allowed the runner at first to take second base.
Landry then showed her mettle, striking out the next batter to end the inning and the threat.
“I love pressure. I like to have the opportunity to show that I don’t crack under pressure,” Landry said. “I have faith that if I practiced hard, then I would come through in the game and it seems like God has rewarded me for that hard work.”
On Thursday morning, Landry signed a National Letter of Intent to play college softball at Nicholls State.
“It was a big day for her today but by game time I could see she had that laser focus,” Central Catholic coach Joe Russo said. “We asked her to hit certain spots during the game and, I tell you, she didn’t miss many. She has been outstanding for us all year; she’s such a great competitor.”
Landry threw her second one-hitter of the week. She also tossed a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts in Tuesday’s first-round win over Logansport.
While Landry’s heroics weren’t surprising, the Lady Eagles’ quiet bats were.
CCHS (23-3) had only five hits in the game.
“False River came down here and gave us their A-game. I have to give them credit, they gave us all we could handle,” Russo said. “We didn’t get the hits we were looking for but I have to give credit to that little pitcher too, she held us to five hits but that was enough to win today.”
In the top of the seventh inning, False River had the heart of its order coming to bat. The first batter hit a shot to third baseman Kaitlyn Gros, who knocked the ball down and threw the runner out at first base.
Landry fanned the next batter for the second out. The following Gator’s batter singled and stole second base to get into scoring position.
The Lady Eagles in the dugout all sat down together and the ample CCHS fan base was suddenly quiet. False River’s next batter hit another shot to the hot corner but Gros was up to the challenge again, throwing out the batter at first.
“I wanted the balls hit to me because I really wanted to go to Sulphur,” Gros said. “All of the hard work paid off.”
Gros, a senior, and the Lady Eagles advance to the state tournament for the third year in a row.
“It’s off to Sulphur again,” Russo said. “Two years ago we lost our first game and last year we won our first game but lost the second, so this year’s plan is to win two, get into the big game, and bring that trophy home.”
Leading hitters for Central Catholic were Romero, two singles; Lipari, a double; and Brittany Longman and Jordan Morvant, each a single.
“I’m very proud of this team for their hard work and dedication all year,” Russo said. “It has paid off with our third straight trip to Sulphur. It was a good feeling to see all of the support in the stands and the reaction from everyone after we won.”
--By CORWIN MURRAY