Gearing up

Lady Demons secure two wins in route to playoffs
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MAMOU -- For the Mamou Lady Demons, getting a spot in the post-season is a forgone conclusion. But how they arrive there is totally up to them.
As a team, the goal is to enter the playoffs with a ton of momentum. And, it looks as if the Lady Demons are accomplishing that goal as they concluded this past week’s action with two solid district wins.
On Monday, Mamou destroyed the Eunice Lady Bobcats 12-1 and then proceeded to handle Church Point with just as much ease, rolling past the Lady Bears, 9-1.
With those two wins, the Lady Demons are now 16-13 on the season and 6-7 in the District 5-3A standings. Mamou will travel to Northwest on Tuesday and end the regular season at home on Thursday against Iowa.
As of Tuesday, the Lady Demons occupied the No. 14 spot in the latest LHSAA Class 3A power ranking. Mamou is hoping to stay in the top 16 in order to host a first round game.
“It would be big for this group of mostly sophomores to be able to get a win in the playoffs because they have not accomplished that yet,” stated Mamou head coach Kim Manuel. “We have been coming together as a team. They have been getting timely hits with runners on base and our pitching has been better. They know what they have been fighting for all year long.”
On Monday against Eunice, it took a little while for Mamou’s offense to get going, but once it did there was no looking back. Neither team was able to light up the scoreboard until the top of the fourth inning, when the Lady Demons exploded for seven runs.
Dacia Richard got the ball rolling for Mamou by singling to center field. Emily Soileau followed with a double, scoring Richard.
A single by Taylor Douget put another run on the board, as Soileau came across the plate. Douget stole second and was sent home by Angel Menier, who doubled to left field.
A single by Tierane Thomas plated Menier. Thomas stole second and Sophia Fritz followed with a walk. Another walk was issued to Madi Fontenot to load the bases.
A single off of the bat of Teralyn Fontenot scored both Thomas and Fritz and moved Fontenot to third base. Richard came to the plate again and grounded out to the right side of the infield, plating Fontenot for the final run of the at bat.
Mamou held Eunice scoreless in the bottom of the fourth. The Lady Demons added to their total by collecting two more runs in the top of the fifth.
After giving up the only run of the game to the Lady Bobcats in the bottom of the fifth, Mamou finished off their offensive explosion by tacking on four more runs in the top of the sixth inning.
On Thursday, the Lady Demons were once again slow to start on offense, but came alive in the middle innings to secure their second win of the week.
Church Point produced the first run of the game in their very first at bat without getting a hit. Mamou was unable to tie the game up until the bottom of the second, when the Lady Demons picked up a single run.
After drawing a one-out walk, Douget stole second base and moved to third base on a passed ball. Following a strike out, Fritz singled home Douget to even the game up at 1-1.
Mamou got another run in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead for good. Menier singled to lead things off for the Lady Demons and moved to second on a ground ball out to the Lady Bear pitcher.
Fontenot was hit by the pitch and Soileau walked to load the bases. Douget bounced a ball to the Church Point first baseman that was wide enough to score Menier from third base.
Mamou could not add to their total in the bottom of the fourth inning, but exploded for six runs in the very next inning, all with two outs.
Richard singled, but was thrown out at second on an attempted steal. A pop up to the first baseman recorded the second out of the at bat. However, that did not deter the Lady Demon offense.
Soileau drew the two out walk and motored all the way home on a double by Douget. Two wild pitches in a row scored Douget. Thomas was issued a free base on a walk and promptly stole second.
Fritz singled, scoring Thomas, and reached second based on an error by the catcher. Kaitee Bertrand followed with a single of her own to score Bertrand. Fontenot would then double home Bertrand and scored on a single by Menier.
Mamou finished off Church Point by adding on another run in the bottom of the sixth inning. From there it was up to starting pitcher Richard and the defense to shut the door on the Lady Bear offense and secure the victory.