Pine Prairie defeats Crowley in last district game of year

PINE PRAIRIE -- A six run fifth inning helped propel the Pine Prairie Panthers to a resounding 11-6 win over the Crowley Gents Thursday afternoon in the final district and regular season game of 2018.
The Panthers will await the final ranking in Class 3A today to see who they will play in the first round of the playoffs that are set to begin tomorrow and Tuesday.
As of Friday’s unofficial ranking, Pine Prairie was No. 15 in Class 3A and would play the No. 18 seeded team. Again, unofficially that team was Church Point, who resides in District 5-3A just like the Panthers.
On Thursday, Crowley started the ball rolling by plating a single run in the top of the first inning. Pine Prairie countered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
The Panthers added another run in the bottom of the second inning, but the Gents responded by scoring two runs in the third and one run in the fourth to tie the game at 4-4.
Pine Prairie exploded offensively in the fifth to put the game away. The Panthers collected four hits, including doubles by Cole Thomas and Kyler Carson to re-take the lead for good.
Crowley managed to plate two runs in the top of the sixth. Pine Prairie answered with a solo run in the bottom half of the inning to seal the win.
Carson led all Panthers at the plate by going 4-for-4, including a home run and a double. He scored three times and drove in three RBI.
Jordan Ardoin picked up the win for Pine Prairie on the mound, throwing the last four and two-thirds innings. Ardoin gave up three runs on two hits, striking out three and walking five.