VILLE PLATTE -- According to Sacred Heart head baseball coach Gary Ashworth, tomorrow’s Division IV regional playoff match-up with No. 11 seed St. Martin’s Episcopal out of Metairie will be no picnic.
The regional round of the post-season in Division IV is a best two-out-of-three series. Game one is scheduled for tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. Game two will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday with an if necessary game to follow game two.
The Saints come into the series with an overall record of 20-12 and the District 8-1A championship under their belt. St. Martin’s has played a tough schedule this season, facing baseball powerhouses like John Curtis, St. Charles, Riverside and Central Catholic.
“They are going to be a handful,”stated Ashworth. “They have two good arms, which is needed when you have to win two-out-of-three to move on to the next round. They have played some great competition, especially coming out of that New Orleans area. We are just have to continue doing what we do well.”
Meanwhile No. 6 seed Sacred Heart finished the year at 20-7-1 and was 4-1 in District 5-1A, enough for second place in league play.
The Trojans began the year 3-2-1 before reeling off seven wins in a row. Sacred Heart fell in their next three contests before regrouping and going 4-1 over the next five games, including wins over Calvary Baptist, St. Ed’s, University Academy and False River.
After losing their only district contest to Opelousas Catholic on the tenth of this month, the Trojans ran the table the rest of the season, ending it on a six game winning streak.
“I think offensively, we are definitely good to go,” said Ashworth. “The big thing for us in the playoffs is to focus on our defense and our pitching. We really need to step it up in both areas, especially on the mound. I am excited and encouraged with what I have seen at practice so far this week.”
“In our division, there are only 16 teams, so you are not going to get any bad teams to face from this point on,” Ashworth continued. “We just need to go out and execute out game plan. We have to put pressure on them to make the plays necessary and take it off of us.”
Image
TRACEY JAGNEAUX