Unexorcisable

It was one of those days where Mamou made it look easy in all aspects.
Starting pitcher Kylie Rider went 3-for-4 out of the leadoff spot with three RBIs and threw a complete game surrendering only four hits in Monday afternoon’s 12-2 run-rule victory over the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs in District 5-3A play.
Just another day at the office for Rider, who is currently hitting .479 on the year and took advantage of what was only her second start of the year inside the circle for Mamou (11-8, 2-1 district).
“She’s a great leader. She works hard, and runs the bases very well. She’s an all-around good athlete,” Mamou head Kim Manuel said of Rider. “She stepped in and did a great job in the circle for us.”
Rider was one of eight Mamou hitters to drive in runs Wednesday afternoon, demonstrating a balanced approach throughout the lineup that signals a team that can be much more than just first base slugger Tierane Thomas, who has five home runs on the season.
“We’re balanced up and down the lineup,” Manuel said. “Our big hitters hit for average and also power. We were very disciplined at the plate today and took advantage of good pitches.”
The Demons pushed across runs in four of the five innings played and seemed to set stronger as the game went on, plating nine runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings and collecting a total of twelve hits while taking advantage of five Ville Platte errors.
Mamou pushed across a single run in the first inning, when Chloe Morreaux singled home a run on a 2-2 pitch by Ville Platte pitcher Hanna Monier.
The Demons then added two runs in the second when Rider doubled to left field and scored Carlee Berzas and Kelsey Landreneau to push their lead to 3-0.
Ville Platte (2-8. 1-3 district) would close the gap in the bottom of the third inning, plating two runs when Laila Lewis grounded to the pitcher to plate Kaelyn Bias and Kenderlyn Doucet grounded out but drove in Monier.
Then Mamou exploded in their six-run fourth, highlighted by a pair of extra-base hits by Jaidan Richard and Berzas, a triple and a double respectively.
“At that point, we had back-to-back triples. From there, the middle of our lineup got base hits as well. We did a good job of getting on and executing to get them in,” Manuel said.
For Mamou, it was a continuation of the offensive success they’d had in the previous weekend’s Bell City tournament, where they won two of three games and scored 31 runs. It was the second time this season that the Lady Demons have put up 31 runs in a tournament weekend.
“This team hits the ball well up and down the lineup. It’s pitching and defense we’ve struggled in. We’re young in the field. People are playing different positions, and we’re coming together as a team,” Manuel said.