Covington, La. — A come from behind win followed by an 11-run victory over Evangel in the quarterfinals Friday night, has earned St. Paul’s School another trip to Sulphur. The Wolves, led by 11 seniors, have experience on their side after making it to the championship game last season and a hunger to win it all after falling short to John Curtis in that title game.
“I think every senior on this team is a leader,” said St. Paul’s senior pitcher Grant Bizette. “They’ve really stepped-up and done their part, whether it’s in the dugout, on the field or coming-up big in the clutch. Everyone’s here to win and that’s what we want to do.”
“Last year I feel like it was our first time in Sulphur,” said St. Paul’s Senior Pitcher Jacob Scherer. “We played well but this year we’re focused more on the point of being there so we’ve got a little advantage than most people going back to back.”
Pitching has been key for St. Paul’s– especially as of late– giving-up 1 or less runs in 4 of their last 6 games. They’ve also only given-up more than 5 runs twice this season.
“We’ve got a couple of good pitchers that have kept us in ball games all season,” said St. Paul’s Head Coach Mick Nunez. “It seems like in high school baseball that’s where you make or break yourself.”
“We had a good bit of pitchers last year but a lot of them developed this year and we used most of them,” Scherer said. “It’s good to have a good solid three or four arms that you can use.”
“We definitely have a really strong pitching corps, one of probably the best around and in this district,” Bizette said. “We do a lot of work. Everyone throws bullpens and we got a new pitching coach this year in Brad Farizo and that’s really took us a far way.”
St. Paul’s has had no shortage of offensive production either, scoring double-digit runs in more than half their games this season.
“They swing the bat well,” Nunez said. “They run the bases well and they take advantage of opportunities that they’re given.”
“With the run support, you can pitch with a lead,” Scherer said. “You don’t have to worry about a lot of stuff. It helps you. It helps with the pitchers. They control the game so if you have a big lead, you can keep the lead.”
Thursday’s semifinal game against Brother Martin will be the second time this season these two teams have played, with St. Paul’s winning the first meeting in March.
