Pine went toe-to-toe with the fourth-seeded team in Class 2A on Friday and Saturday, but came up short in the best-of-three series, 7-4, 4-3, on the road against DeQuincy.
In Friday’s game, Pine took a 2-0 lead through the first inning, but DeQuincy scored one in the second and three each in the next two frames. The Raiders trimmed it to 7-4 after five and the teams played scoreless ball after.
Kendall Sheridan, who had a strong series, went 3-for-3 with double and a run scored on Friday and combined to go 7-for-8 over the two games.
Coby Sheridan recorded two hits with two runs batted in and a run scored.
Kaden Fersch, Ethan Knight, Ian Turner and Luke Fonda all had one hit.
Fersch scored a run. Knight doubled, scored a run and drove in a run.
Blaine Polk drove in a run.
Knight went the distance on the mound, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Pine batted second in the second game.
DeQuincy took a 1-0 lead in the third before Pine bounced back with two in the bottom of the frame to take a 2-1 lead through three innings. DeQuincy added two more in the fifth and one more in the sixth to go up, 4-2. Pine scored one more in the seventh, but could not get the tying run across in the 4-3 loss.
Kendall Sheridan recorded three hits.
Knight hit a home run, drove in three runs and scored a run for the Raiders.
Fersch posted two hits and a run scored.
Barber singled and scored.
Triston Jones had a hit for Pine.
Luke Fonda was the hard-luck losing pitcher. He threw a complete game, allowing no earned runs and limited DeQuincy to just two hits. Fonda struck out five and walked five.
No. 13 Pine finished the 2018 season with a 20-12 record and this season featured the baseball program’s first ever playoff win, with a 7-4 victory over Avoyelles Public Charter in the opening round.
“We’re really happy with how this season went,” Pine coach Blake Dillon said. “We had a real young team coming in with only one senior, Ethan Knight, on our roster. We were really raw in the beginning, but players put in max effort. They worked hard to get better on the things we asked them, anything from fielding groundballs to situational baseball, hitting mechanics and pitching mechanics.
“We made some adjustments at the beginning of the season and they paid off at the end of the season. I think we’re right there with the top teams in 2A in state. I think we just have to continue to accomplish new goals and get better every season.”
Dillon said that Knight was a great player for the Raiders.
“He was a four-year starter for us,” Dillon said. “He always hit over .300 each season. He was great for us on the mound in game one. We had a few plays we didn’t make behind him. He really did well at the plate on Friday and Saturday.”
Fourth-seeded DeQuincy, which improved to 25-7, moved on to the quarterfinals to play fifth-seeded Loreauville in a best-of-three series. Loreauville (21-11) won both of its games against 12th-seeded Lake Arthur (17-12), 18-3, 9-4.