Pine’s Ethan Knight has been named the District 9-2A Pitcher of the Year.
“It was an honor to get pitcher of the year,” Knight said. “We probably had one of the hardest districts around. Pretty much every team in our district went past the first round in the playoffs. When I pitched in district, I knew I had to pound the strike zone and I was trying to keep it low in the zone to give my team a chance to make the plays.”
This season, Knight posted a 1.80 ERA in district play, with 18 strikeouts, 15 walks and a hit batter over 11-2/3 innings.
At the plate, Knight hit .429 with a .541 on-base percentage and .643 slugging percentage during district play. Knight drove in 13 runs and scored 12 runs. He also doubled four times and tripled once.
Knight is joined on the first team by several teammates, including pitcher Luke Fonda, infielder Kendall Sheridan, outfielder Coby Sheridan and utility player Kaden Fersch.
Fonda posted a 3.60 ERA in league play. He struck out 17 hitters and walked nine in 11-2/3 innings. At the plate, Fonda was a .316 hitter in district play, with a .618 on-base percentage and a .421 slugging percentage. He also drove in three runs and tallied 10 runs.
Kendall Sheridan was a .316 hitter and reached base at a .366 clip while slugging .579 in district play. Sheridan recorded 12 RBIs, 13 runs scored and tripled five times.
Coby Sheridan batted .452 in league play with a .485 on-base percentage and .548 slugging percentage. Sheridan had 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored. He tallied a double and a triple.
Fersch was a .462 hitter in district play with a .641 on-base percentage and .692 slugging percentage. Fersch posted eight RBIs and 17 runs scored. On the hill, Fersch saw limited action, with a 2.62 ERA over 2-2/3 innings.
Three more Raiders were selected to the second team, including pitcher Will Adams, infielder Ian Turner and outfielder Blaine Polk.
Adams recorded a 3.07 ERA with 16 strikeouts, 10 walks and a hit batter in 13-2/3 innings during league play.
Turner batted .286, had a .444 on-base percentage and slugged .286 in league competition. Turner drove in eight runs and scored 10 runs. Turner also pitched two innings and did not allow a run.
Polk batted .368 in district games, with a .586 on-base percentage and a .421 slugging percentage. Polk posted 13 RBIs, scored 11 runs and recorded a double.
This season, Pine reached the playoffs as the No. 13 seed and won its first playoff game in the program’s history over No. 20 Avoyelles Public Charter, 7-4. Pine lost in a best-of-three series to fourth-seeded DeQuincy, 7-4 and 4-3. DeQuincy was defeated by fifth-seeded and state champion Loreauville two games to none.
Pope John Paul II’s Reese Satterlee is the District 9-2A Most Valuable Player and Jaguars coach Zack Pohto is the league’s Coach of the Year.
Satterlee is a first-team utility player. Amite’s Cam Henderson is the catcher.
In addition to Sheridan, the infielders are Northlake Christian School teammates Justin Ethridge and Sam Acosta, along with Pope John Paul II’s Justin San Salvador.
The other outfielders include Pope John Paul II teammates Sean Price and Brady Pisciotta, along with Northlake Christian’s Cole Bilbo.
On the second team, in addition to Adams, Pope John Paul II’s Collin Cahill is also at pitcher.
The rest of the infield includes Pope John Paul II teammates Kade Dixon and Matt Castillo. The other outfielders are Northlake Christian School teammates Dale Dufrene and Cooper Moore, and Amite’s Roger Brown.
Northlake Christian School’s Nathan Newberry is the second-team utility player.