High School: Holy Cross High School

Classification: LHSAA Division I (Catholic League)

Head Coach: Andy Cannizaro

Team Strengths: Pitching

Team Weaknesses: Experience on Offense

 

Top Returning Players

-2021 SS Gavin Schulz (Tulane Signee)

-2021 RHP Chandler Welch (Tulane Signee)

-2021 RHP Lance Lauve (Southeastern Louisiana Signee)

-2021 RHP Joshua Orr (Loyola University Signee)

 

Names to Know

-2024 Aaron Guichard

-2024 Illick Ponce

-2024 Brody Forstall

 

Team Summary

Coach Andy Cannizaro had a really good team in 2020 and it's unfortunate that the Tigers, like all high school programs, were unable to play last season.  As good as Holy Cross was set to be in 2020, Coach Cannizaro loves his 2021 team, and they will be headlined by a trio of seniors on the mound, who all signed to play baseball collegiately in November.  Chandler Welch is the first of the bunch and a Tulane signee.  FB will sit mid-upper 80's, has advanced feel for his CH, and spins a nice breaking ball as well.  Coach Cannizaro said, "Chan is a competitor.  He's definitely a guy that you want to give the ball to with the game on the line because he's such a bulldog."  RHP Lance Lauve, a Southeastern Louisiana signee, will be the #2 in the rotation and for a high school's #2 arm, he sports a FB that will get up to 90 mph, to go with a CH and CB.  RHP Joshua Orr, a Loyola University signee, will be a nice piece of the staff as well.  Offensively, the Tigers have one of the top infielders in the 2021 class in Gavin Schulz.  The Tulane signee is a great runner, squares up balls consistently, and is another competitor on the field.  "Gavin has been a really good player for us, is going to be a really good players for Tulane, and has a chance to play for a long time.  He'll do anything it takes to win", Cannizaro says of the senior SS.  The Tigers have lost some guys, such as, Nico Saltaformaggio, now at Nicholls State University, but the program sure looks to be re-loading this year.  Freshmen Aaron Guichard, Illick Ponce, and Brody Forstall, should all see some playing time this season, as the 2024 class looks to be the next big class for Coach Cannizaro's program.  As mentioned before, the Catholic League, is one of the most competitive baseball league's in the state with the likes of John Curtis, Brother Martin, Jesuit, and Holy Cross.  The Tigers have the guys on the mound to have an outstanding season and with a guy like Gavin Schulz leading the way for the offense, there's a good chance that we see Holy Cross in Sulphur, LA in May.