Week 4 of the 2024 high school baseball season has come and gone, which means that teams across the state are now in the middle of district play.  Last week, we featured two games of the week, with Sam Houston vs. Barbe and Natchitoches Central vs. Benton.  The Bucs took the first game from the Broncos by a score of 8-0, but the Broncos got revenge on Saturday, as they ousted Barbe by a score of 4-2.  Natchitoches Central and Benton also split their two-game district series with the Tigers winning the first game 13-3 and the Chiefs winning the second game by a score of 1-0 in 8 innings.  After reviewing this week's schedules of teams from across the state, we've decided on our Week 5 Game of the Week, which will feature Teurlings Catholic vs. St. Thomas More, on Thursday March 21, 2024.  The Rebels have had an up and down year so far, but most recently split their two-game series against both Central BR and Live Oak.  The Cougars have won five of their last six games, after nearly beating Barbe on March 8th.  The last time that we covered this District 4-4A matchup was in 2022 and it turned out to be a fantastic game with St. Thomas More coming out victorious via a walk-off hit, so we fully expect this Thursday to be a competitive and intense contest.  Be sure to follow us, across all of our social media platforms, for our Week 5 Game of the Week between the Teurlings Catholic Rebels and the St. Thomas More Cougars!

 

Terulings Catholic HS vs. St. Thomas More HS

 

-Date: Thursday March 21, 2024

-Time: 6 PM

-Location: St. Thomas More

-Teurlings Catholic HS (2024 Record): 10-7

-Head Coach: Brooks Badeaux

-St. Thomas More HS (2024 Record): 9-8

-Head Coach: Cass Hargis

 

-Key Players (Teurlings Catholic): 2024 OF Jake Farris, 2024 RHP Aiden Domingue, 2024 OF Porter Stuart, 2025 INF Ryan Berard, 2025 1B/C Jack Ortego, 2025 Jack Purser, 2025 Axel Tyler, 2025 C Brant Badeaux, 2025 Zan Johnson, 2025 Jace Garber, 2026 OF/LHP Evan Vincent, 2026 INF/RHP Brennan Storms, 2026 INF William Power, 2026 LHP/1B Dylan Helms

-Key Players (St. Thomas More): 2024 RHP Evan McDaniel, 2024 INF Tyler Desormeaux, 2024 OF Cayden Vice, 2024 RHP Wilton Taylor (UL-Lafayette signee), 2024 OF Hayden Hernandez (LSU-Eunice commit), 2025 INF/RHP Jacob Froehlich (UL-Lafayette commit), 2025 INF/OF Cade Wilkerson (UL-Lafayette commit), 2025 C Mackie Castille, 2025 RHP Talan Soileau, 2025 INF/OF Reed Dupuis, 2025 INF Riley Rowell, 2025 INF Josh Dupin, 2026 OF/LHP Cayden Dartez

GAME PREVIEW

Teurlings Catholic and St. Thomas More will meet up in Lafayette, LA on Thursday March 21, 2024, for our Week 5 Game of the Week.  These two teams have been district-rivals for quite some time, and the last time that we highlighted this matchup in 2022, we were treated to a great game that St. Thomas More won in walk-off fashion.  Both of these clubs have had somewhat similar, up and down seasons, but historically they've both started to play their best baseball around this time of the year.  Teurlings Catholic has a relatively young squad this season with three sophomores in the starting lineup in their series against Live Oak last weekend.  Sophomores Brennan Storms and William Power have both been hitting at the top of the Rebels lineup and are two talented underclassmen to keep an eye on.  Juniors Ryan Berard, Jack Ortego, and Brant Badeaux have also inserted themselves into every day roles.  Senior Jake Farris is the table-setter at the top of the order and patrols centerfield for the Rebels and senior Porter Stuart has been playing left field.  On the mound, senior RHP Aiden Domingue has been a solid starter, as has junior Zan Johnson.  Sophomore southpaws Evan Vincent and Dylan Helms have also contributed meaningful innings on the mound the season.  Helms recently tossed six quality innings against Live Oak, giving up 4 H, 4 R, and 0 ER with 3 K's, in an unfortunate losing effort, while just last Tuesday, Vincent earned a win against Central BR, after tossing 6 innings and giving up only 1 ER on 3 H.  St. Thomas More is currently just one game above .500, but it's important to remember that the Cougars were in a similar position last season and they made it all the way to the LHSAA Select D-II Semifinals.  Offensively, the Cougars are led on offense by senior OF Hayden Hernandez (LSU-Eunice) and junior INF Cade Wilkerson (Louisiana-Lafayette).  Hernandez is a good-looking athlete with gap to gap power at the plate, while Wilkerson is a versatile defender with a smooth left-handed stroke.  Junior Jacob Froehlich (Louisiana-Lafayette) is another threat in the offense for the Cougars with a ton of raw pull-side power.  He's also recovering from an off-season surgery, which has limited his action on the mound this season, as he last threw on March 7th, picking up the win in relief vs. Evangel Christian.  Senior RHP Wilton Taylor (Louisiana-Lafayette) has the team's best stuff on the mound.  We saw Taylor in a pre-season intersquad sit 87-89 mph with his FB, while spinning an "11-5" shaped low-mid 70's CB with spin rates up to 2800 RPM's.  Senior RHP Evan McDaniel, junior RHP Talan Soileau, and sophomore LHP Cayden Dartez have played a key part in the Cougars pitching staff this spring.  Teurlings Catholic Head Coach Brooks Badeaux and St. Thomas More Head Coach Cass Hargis both do a great job with their respective programs and both have coached at higher levels with Coach Badeaux having coached in the professional ranks and with Team USA, while Hargis was previously a college assistant coach.  Both the Rebels and the Cougars are well-coached and will play a tough, hard-nosed style of baseball, as both teams aren't afraid to lay down a bunt, swipe a bag, or execute a hit & run.  We expect an exciting and well-played game by both teams with a playoff-like atmosphere for this District 4-4A battle.

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