It had been 23 years since Newman had last won a state championship in baseball. The last hour of Saturday’s deciding Game 3 must have seemed longer.
The Greenies outlasted University High in an absolutely wild Division III Select championship, 15-12, on Saturday in Sulphur. There were a combined 13 runs scored in the final two innings of a game that lasted more than three hours.
The potential tying run for the top-seeded Cubs reached first base in the bottom of the seventh with two outs before Judah Zito flied out to centerfielder George Loop, to set off the celebration and dogpile on the pitchers mound.
“That last out went to the right place. Whew,” Newman coach Pat Adams said.
Newman (30-9) scored 28 runs in their two victories, and doing just enough with their pitching and defense to finish off the series. All nine starting Greenies reached base at least once Saturday, and all but three reached twice or more.
Jack Falgoust, who went 2-for-4, with two walks and four RBIs was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. In the three-game series, the senior went 6-for-11 with six runs scored, two doubles and five RBIs.
He was one of five seniors to start in the game – five seniors who have been playing together since the seventh grade or before – along with Loop, Christian Sauska, Charles Wilson and Collier Villere.
Each team used three pitchers in Game 3, and Newman went to Villere twice. And when Villere ran out of gas in his second stint with two outs in the seventh, Adams turned to Peter Barras, who walked a hitter before inducing the fly out to end the game.
In each of the final three innings, it appeared as if the Greenies had broken the game wide open, only to see the Cubs (30-10) get back in it.
Wilson hit a two-run, no-doubt home run to left field in the fifth to give Newman a 9-5 lead, and Tanner Robert’s single in the sixth made it 12-5. But U High turned the momentum around on a three-run homer to center that cut the lead to 12-8 heading into the seventh.
Once again, the Greenies posted three runs in an inning, as Robert was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Falgoust knocked in two on a single that put the lead at 15-8.
However, five of the first Cubs batters reached base safely in the bottom half of the seventh, and a two-run double by Shepherd Gammon with RBI singles by Trey Sotile and Jaris Hamilton cut it to 15-12.
Enter Barras, who walked Lane Mixon to load the bases and put the tying run on first base with two outs. Then Zito hit a 1-1 pitch right to Loop in center to set off the celebration.
Overall, it was not the prettiest game defensively, as the teams combined to commit six errors. It was worse for U High, as they allowed a whopping 10 unearned runs.
The Greenies scored 11 of their 15 runs with two outs.
Here are the line scores, top hitters and pitchers’ lines from Game 2:
LINESCORE
(2) Newman – 300 153 3 – 15 | 12 | 2
(1) University – 032 003 4 – 12 | 10 | 4
BOX SCORE
Newman (30-8)
Jack Falgoust (3B/SS), 2-4, 2R, 2BB, SB, 4RBIs
Charles Wilson (C), 3-4, BB, HR, R, 3RBIs
Christian Sauska (3B/1B), 0-4, BB, R
Atticus LaFleur (2B), 2-3, BB, HP, 2R
Collier Villere (P/SS), 0-3, BB, HP, R
Malcolm Schairer (RF), 4-4, 3R, 2RBIs
George Loop (CF), 1-4, BB, 2R, RBI
Benjamin Singer (DH), 1-3, HP, RBI
Tanner Robert (LF), 1-4, HP, 2R, 3RBIs
University (30-9)
Shepherd Gammon (3B), 1-5, 2B, R, 2RBIs
Trey Sotile (SS), 3-4, 2R, RBI
Mackie Musgrove (C), 0-3, BB, HP
Jaris Hamilton (CF), 2-4, BB, HR, 2R, 4RBIs
Lane Mixon (2B), 1-3, 2BB, 2RBIs
Judah Zito (DH/P), 0-2, HP, 2BB, R
Camden Smith (RF), 1-2, BB, R, RBI
Kaleb Bickham (1B), 2-4, R
Harris Sides (LF), 0-4, R, RBI
DECIDING PITCHERS
WIN: Augie Sauska (5-1), 3.2IP, 3R, 3ER, 3H, 4BB, 1K.
LOSS: Nicholas Zeringue, 2.1IP, 8R, 1ER, 6H, 0BB, 1K.
SAVE: Peter Barras (1), 0.1IP, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 0K
WP: Grant Vollmer 2, Collier Villere 1. IBB: None. Pitches-strikes: Vollmer, 70-39; Zeringue, 59-39; Zito, 31-15; Villere, 75-44; Augie Sauska, 72-38; Barras, 8-3. Weather at first pitch: 83, partly cloudy. Time of game: 3:04.