Dutchtown and St. Amant both headed to Sulphur

It’s been an exceptional year for Ascension Parish baseball, and it just got better.

On Saturday evening, both Dutchtown and St. Amant won their quarterfinal series to punch their tickets to the state tournament in Sulphur.

The Griffins made their reservations first.

Dutchtown took down Central, 3-2, in 10 innings on Friday night. In Saturday’s game two, the Griffins got hot late and cruised to a 6-1 victory that clinched the series.

Dutchtown trailed the Wildcats, 1-0, heading into the fourth inning. There, Carter Hanberry stepped up big for the second straight day.

In game one on Friday night, Hanberry became a pinch hitter in the 10th inning and singled. He eventually came around to score the Griffins’ winning run.

In game two, Hanberry came up with a two-RBI double in the fourth that gave Dutchtown a 2-1 lead. Pierson Parent then added a sac fly that gave the Griffins a 3-1 advantage.

Later, Dutchtown closed the series out following an RBI triple by Tanner Vadnais, a sac fly by Caleb Ickes and an RBI single by Reuben Williams.

Nathan Monceaux picked up the victory from the mound.

The Griffins are now headed to Sulphur for the first time since 2010.

Dutchtown will face second-seeded West Monroe (30-3) on Thursday, at 6 p.m. The Rebels are coming off of a quarterfinal sweep of seventh-seeded Sam Houston.

St. Amant is headed to Sulphur after taking down top-seeded Barbe. The Buccaneers came into the season as winners of the last two Class 5A state titles (excluding the cancelled 2020 postseason).

Barbe was last year’s MaxPreps national champion, and the team ranked in the top 10 of multiple national polls.

The Gators took it to the Bucs in game one. Cole Poirrier hit two home runs, including a grand slam, on the way to a 7-4 St. Amant victory.

On Saturday afternoon, Barbe forced a game three with a 5-0 victory.

In the decisive third game, Lee Amedee led the contest off with a home run. That was followed by a Brayden Kuriger RBI double that gave St. Amant an early 2-0 lead.

In the third, Connor Molaison produced a three-RBI double that put St. Amant up, 5-0.

Barbe fought back to cut it to 5-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh. There, the Buccaneers loaded the bases with two outs. But Kuriger came in and finished them off from the mound.

This was the first time Barbe has ever lost a best-of-three playoff series since the format was introduced in 2014.

The Gators are now headed to Sulphur for the first time since that season.

They’ll meet fourth-seeded Sulphur High (32-7). The Tornados are coming off of a quarterfinal sweep of Zachary.

The game will also be played on Thursday, at 6 p.m.

If St. Amant and Dutchtown can pull off victories, it will set up an all-Ascension state championship game.