L’Observateur / July 27, 1999

LEESVILLE – For the second straight year, the Illusions placed third in the 16U ASA Fast-Pitch State Tournament held in Leesville July 9-11.

And for the second straight year, it was the Baton Rouge Patriots that defeated the Illusions twice in the double elimination tournament.

The Illusions opened the tournament on Friday with a 2-0 victory over the Lady Trojans. Lutcher’s Michelle Roussel laid down a sacrifice bunt todrive in Misty Beard with Lutcher’s Amber Boe scoring the other run on a passed ball. Roussel and St. Charles Catholic’s Jessie Zeringue had doubleswith Boe, Lindsey Williams and Kelli Gautreau adding singles. St. CharlesCatholic’s Marci Martin pitched the one-hit shutout while registering three strikeouts.

The Illusions opened play Saturday with a 3-0 victory over the Mudbugs.

Roussel had a single and Zeringue a double the first time through the lineup but failed to score. With two outs in the third inning, Boe singledand scored on a double by Martin.

In the fourth inning, Gautreau singled and stole second. With two outs,Nikki Lincoln doubled to score Gautreau and came in to score as Sara Dupepe ripped a shot into the center field gap. Martin again pitched ashutout, allowing three hits while striking out four.

After two wins in the winners’ bracket, the Illusions faced the Patriots with the Patriots coming away with a 3-0 victory. The Patriots scoredtwice in the first on two passed balls. Maggie Dupepe registered theIllusions’ only hit of the game, a single, while Roussel limited the Patriots to three hits while striking out six.

The Illusions stayed alive with a 4-2 victory over the Bayou Babes Sunday morning. The Illusions sent nine to the plate in the third inning, scoringfour runs on singles by Sara Dupepe, Boe, Martin and Williams and a triple by Roussel. Gautreau also had a hit in the second inning. Martin got thewin, giving up three hits while striking out five.

The Illusions then defeated the Red River Rookies, 1-0. Until the fifthinning, the Illusions had only two base runners with Boe reaching on an error on the shortstop and Roussel singling in the third. With the gamestill scoreless in the fifth, Williams led off with a single. One out later,Riverside’s Brandi Falgoust walked and Lincoln reached on an error on the pitcher to load the bases. Roussel walked, forcing in Williams with thegame-winning run. Roussel pitched the shutout, giving up two hits whilestriking out four.

As in 1998, the Patriots dropped to the losers’ bracket to face the Illusions for the second time. Again the game came down to a pitcher’sduel with the Patriots scoring twice in the third inning on their only two hits of the game. The Illusions’ bats were silenced with Lincoln andGautreau getting singles for the only hits. Martin struck out six with twostrikeouts coming on third-strike bunt attempts.

The ASA Tournament had 44 teams with 26 in the B class and 18 playing in the A class. The Reflections went on to beat the Patriots for the secondtime in the tournament to take the championship.

The Illusions organization wanted to thank team parents and its team sponsors Weber Marine, Motiva Enterprise, Kenilworth Supermarket, Waste Manage-ment of Gonzales and Austin Heating & Air, Inc.

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