By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

BOUTTE – The ESJ LadyCats nearly ruined Hahnville’s 4-0 district record coming into Tuesday’s 5-5A softball match-up, but the Lady Tigers rallied back from a two-run deficit in the seventh to force extra innings, and took the eventual 5-4 win.

It was a defensive struggle through the first three innings of play as Hahnville’s Chelsey Flores dueled with ESJ’s Stacy Sutton to a 0-0 score heading into the top of the third. There, the LadyCats took the first lead of the game and held it until the bottom of the fourth when the Lady Tigers posted a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. But ESJ answered right back with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth as Krista Tamplain recorded her fifth home run of the year with two outs already in the books.

That brought it into the seventh inning where the LadyCats were just three outs away from taking the victory. But Hahnville’s Meghan Vial tied it up when she crossed home after taking a base on balls. Megan Hamilton batted her in to tie the game before Sutton could get out of the inning.

That sent it into the eighth all even at 3-3. ESJ put up a run in their half of the inning, with Ashley Given crossing the plate, but Hahnville matched it in the bottom half, when Tiffany Landry scored.

That sent it it to the ninth at 4-4. When neither team posted a run in that inning, it went to a third extra period.

There, Flores managed to retire the side for Hahnville in the top half, allowing Landry to score the go-ahead run on a pair of passed balls.

Sutton led the effort for East St. John on the mound, striking out ten. She also had two hits.

The LadyCats fared better in Thursday’s game against John Ehret. There, ESJ took a 10-0 win through four and a half innings.

Tamplain allowed only three Lady Patriots to reach base and struck out eight. Lacy Sutton had a pair of doubles to help her squad get off to a quick start, while Givens had a two run homer and reached base two out of three times. Tryonne Kendrick also reached on all her at-bats, going 2-for-3 with a single, a double and a walk. Symmone McKinney recorded two hits.

The week’s results for ESJ marks the squad’s eighth win through the last ten games, putting the LadyCats at 15-8 on the season, 4-2 in district. Both 5-5A losses for East St. John came against Hahnville. The Lady Tigers won the first meeting 2-0.