By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

It appears that no lead is safe against the St. Charles Comets’ powerful lineup – and after Sunday, rival Riverside knows this all too well.

The Comets, fresh off of two comeback victories in a tournament the previous weekend, notched yet another at Riverside on Sunday. St. Charles shook off a 7-1 deficit in the second inning to seize an 11-10 victory in the final game of the Fatty’s Invitational tournament.

St. Charles went 4-0 over the course of tournament play. The loss dropped Riverside to 0-3 in the tourney.

The Comets’ comeback effort was highlighted by a three-run home run to leftfield by Corey Reed, which gave St. Charles it’s first lead of the game, 8-7 in the third inning.

“I was looking for a fastball, and he threw it on the other half of the plate,” Reed said. I got a hold of it.”

“I felt like we had a chance,” said St. Charles Coach Paul Waguespack. “We’ve been swinging the bats real well. You peck away, get a run here, two there, and eventually we had a chance to put it away.”

That chance looked to be in jeopardy when Riverside (4-10) closed an 11-7 St. Charles lead to 11-10 in the sixth inning.

After Timmy Teague pitched a scoreless seventh, Riverside had two-on and two-out for Jade Falgoust, with Alex Marse on the mound for St. Charles (10-3-2).

Marse was able to slam the door though, when Falgoust grounded out to end the game.

“You always expect St. Charles to be ready to play,” Falgoust said. “We had our chances. We put ourselves in position to win at the end, but it just didn’t happen.”

Reed’s home run was the second time in the game that he came up big. St. Charles starting pitcher Nick Reine began the game with control problems, walking the first four batters of the contest, including the first run for Riverside.

Reed came on in relief, and was able to escape the inning only allowing one more run across.

“They put me in because they know I don’t want to lose,” said Reed. “All it was, was determination and focus and then throwing the baseball.”

Riverside led 2-1 in the second inning when Colby Vicknair bunted for a base hit and an RBI to make it 3-1.

From there, RBIs by Falgoust and Wade Delaneuville pushed the lead to 5-0. Delaneuville and Teague each scored on passed balls to make it 7-1.

Marse and Marc Picciola each had RBI doubles in the next inning to make it 7-3.

Matt Bonnecarre doubled in the fourth to score two runs, making it 7-5. Reed’s three-run home run would follow to put St. Charles ahead.

The Comets extended the lead in the sixth inning, first when Tyler Roussel scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-7. Picciola and Brandon Becker each followed up with RBI base hits to put the Comets up 11-7.

An RBI single by Delaneuville and a two-run double by Jake Roussel pulled Riverside within one in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“We knew even with the score at 7-1, we had to play like it was 1-1,” said Riverside Coach Britt Waguespack. “That’s the environment these schools have built, the competitiveness. Nobody ever quits.”

Donovan Duffy (4-1) earned the win for St. Charles in relief.

For St. Charles, Becker was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Picciola was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

For Riverside, Roussel went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Delaneuville was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Falgoust was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

It was the end of a near perfect weekend for St. Charles, which has only lost once in its past 12 games.

On Friday, St. Charles won the first of two meetings with H.L. Bourgeois, 16-6 in six innings, to open play at the Fatty’s Invitational.

Brady Hitt (2-0) picked up the win in relief of Brandon Becker, striking out 3 and allowing one hit in three innings.

    Picciola was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Becker went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jordan Millet was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.

On Saturday, the result was the same, St. Charles an 11-1 victor over Bourgeois (4-8).

Duffy earned his first of two tourney wins, starting and going four innings, allowing three hits and striking three out.

(See SCC, Page 10A)

Marse was 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. Reed was 3-for-3with two doubles. Jonathan Cancienne was 2-for-3 with a home run.

On Sunday morning, Hitt earned his second win of the tourney as St. Charles defeated Thibodaux (5-9), 7-5.

Reed was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. He also collected the save in relief.

Britt Waguespack came into the weekend with high hopes for the tournament, and said he feels the tournament delivered a lot of action.

“You’re always going to get some good baseball when Lutcher, St. Charles and Riverside are playing. The fun part is these kids all know each other, they’re friends. It makes it real enjoyable.”