By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

St. Charles couldn’t stop the rain on Friday. Stopping Rayne, however, was a different story.

That’s exactly what the Lady Comets were able to do in their Class 3A regional playoff game, winning 4-1 over Rayne and punching their tickets to Sulphur for the State Softball Tournament for the fourth straight year.

St. Charles (27-6) will now face Buckeye at noon on Friday in the state quarterfinals at Frasch Park. A win there would allow St. Charles to go into Saturday with a chance to win two games and a state crown at day’s end.

“We didn’t know what to expect today,” said St. Charles Coach Ty Monica. “I give the credit to the girls, because they didn’t know what the situation with the rain would be like. No pun intended.”

SCC’s Katie Reine and Jessie Braud each went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the game.

“We’re really excited,” said Braud. “We consider (Sulphur) home, and we want to make our mark.”

Courtney Western (14-4) notched the win, allowing seven hits and one run. She walked two and struck out nine.

Western also went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.

“We came out with a lot of intensity, and we pulled through,” said Western. “Our defense gave me a lot of confidence. I knew they were behind me the whole time.”

Rayne (17-7) didn’t make things easy on the top-seeded Comets. The game was scoreless through three innings before St. Charles struck in the bottom of the fourth on a double steal. Brooke Becker stole home as Stephanie Caporella took second, giving the Comets a 1-0 lead.

    The Lady Wolves fired back in the top of the fifth, on an RBI double by Lindsay Soileaux that tied the score.

     But St. Charles took the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning. Braud led off with a double, and Western and Reine each doubled to knock in runs.

    In the top of the seventh, Caporella led off with a single, and she would score on a RBI single by Braud to make it 4-1.

    “The second time around, it was easier to see the ball,” said Braud.

    Monica said that while not every win has been pretty this year for his team, his players seem to have an instinct for getting the job done.

“Our battle cry has been to finish,” said Monica. “It was nerve wracking, but we finished, right down to the last out.”