By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

Otto Candies’ Monday night loss to Plaquemine Post 167 at the American Legion South Central Regional tournament provided a “good news, bad news” scenario for the Hahnville-based squad.

The good news was that it was still potentially one win away from a berth in the double-elimination tournament’s championship game. The bad news was that the win would have to come against Gauthier & Amedee, a team comprised of players from Dutchtown, East Ascension and St. Amant and the heavy tournament favorite.

Otto Candies stayed within striking distance for a while, but Gauthier & Amadee pulled away in the late innings to notch a 10-1 decision, eliminating Otto Candies from contention.

Gauthier and Amedee would eventually defeat Plaquemine Post 167 in the regional final, 11-0.

After entering the Second District West tournament as the fourth and final seed, Otto Candies emerged and advanced to the regional. There it won two games before dropping two in a row.

“We wanted to advance to the next tournament, no doubt,” said Otto Candies coach Kade Rogers. “But I’m very happy with our summer. To get to this point was very unexpected, and speaks volumes to how far we’ve come.”

But no matter how far Rogers’ team had come, it was in for a tough day against Gauthier and Amedee, which boasted the top talent from three schools in Hahnville’s prep season district.

The game was scoreless until the third inning, when Gauthier and Amedee’s Marcus Bailey scored on an Adam Trahan single to make it 1-0.

Otto Candies tied the game in the fourth following a Cody Farrell leadoff triple to right field. Tyler Cooper slapped a single into center field to bring Farrell home.

But some Otto Candies fielding mistakes allowed its opposition to gain some traction, as two errors in the inning led to two Gauthier and Amedee runners crossing home plate.

Otto Candies starting pitcher Ryne Robert would leave the game in the sixth, still with a chance to win. He allowed two earned runs on four hits.

“He was gassed,” said Rogers. “We had to pitch him on short rest. (His performance) shows what kind of competitor he is, and that we can count on him next year.”

Said Robert: “I just had confidence in my stuff. I went up there and thought, ‘They aren’t better than me.’”

But after Robert left, Gauthier and Amedee started to dig their heels in. An RBI double by Matt Richard made it 4-1 in the sixth. And in the seventh, the game broke open when Gauthier Amedee scored three runs, highlighted by a two-run single by A.J. Bonadona.

It made the score 8-1, and Gauthier and Amedee would tack on two final runs in the eighth.

Farrell finished the game with two hits, leading all Tigers.

For Gauthier and Amedee, Jake Bordelon earned the win, pitching eight innings, allowing five hits and three walks.

“He threw against us (in prep season), and we beat him,” said Rogers of the St. Amant standout. “He threw well that day, the same today. The difference is that we lost nine seniors.

“(Gauthier and Amedee) have a major experience edge. We’re playing with puppies. But we battled. It makes me very excited for next season.”