By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

ST. AMANT – Host St. Amant came away with a win over Riverside Tuesday, stopping the Rebels just short of sending the game into extra innings with a potential game-tying basehit in the seventh.

Dylan Martin hit a line drive to first base with men on first and second and two outs, but the Gators recorded the out and with it the win.

“An inch left or right and we’ve tied it at three,” said Riverside coach Britt Waguespack. “You’d love to win, but we had a chance at the end to win and that was all we asked for.”

St. Amant (17-12) sits alone in second place in District 6-5A behind leader Destrehan.

The Rebels (9-17-1) entered the game on a high after beating rival Curtis twice on Saturday to win that district series.

Dylan Becnel took the loss despite an effective outing. He allowed eight hits and struck out four.

“Great pitching performance from Dylan, great defense, no errors. You do that, you always have a chance to win,” said Waguespack.”

Bryant Tassin knocked in Riverside’s run in the first inning to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.

St. Amant went ahead 2-1 in the third, and added another run in the fourth.

Austin Vicknair was 2-for-3 for Riverside.

On Thursday, Riverside got back on track with an 18-2 win over Haynes to open the Rebels’ final District 9-2A series of the season.

Ritchie Terrio and Becnel each homered in the game, Becnel collecting three RBIs and Terrio two. Kane Keller went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a pair of doubles.

“We swung the bats really well, the one thing we haven’t done over the last few games,” said Waguespack. “You sometimes need games like that to get your confidence back on track.”