by RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. Charles emerged with a victory in a wild game Thursday at Comet Field, downing University, 14-13, in eight innings.

The game was a continuation of one that began in Monroe two weeks ago but was rained out. The teams picked up play in the third inning.

The Comets scored three runs in the top of the eighth (University was the official home team due to the continuation) on a pair of passed balls and an Austin Ourso RBI double.

University scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth but the Comets fended off a tying score.

“(University) is scrappy,” said St. Charles coach Paul Waguespack. “They wouldn’t go away. We’re just swinging the bats really well right now. We had 12 hits against Zachary, we hit against Ehret, and we hit (Thursday). We’ve still got to put it all together, though. The good thing is we’ve got a lot of baseball ahead of us. We’re still a work in progress.”

SCC trailed 4-3 when play resumed but scored five runs in the third to take an 8-4 lead. But no advantage was safe. University scored two runs in the third and three in the fourth to reestablish its own one-run lead, 9-8.

St. Charles (8-5) scored a pair of runs in the sixth to go ahead 10-9 on a passed ball and a Luke Poche RBI single. In the bottom of the sixth, centerfielder Jeffrey Hall threw out a potential tying run at home plate to preserve the lead, than Chad McNeil extended it on an RBI single in the seventh.

University scored a pair of runs, however, to tie things up, leading to an eventful eighth inning.

Jared Keating earned the win, pitching two innings in relief. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Ourso finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. McNeil was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The teams combined for 25 hits in the game. Each team had five errors – though four of SCC’s came before the game resumed yesterday.

It was the Comets’ third straight victory.

SCC hosted and defeated Ehret Tuesday, 11-1 by the 10-run rule.

Hall went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. LaJaylin Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.

McNeil pitched a complete game in earning the win.

He allowed four hits, struck out four and walked one in moving to 3-0.

This weekend the Comets will attempt to extend their winning streak at the Lutcher tournament. SCC will face Erath (11:30 a.m.) and St. Thomas Aquinas (2 p.m.) today and Catholic-New Iberia tomorrow at 9 a.m.

“We’re in the midst of a stretch of seven games in 10 days. You’d like to go 7-0, but if we come out 6-1, I’m ecstatic,” said Waguespack. “7-0 would be Laginappe.”

The coach will be challenged to piece together his rotation this weekend, as he exhausted many options in the University game.

“You’ve got to play to win the one right now, which is what I’ve always believed,” said Waguespack. “If you’ve got a chance to win today, you need to do what you need to do because you never know when your next chance to win a baseball game will be. We’ll patch it together for the weekend.”