By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

Whether speaking about baseball or softball, St. Charles Catholic has produced one of the most consistently successful program’s in the state. Nary a year goes by when the Comets aren’t a major factor in the postseason race – in the last five years alone, the baseball team has been state runner-up three times, while the softball team counts a state championship and state runner-up finish among its accolades.

So when records started falling this season in both sports, it was a big deal — three senior athletes could, in fact, leave St. Charles knowing they bested numerous top athletes that came before.

At St. Charles’ recent athletic banquet, Brady Hitt, Jared Keating and Megan Louque were all awarded the highest athletic honor the school gives annually — Mr. Comet, which was split between Hitt and Keating, and Miss Comet, which went to Louque.

The choices could be surprising to few as each leaves the school with their names aside the notation “first, all-time” in the record books.

For Hitt, the lasting image will be a senior season in which his torrid hitting carried him to the school’s single season home run record (14) and RBI mark (56).

For Louque, the home run record is also hers to keep on the softball diamond: her six stands as the best season mark ever, helping push St. Charles to a new team record in home runs with 17.

And for Keating, the record that fell was one that recognized continued excellence: the left-hander finished his Comets career with 30 victories, the most in school history.

Hitt’s season culminated with his selection to the Class 2A All-State team, the District 9-2A co-MVP (with Keating) and L’Observateur’s St. John Parish MVP.

It also added up to a scholarship to play at the next level. Hitt committed to play at Delgado this week, something he says will allow him to concentrate on bettering his game this summer without distractions.

“It just takes a lot of stress off,” said Hitt. “During summer ball, it’ll let me ease up and just play the game.”

But with his next stop unsettled during prep season, he didn’t let it become an issue, setting career highs across the board — batting .530 and scoring 47 runs. He also went 4-2 on the mound.

“I just kept telling myself, it’s my senior year, my last year of high school and I had to end it on a good note. I wanted to give everyone a year to remember.”

He did it by putting in extra work. Hitt said that he made it a point to get extra work in after practice and on weekends to make this season a reality.

The left-handed Hitt came up at SCC as a pitcher, and as such he said it presented an advantage to him at the plate.

“I was able to guess what pitches were coming in certain situations,” said Hitt. “Being a pitcher and seeing things from that perspective was definitely a help.”

Waguespack said one of the impressive things about Hitt’s record was that he set a goal to be the team’s best hitter, not just its home run leader, and wasn’t going to bat swinging for the fences.

“He wasn’t just trying to hit home runs. He was just trying to hit it hard, hit gap to gap line drives,” said Waguespack. “But the ball was definitely jumping off of his bat this year. He was locked into in some kind of zone.”

His batting average was also one of the best Waguespack has seen. The last player to bat over .500 for him, the coach says, was Casey Robottom.

“He set out to have this kind of a year,” said Waguespack. “56 RBIs in 35 games, against the schedule we played, to hit .500, all of that aside from just the home runs … I couldn’t be prouder.”

When Hitt broke the home run record against district rival John Curtis on April 14 (he slammed two home runs in a 24-14 win) he said he was unaware he had nailed down the record until it was announced.

His teammate said essentially the same about his 30 wins. While many top notch pitchers have come through SCC, Keating left with more wins than any of them — not that he was counting.

“I had no idea I was close to anything like that,” he said. “I’m still not sure it’s sunk in yet.”

During the state playoffs, Waguespack proudly said after his team downed Curtis that with Keating on the mound, he believed the Comets were capable of beating anyone. His faith in his ace wasn’t developed recently. As a freshman, Waguespack tabbed Keating to start the Class 3A state championship game and since that time, the coach has never been shy about using him in a huge spot.

“It let me know he trusted me to get it done,” said Keating. “It took a lot of pressure off … I kind of knew then that I had a chance to be a big part of our team’s future.”

Said Waguespack, “From his freshman year on, this is a kid that’s been nothing but a winner and a leader.”

His 9-3 record and 1.71 ERA weren’t amassed last season due to an overpowering arm. Keating, rather, relies on his control. Even early in Keating’s career, Waguespack would say that he knew he could count on Keating to do one thing, if nothing else: throw strikes.

“I’ve never really thrown it hard,” said Keating. “But I can definitely place my pitches.”

Waguespack said that he knew Keating would be successful after a preseason scrimmage in which the then-freshman pitched with success against the varsity.

What stood out to Waguespack more than anything was Keating’s best pitch – a changeup that he said has been there since day one.

“He just had a phenomenal changeup,” he said. “From the first day he threw it against the varsity … he gets a popout, he gets a groundout … and you could just see that he would have success.”

Keating said that pitch came about via a simple formula.

“I just kept messing with the grip and found one that I liked,” he said.

Across campus on the softball diamond, Louque entered the 2011 season with a lot of weight on her shoulders. Already tabbed to fill the shoes of multi-time All-State pitcher Courtney Western, Louque also returned as a very young team’s most accomplished hitter — and it’s only pitcher, after an injury sidelined fellow starter Chelsea Loupe.

But Louque, one of only four seniors on the team, passed all tests with flying colors, winning 22 games on the mound with a 1.82 ERA and helping to lead SCC to the state softball tournament in Sulphur for the seventh consecutive season.

At the plate, she left her permanent mark by setting the single-season home run record. That went along with a .452 batting average and 35 RBIs.

SCC coach Ty Monica said that Louque has plenty to look back on with pride.

“Once she got over being the only pitcher with varsity experience, she really took off,” said Monica. “To set the home run record at St. Charles, to hit like she did all year in big spots … she proved that she belonged with the best players in the state. She consistently came up big with her bat, hitting third for us, beyond just doing what she did on the mound. We didn’t have a lot of experience coming back in our starting lineup, and she stepped forward. ”

“Obviously, I was very excited,” said Louque of the record. “I’ve played with some awesome athletes and awesome hitters. To (set the home run record) makes me feel like that hard work paid off.”

Louque said that the task of being the team’s only pitcher was daunting at first, but that the support of her coaches and teammates helped to set her at ease.

“They reminded me that it wasn’t just me out there having to be perfect, and it relaxed me,” she said. “At the beginning of the season, there was that pressure … but then we started to win some games and make a run, and I think we all realized that we could accomplish some good things.”

Also helping things was that 2011 was not Louque’s first turn in the spotlight. In 2010, she stepped up in the state playoffs for Western, who suffered a knee injury that would keep her from competing on the mound. Louque would help lead the team into the state championship game where SCC finished as state runner-up. Their run included a complete game shutout in the state semifinals.

“That definitely helped tremendously,” said Louque. “It was an opportunity to be pushed … it just let me know I could do it.”

She also noted Western’s presence as assistant coach this season was another lift.

“She and I have been pitching buddies for seven years, and to still have her here to give that pitcher’s perspective was a big lift,” said Louque.

And all three can leave knowing they too were a big lift to St. Charles.