By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

DESTREHAN — For Destrehan-based Valero St. Charles, the start to its American Legion Second District West playoff game couldn’t have been better. For St. Charles Catholic-based Townsend Homes, it couldn’t have been worse.

In this particular story, there were no twists or turns. The game finished with Valero boasting a 10-0 victory, officially eliminating Townsend from the Legion playoffs and clinching a berth in the Southeast Regional for Valero and Hahnville-based Otto Candies.

The game was officially called after six innings due to heavy rain and lightning.

Valero will go to the regional, to begin this week at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium, as the division’s first seed, and Otto Candies its second after a 11-5 Valero win over Otto Candies at Hahnville Sunday.

Townsend (7-9) made errors on the first two Valero balls hit in play, and finished with four on the game.

Valero, meanwhile, collected nine hits over the first two innings.

“Everyone’s offense has struggled with the new bats,” said Valero coach Marty Luquet. “Then you’re using wooden bats this year in the summer. So to turn out nine hits in two innings, you feel real good about that. And to turn it into seven runs, that’s obviously even better.

“Those first two innings were about as well as we’ve hit all summer.”

It held a 4-0 lead before making a push to put things away in the second, adding three more. Jacob Cambre led off with a walk, then Jace Weber singled. Townsend starter Chad McNeil retired Brock Bendetto, but Kade Granier doubled home Valero’s fifth run. Ryan Brewer grounded out but plated another run to make it 6-0, then Sam Steib singled home another to make it 7-0.

Valero scored another run in the third inning on Cambre’s RBI double, then another in the fifth on a Weber RBI. Valero rounded its day out with a sacrifice fly by Tanner Hayes in the sixth.

“We just couldn’t get a hit,” said Townsend Homes coach Paul Waguespack. “We never got a big hit. Really, that’s been the story for us at the end of the summer.”

Blake Hymel recorded a two-hit shutout on the mound for Valero, retiring the final nine batters of the day. He walked no batters.

“Blake Hymel’s been one of our top pitchers all year. We expected him to come out and keep us in the game.

“I think when you get seven runs in the first two innings of a game, that allows a pitcher to be aggressive. He doesn’t have to worry about one pitch coming back to bite him in a one-run game. It allows you to attack and throw strikes … He did that and kept things moving along for us.”

VALERO ST. CHARLES 11. OTTO CANDIES 5 — Valero scored a whopping 11 fourth inning runs as it captured the West Division playoff with a victory over Otto Candies, securing the first seed in this week’s Southeast regional.

Valero is slated to face Mandeville’s Legion squad on Saturday, while Otto Candies will face Gauthier-Amadee. Times were not established as of presstime.