By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LUTCHER – After losing a heartbreaker to district rival Brusly last week, St. Charles rebounded with two wins in three games at the weekend’s Lutcher softball tournament.

St. Charles opened play with an 11-2 loss to host Lutcher, but finished tournament play with a 6-5 win over Ursuline and then a 5-4 win over Ellender.

Comets coach Ty Monica said that the weekend performance wasn’t representative of his team’s best softball, but that he’d take the two victories.

“We had a long, exhausting week,” said Monica. “We started with the St. Amant tournament last weekend, then we played Brusly in a game that took a lot out of us physically and mentally.

“We had a lot going on that made us a tired softball team. But that’s not to make excuses, because honestly none of that matters when it comes to power points. I’ve told my team, the computers don’t care if you’re having a bad day, or you’re tired or not feeling particularly good on a given day. “

The weekend’s final game saw SCC (12-3) hold off a late Ellender rally to secure a one-run victory. SCC led 5-2 entering the final frame, where the Patriots (12-10) scored two runs.

Karli Terrio went 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Paige Williams went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Chelsea Loupe was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two doubles. Destiny Wesley went 2 for 4 with an RBI.  

Loupe earned the win on the mound to move to 11-3. She pitched the complete game, allowing four runs on seven hits and five walks. She struck out 10.

Loupe came through with her bat in the previous game against Ursuline (11-4); for the second time this season, she delivered a game-winning hit in extra innings, under Olympic tiebreaker rules (a runner starts the inning on second base).

“It was almost an identical situation to the last time, too,” said Monica, referring to Loupe’s game-winner in SCC’s 5-4 win over False River. “She had given up a home run in the previous inning and, as fate would have it I guess, she had a chance to come up in the next inning and redeem herself, which she did.”

She went 2 for 3 with a run scored. Paige Williams went 2 for 4 with an RBI and run scored. Emily Triche went 2 for 4 with a run while Jessica Mire was 2 for 3 with an RBI.

On the mound, Loupe went the complete game for the win, allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk. She struck out two.

The Lutcher game saw a dominating performance by the Bulldogs (7-10) where all but three of its starters collected two hits or more.

“We came out and stunk it up against Lutcher,” said Monica. “After that, we got a little bit better, but we weren’t really firing on all cylinders. I kind of attribute most of that to fatigue, but we’ll see this week. I’m hoping that’s the case.”

The Comets fell 4-3 in extra innings last Tuesday to Brusly, the Panthers coming back to erase a 3-1 SCC lead entering the bottom of the eighth inning.  

“Our players went out and played with a lot of passion and heart,” said Monica. “We played a really, really good softball game. I take full responsibility for that loss. They played their hearts out.

“The good thing is, like I told them, win or lose, we were always going to play them again. And if we are what we think we are, we’ll get to play them a third time at state, because you know they’re gonna be there.”