By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – It was all but a district championship showdown between two Class 3A contenders Thursday as Brusly took a 21-game winning streak into St. Charles Catholic to face a Comets team that nearly ended the streak at 11 on March 12.

Brusly gave starting pitcher Carli Jo LeBlanc a lead in the fourth inning and she took care of the rest, allowing just three baserunners in a 6-0 shutout victory that clinched the District 7-3A championship for her team.

LeBlanc allowed three hits, two of them infield singles, issued no walks and struck out nine batters.

“We were extremely focused today,” said LeBlanc, a junior. “We know they’re a tough team … once Carlie (Comeaux) got a hit in the fourth inning, that really swung the momentum for us. Everyone kind of jumped on from there.”

Said Brusly coach Beau Bouvier, “She’s been our road runner for the past three seasons. She’s pitching great right now. All of her pitches are moving. And she knows when they do hit the ball, she’s got a defense that’s making plays behind her.”

The Comets trailed 1-0 entering the sixth inning and likely had designs on returning the favor on a Brusly rally from March 12 – the Comets led 3-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning in that game before the Panthers came back to win.

But Brusly (24-2, 9-0)  scored two runs in the sixth on three hits and an error, then three more in the seventh on four hits and two walks.

“The bottom line is, they’re going to get their hits,” said St. Charles coach Ty Monica. “That’s a very good offensive team. But you’ve got to minimize the damage when they do. By my count, there were three base hits that should have been just that, base hits, that we let them extend to extra bases.”

Chelsea Loupe went the complete game,  allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks. She struck out four.

Prior to the sixth inning, Loupe had allowed just two baserunners.

“It was the same way in the first game,” said Bouvier. “She’s always a tough pitcher. We had to get through the lineup and adjust as the game went on, and we were able to do a pretty good job of it.”

With a win, the Comets (15-5, 6-2) would have been in strong position to earn at least a share of the district crown.

Loupe, Megan Ruiz and Jessica Mire each collected hits for SCC.

For Brusly, Lanesha Taylor led the way at the plate, going 3 for 4 with two RBIs.

Brusly got on the board in the fourth inning after back to back singles by Comeaux and Taylor – the latter hit was misplayed in left field and Comeaux scored on the error to make it 1-0.

Brusly pushed its lead to 2-0 on its first batter of the sixth as leadoff hitter Akiya Thymes laced a ball into the outfield. Another Comet error gave Brusly’s fastest player all the incentive she needed to attempt to score – she would, making it 2-0.

“She’s fast,” said Bouvier. “We know once she gets on, she makes things happen. Today, she got on just the one time, bit she made it count.”

Brusly added another run on Kaitlin David’s RBI double to make it 3-0.

In the seventh, Taylor came up with the bases loaded and two outs and came through with a two run single to make it 5-0. LeBlanc helped her own cause by singling to drive in one more insurance run. Brusly retired the Comets in order in the bottom of the seventh.

(LeBlanc) is good and she’s got a good defense behind her,” said Monica. “What makes her so tough is that it’s very hard to get back to back hits against her. We were able to do that once up at their place, but today … as far as getting those two or three hits together in an inning for a so-called rally, we never could do it.”

Next week, Brusly is scheduled to face John Curtis in a game that could have two of the state’s longest win streaks on the line – Brusly’s currently at 22 straight wins, with Curtis finishing the week on a 50 game run.

SCC, meanwhile, turns its attention to South Beauregard Saturday.

That game will be played at St. Charles at 11 a.m.

Then, Monday, SCC will travel down the road to face rival Riverside in Reserve.

That game is set to begin at 5 p.m. Both games will be non-district contests.