By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 2A and 3A All-State squads saw great representation by the River Region, with six locals making the cut as players or coaches.

On the Class 3A baseball squad, St. Charles Catholic senior pitcher/first baseman Chad McNeil earned a spot after excelling in all phases of the game in 2013, leading the Comets in most offensive and pitching categories.

Riverside earned three players on the Class 2A softball squad in senior pitcher Destin Vicknair, senior centerfielder Taylor Terrio and freshman shortstop/catcher Toni Hebert, after that trio helped lead Riverside to a 28-8 record and a finish as state runner-up.

They’re joined by their coach, Kristy Hebert, who was voted as the LSWA’s 2013 Coach of the Year after guiding her team to that record in the face of an unforgiving schedule packed with upper-tier foes.

Senior second baseman Andre Faucheux represents the Rebels’ baseball team on the Class 2A squad after leading the Rebels in batting with a .400 mark.

St. Charles’ Kameron Keller earned honorable mention status in Class 3A baseball. Riverside’s Erica Delaneuville earned honorable mention in Class 2A softball, while the Rebels’ Tanner Lawson earned honorable mention in 2A baseball.

Long considered St. Charles’ most dangerous hitter, McNeil made the leap to elite status as a pitcher this season, showing off increased control to go along with his dynamic fastball.

McNeil finished the season with a 7-4 record (twice losing games without allowing an earned run), a 0.83 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He struck out 59 batters in 59 innings.

With his bat, he was as good as ever, hitting .370 with 22 RBIs, 12 doubles and two home runs. He signed with Holmes Community College.

“He was everything I wanted on the mound,” said St. Charles baseball coach Paul Waguespack. “We never came together as a team the way we would have liked, but it wasn’t because of him. He did all we asked him to do and more. Nobody wanted to pitch to him. He cut his walk rate as a pitcher. He had a great, great season.”

Kristy Hebert adds her third Coach of the Year honor after leading a dominant Rebels team this season. Riverside lost a tight 3-2 game in the Class 2A championship. Riverside faced 21 teams that wound up in Sulphur for the state softball tournament and nine teams seeded first or second in its respective classification.

Riverside’s state runner-up finish was the third consecutive season the Rebels finished in the final four of Class 2A, after two straight semifinal appearances. She’s compiled an overall coaching record of 415-129, including five state championship wins with John Curtis.

“It’s a big honor and I’m happy about it. At the end of the day, though, it’s more important to me to see our girls make it,” said Hebert. “It’s a little extra bonus for us after a very hard fought season.”

Vicknair, an LSU-Eunice signee, dominated on the mound in her final season with the Rebels, going 24-7 with a 0.87 ERA. She struck out 268 batters. At the plate, she again proved a force, batting .486 with 32 RBIs and three home runs.

“I thought the strength and conditioning work she did over the summer really prepared her. She really bought into it,” said Kristy Hebert. “It made her a lot stronger. I thought she came into the season with more of a competitive edge to her, mentally.

“As a hitter, she understood teams were going to try to walk her. She became more disciplined and waited for that one pitch.”

Terrio, who signed with Nicholls State, batted .587 from the Rebels leadoff spot while stealing 31 bases and driving in 20 runs.

“She’s gotten so good at reading how the defense is playing her that this season was really the first where we just let her do what she wanted to do,” said Kristy Hebert. “Whether it was bunt, slap for a hit … she works year round. She’s just got that competitive nature, excellent coordination … she did an unbelievable job.”

Toni Hebert hit in the two spot for much of the year and set quite the table with Terrio, batting .519 herself to go along with 16 RBIs and 29 stolen bases.

“She’s does a lot of the little things. She moves those runners across and gets the bunt down, and a lot of times she’s able to beat it out with her speed,” said Kristy Hebert. “Defensively, she improved a great deal this season and did a good job for us wherever we needed her. I thought she struggled a little early, but once she got out of basketball mode she began to heat up for us.”

Faucheux’s All-State selection was provided the positive cap to a career that had seen its share of bad luck, losing much of his sophomore and junior seasons to injury.

But as a senior, he batted .400 to go with a .518 on-base percentage. He scored 25 runs, drove in 15, hit two home runs and led all Rebel starters in OPS by far with a mark of 1.118.

“He did everything we could ever have asked for,” said Riverside baseball coach Matt White. “Hits over .400 from that three-hole, plays solid defense … He had a heck of a playoff run last year after returning from that broken leg and he kept it going.

“He was the heart and soul of our team this season.”