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SULPHUR — St. Charles Catholic couldn’t keep up with top-seeded Notre Dame during the final innings of Friday’s Division III baseball championship in Sulphur. The game ended in a score of 7-2 after the Pios capitalized on a double in the sixth inning.

Coach Wayne Stein said the Comets didn’t perform as well as they were capable of, but they kept their heads in the game until the very end.

“We walked six guys in six innings, but our kids competed. When they got runs in the second, we answered back,” Stein said. “I’m proud of my kids. They were resilient all year. We replaced pretty much everybody off of the championship team from 2019, and they gave us a chance (to win another state title).”

Stein said the Comets were “kind of playing with fire all night.” Notre Dame kept the bases loaded for most of the game. The Comets managed to get out of tough spots by playing defensively, only allowing a run here and there.

After Notre Dame scored two runs in the second inning, St. Charles Catholic’s Anthony Fernandez singled on a 2-2 count at the top of the third inning to drive in two runs. The game was tied at 2-2 until the Pios added another two runs in the fifth. With two outs in the sixth inning, Notre Dame scored three runs on a double to raise the score to 7-2.

Senior Cade Prejeant led the Comets with two hits, and he also struck out three from the pitcher’s mound. Joey Nuccio, Austin St. Pierre and Ayden Authement also had hits during the championship game.

Stein is proud of the fortitude the Comets displayed not just in the playoffs, but throughout the entire season.

“I put together a tough schedule. There was a time when we were 9-8, and they could have easily started pointed the finger at each other and me. They banded together. They worked harder, and ultimately there’s an opportunity again to win a state championship,” Stein said. “I can’t say enough about our seniors and our leadership. That’s the legacy that they’re going to leave going forward.”

Stein is losing 10 seniors this year, but there are a multitude of guys returning for 2022.

“We start five, and four of the guys in our lineup are coming back. Most of the starting pitchers are coming back. We do lose our top relievers because they were all seniors,” Stein said. “It’s St. Charles Catholic. We don’t rebuild; we just reload. We expect to be there in the end. The names will change, but the expectations don’t change.”