Crowley Pioneer second baseman Hogan Guidry makes a play in a recent game against St. Landry Bank. Guidry and the Pios defeated St. Landry 8-7 Monday afternoon in a District 7 East American Legion contest played at Rayne’s Legion Field.
The Pioneers (2-5), who had lost to the Indians, 3-0, in Opelousas last Friday, overcame a 7-3 deficit midway through the game, scoring five runs in the fifth to take an 8-7 advantage.
“It would be nice to actually get a lead early on instead of having to claw our way back,” said Pioneers’ coach Steve Soper, whose squad had to rally for both of their victories this season. “But our pitching and defense has managed to do well and keep us in games. Offensively, we came out kind of flat and we had to turn it on late but the kids do a great job of making adjustments and finding a way to get it done.”
The improbable comeback started with Andre Thibodeaux being hit with a pitch to start the fifth inning. Brennon Corzine then reached base on an error and Thibodeaux crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Matt Venable followed with an RBI single that cut the lead to 7-5.
Then, with two outs, Nich Benoit singled in Venable and Luke Broussard singled to center. Back-to-back errors by the Indians allowed both runners to score, giving the Pioneers an 8-7 advantage.
In all, the Indians issued seven free passes while committing six errors on the night.
“In the fifth inning, we finally started making some adjustments at the plate and we started putting some balls in play with some authority,” said Soper. “We kind of took advantage of some mishaps they had on the infield with some errors. Like I said, it’s just a credit to our kids. They did a great job of clawing their way back and getting us in position where we can get some base runners on and capitalize on their mistakes.”
Brennon Corzine took over the pitching duties in the sixth inning and worked two scoreless frames to earn his first save of the summer. He sat the Indians down in order in the sixth and had just one runner reach base in the seventh on an error, the Pioneers’ lone miscue of the contest.
Benoit was credited with the victory after giving up two runs on five hits in two innings of work.
“The pitchers did a great job of coming in there and throwing strikes,” said Soper. “They did a great job of really pounding the zone and really letting their defense work behind them.”
Logan Franklin suffered the loss for the Indians, giving up seven runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out two in three innings.
The Indians actually outhit the locals on the night, logging 14 hits off four different pitchers. However, they stranded eight runners in seven innings, seven in scoring position.
Franklin, David Jarrell, Matt Aymond and Nick Goulbert each had two hits while Jeremy Burleigh, Chris Meche, Kyle Arnaud, Nicholas Artall, John Ladd and Christian Sebastien each had one.
The Pioneers managed just five hits, all off Franklin.
Venable, Benoit, Broussard, Austin Bordelon and Hogan Guidry each had singles during the victory.
The Indians took on the Crowley Millers last night,but results were not available at press time.
The Pioneers will be in action again Thursday when they play host to the Crowley Millers. That game is slated for 7 o’clock at Miller Stadium.
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