By Rodrick Anderson
South Beauregard at long last has another shot at a state champion after exacting revenge Wednesday morning in the nonselect Division III semifinals at the state baseball tournament at McMurry Park.
The No. 1 Golden Knights jumped on No. 5 Doyle in the first two innings to win 6-1. Doyle beat the Golden Knights 3-1 in last year’s semifinals.
“I am so excited for this group of guys,” South Beauregard head coach Jeremy Deville said. “These seniors that has been their goal for four years to play in a state championship.
“They came out here today and played well and played with confidence. Usually, after the first pitch, I am nervous, but Bryce Deason came to me and said, ‘We got this.’ I had a feeling.”
South Beauregard (29-3) will play in a state championship game for the first time since 2019. It will play No. 2 Sterlington at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Sterlington beat No. 14 Berwick 10-0 in five innings in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
Two seniors played key roles in the Golden Knights’ victory. Jace Duhon dominated the Tigers (20-14) on the mound, and Layden Sepulvado made stellar plays in center field and on offense.
Duhon pitched a complete-game three-hitter with four strikeouts and two walks. He has allowed two earned runs in three starts in the playoffs. He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced.
“Jace pitched his butt off,” Deville said. “Same thing, he filled it up, had confidence and pitched by pitch. He didn’t get frustrated, so he did well. Last year he was a little nervous, but you could tell this year he was different. He had a lot of experience from last year. He has been pitching good games for us since he was a freshman. He wanted the ball, and he wanted to finish. I am proud of him.”
Sepulvado smashed a two-run double to left field with one out in the bottom of the first inning to put pressure on the Tigers. In the top of the second inning he laid out to make a diving catch on a line drive by Brody Stewart, and third baseman Jed Henry snagged a hard-hit line drive by Easton Benesta.
“That was big,” Deville said of the defensive gems. “Jed made a nice play at third, and Sepulvado had two great plays in the outfield. Those were doubles against most people. He is a special player. He dives and misses that ball early, and it’s an inside-the-park home run, maybe. He is another senior who is confident in his ability to make that play.”
South Beauregard doubled its lead with three runs in the bottom of the second inning, scoring on Gunner Courtney’s ground out, a bases-loaded walk and Luke Brister’s sacrifice fly.
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