JOURNAL SPORTS
The weekend of LHSAA quarterfinal baseball playoffs was not a good one for Byrd, Northwood and Calvary as all three had their seasons come to an end.
Northwood, a No. 5 seed in Select Division I, fell to 13- seed Archbishop Rummel 12-4 on Friday and 20-7 Saturday. The Falcons jumped out to early leads in both games but were not able to cool the hot bats of the Raiders. Jaxon Bentzler had a home run in each game and Mason Welch had one in the Friday loss. Northwood finished its season with a 29-10 record.
Byrd, the No. 10 seed in the Select Division I bracket, went to Metairie to face second-seeded Jesuit. The Yellow Jackets battled the Blue Jays unsuccessfully, dropping Friday’s game 3-1 and Saturday 5-3.
Tyler Nichols and KD Harris were both 2-for-3 for Byrd (23-16) in Friday’s pitchers’ duel. Byrd scored three runs in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game to take a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning. Kevin Robinson’s triple scored Walker Fox from first to put Byrd ahead. The Jays got a bases-loaded triple in the seventh to plate the winning runs and advance to the state tournament.
Calvary, the No. 6 seed in Select Division III, traveled to Crowley to face No. 3 seed Notre Dame. The Cavaliers took game one of the series 3-1 Thursday but dropped Game 2 5-2 and then was blanked in the third and deciding game three 3-0 Friday evening. Pioneer pitching limited the Cavaliers to seven hits in the two Friday games with Judson Funderburk going 2-for-3 in game two for the Cavs, who were seeking back-to-back state championships. Instead, they ended the season 27-12.
The Cavaliers’ pursuit for a fourth straight appearance in the semifinals was denied while the Pioneers advance to the semifinals for the third straight year. Notre Dame last failed to advance to the semis in 2019 when Calvary defeated the Pios in the quarterfinals.
