These four 4A high school teams, Neville, Shaw, Teurlings Catholic, and Zachary are the quarterfinalists for the 2008 Louisiana 4A state baseball championships. Below is a brief history of each team's 2008 season.
Neville
Neville makes great strides
A year ago, Neville was its own worst enemy. Defensive struggles and an inability to consistently throw strikes sent Tim O'Neal's team to a second-round playoff exit. Now, in O'Neal's second season at the Monroe school, the Tigers are much more confident in those areas and the result has been a 10-win improvement and the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A playoffs. "We had a lot of big innings against us last year," O'Neal said. "This year, our pitching and our defense are much better." While the pitching and defense have improved, the biggest thing Neville has going for it is a powerhouse offense. "We've got five seniors hitting over .440," O'Neal said. "We're hitting .411 and our average has gone up in the playoffs."
Neville
Nickname: Tigers
Location: Monroe, LA
Record: 35-5
Seed: 1
Key pitchers: Trevor Stennett 10-3; Will Hardy 8-0
Key hitters: 2B Raph Rhymes .491, 50 runs; C Patrick Ensminger .481, 8 HRs, 56 RBIs; SS Ashton Hughes .477, 62 runs, 5 HRs
Playoff road: Defeated Edna Karr 14-1; def. DeRidder 10-0; def. Sam Houston 12-10.
Shaw
Shaw fights back to maintain tradition
Forgive the Archbishop Shaw Eagles if they aren't exactly happy to be here. After all, two straight state semifinal appearances have yet to yield a state title. "It's a positive because the kids have been there before," Shaw coach Doug Faust said. "It's a burden because we feel we have to win district and we started 4-3 in district this year." Then came a game against district rival Vandebilt Catholic. The end result -- a 1-0 no-hit victory -- was the genesis for an eight-game district winning streak. "We got shut out by Belle Chasse 3-0 at their place," Faust said. "We got on the bus and talked about not losing again in disrict. VC was 1 or 2 in the state and we beat them 1-0 in a no-hitter by Kyle Blancaneaux. From that point on, we knew we had our backs agains the wall and had to fight."
Archbishop Shaw
Nickname: Eagles
Location: Marrero, LA
Record: 25-13-1
Seed: 5
Key pitchers: RH Kyle Blancaneaux 8-3; RH Jared Landry 6-4
Key hitters: CF Scott Fabre .550; 2B Ross Barbier .440; LF/RP Beau Boudreaux .350
Playoff road: Defeated St. Martinville 13-7; def. Alexandria 5-2; def. Morgan City 10-7
Teurlings Catholic
New coach keeps Teurlings strong
Mike Thibodeaux knows all about Teurlings Catholic's baseball tradition and that's a big part of the reason he is now the Rebels head coach. Thibodeaux was back in Acadiana for Thanksgiving when he found out the Rebels job was open. "I was in town and I called them and they said come in for an interview," Thibodeaux said. "I was going to come back this summer (from Kentucky) and look for a job. But they offered it to me when I was on my way back to Kentucky. I got home and prayed about it and, by Christmas, I was back here. We started our conditioning and haven't looked back." The Rebels sport a gaudy 30-3 record and have a pair of left-handed pitchers who have signed with Louisiana-Lafayette and Alabama. Then there's the senior class. "I call them cage rats," Thibodeaux said. "They're always hitting. They're such good people and good leaders. They fight to see who can get to practice first."
Teurlings Catholic
Nickname: Rebels
Location: Lafayette
Record: 30-3
Seed: 2
Key pitchers: LH Alex Fuselier 11-0; LHP Taylor Dugas 11-1
Key hitters: CF/LHP Taylor Dugas .641, 11 HRs; CF/LHP Alex Fuselier .527, 10 HRs; SS Jordan Bourque .519
Playoff road: Defeated Warren Easton 10-0; def. Eunice 8-2; def. Holy Cross 8-0
Zachary
Zachary appreciates bull's-eye
So much for dealing with pressure. The Zachary Broncos knew winning last year's Class 4A state championship would put them square in the spotlight and place a target on their respective backs. And they don't mind at all. "I think it's helped us, having the bull's eye, because we've lost almost double the amount of games we did last year," Zachary coach Jesse Cassard said. "Everyone threw their No. 1 at us in tournaments. It's helped us get better." The Broncos have something most teams would covet -- a junior right-handed pitcher who has been the winning pitcher in two state championship games. That would be Zack Von Rosenburg, who beat Captain Shreve in the Class 4A title game last year and beat Sulfer for the 5A crown while pitching for Barbe in 2006. "He gives you a chance to win every game," Cassard said. "He pounds the strike zone and has plus breaking balls. Plus he's a competitor. He's been a winner all his life. It's nice to have a guy you have that much confidence in."
Zachary
Nickname: Broncos
Location: Zachary
Record: 25-14
Seed: 3
Key pitchers: RH Zack Von Rosenburg 11-0; RH Ben Hernandez 8-1
Key hitters: C Jacob Fisher .409, 11 HRs, 49 RBIs; SS Ben Hernandez .423, 36 SB; 3B Joe Martin .390, 6 HRs, 8 RBIs
Playoff road: Def. McDonogh #35 10-0; def. Benton 11-2; def. Franklinton 8-2
