The team exited the double-elimination tournament when it had to forfeit Monday’s scheduled game against Plaquemine Post 167 (St. John High School) due to a lack of roster players.
American Legion rules state that by virtue of Monday’s forfeiture, Peake BMW will not be allowed to advance to the American Legion 19 and Under State Tournament Aug. 1-6 in Gonzales.
  
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“We had players who had to work, players who were hurt and some of other players are on the football team with practice starting Aug. 4. American Legion has a rule saying that if you can’t finish a tournament you are out. I’m happy we made it this far. I’m happy we had a good summer, but some of other players start football practice. There was no way we could field enough players,” Nunez said.
Peake BMW opened play Saturday morning with a 13-7 victory over Pit Stop Exxon (St. Amant) at Johnny Ambeau Park in Gonzales.
Peake BMW center fielder John Gremillion went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, and third baseman Christian Spansel went 2-for 4 with a two-run homer and an RBI triple to lead the 15-hit attack. Catcher Nick Hummel went 2-for-2 with two walks and scored three runs. Drew Francis produced a two-run triple and drove in another run with a ground out, while Nick Bowers went 2-for-5 with two runs batted in and scored twice. Alex Cuntz and Jared Robichaux delivered two hits each in five at bats and both scored two runs. It would be Cuntz’ only appearance in the tournament as he suffered a broken collarbone in a freak accident when a canvas overhead tarp crashed down on him in between games.
Pit Stop Exxon took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second before adding four runs in the third for a 5-0 advantage. Caleb Templet had a two-run triple and pitcher Dylan Delaune (3-5) delivered an RBI sacrifice fly. Peake BMW responded with four runs in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 5-4. Francis contributed a two-run triple, and Spansel followed with an RBI triple in the inning. Peake BMW plated six runs in the seventh inning. The big blow was Spansel’s two-run blast over the left field fence. Gremillion came through with a two-run double. Bowers and Francis also drove in a run in the inning.
Spansel talked about his home run, his fifth of the summer, to lead the team.
“I got a curveball, and I just went with it. I kind of golfed it. I hit it pretty solid, and it went out,” Spasnsel said.
“Ryan (Hickman) gave us a good game, and Kory (Stephens) did a good job in relief. We had a solid game all around, getting 14 hits,” Spansel added.
Hickman said he relied on his fastball.
Peake BMW starter Ryan Hickman (4-2) went seven innings, in the nine-inning format. Hickman allowed five runs on four hits. He recorded seven strikeouts, surviving three hit batsmen and one walk. Kory Stephens pitched two innings of relief, giving up two runs on three hits.
Hickman talked about his outing.
“My fastball was working for me, and I also had a good curveball. I kind of fell apart in the third inning (four runs allowed). I kind of lost my focus, and didn’t control my pitches very well,” Hickman said.
He hit two batters in the inning but struck out a batter for the second out and retired the final batter on a fly ball to right.
Hickman credited his defense with playing well behind him.
Leading 9-5, Peake BMW tacked on three runs in the eighth. Gremillion added a two-run single, and Bowers had an RBI on a double play ground ball.
Peake BMW fell to Gauthier & Amedee Post 81 (Ascension Parish based), the host team, 12-2, Saturday in eight innings. Gauthier and Amedee starting pitcher Micah Gautreau (6-2), an LSU-Eunice signee, pitched a complete game six-hitter. Gautreau was breezing along as he retired the first 12 batters he faced before Spansel doubled off the base of the left-center field fence to lead off the fifth inning. Gremillion drove home Spansel with a two-out single to trim the lead to 3-1. Bowers doubled in the eighth inning and scored on Patrick Donnelly’s triple.
Gautreau said his team’s offense took care of business after a slow start.
“I was able to find my groove, and I hit my spots. I relied on my fastball and slider. I’ve never thrown a nine-inning game before so I was hoping to have that opportunity. I’ll take an eight inning, 10-run rule any day of the week,” Gautreau said.
Gauthier & Amedee third baseman Jessie Burrit went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and scored twice. Britt Gautreaux went 3-for-5 with a run batted in and scored once. Taylor Templet had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. Justin Boudreaux ripped a two-run homer to left in the eighth inning as Gauthier and Amedee plated five runs in the eighth to close out the game, 12-2.
Christian Trent started for Peake BMW and took the loss. He went five and a third innings, giving up five runs on seven hits.
Peake vs. LLOG
In Sunday’s game, Peake BMW squared off with cross-town rival LLOG Exploration (Mandeville High). Peake BMW was the victor in a slugfest, taking the game, 14-11 behind Robichaux, who went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer in the fifth. It was his fourth homer of the summer. Peake BMW pounded out 19 hits. Robichaux (5-0) picked up the victory, going five and a third innings. He gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits. Spansel, Jay Duet and Stephens pitched in relief to finish out the game.
Spansel went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including a run scoring triple in the sixth inning. Beau Trist also had a 3-for-4 game. Trist scored three times and drove in a pair. Eric Guidry was 3-for-6 with 2 RBIs. Bowers chipped in with two hits, driving in a run with a triple and he scored once. Francis and Stephens also drove in one run each.
LLOG Exploration’s Ryan Lassus went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Joey Pajares and Josh Goodwin each had a hit, scored twice and drove in a run. Blake Butera went 1-for-2 with three walks and was hit by a pitch. He scored twice. Josh Lambert contributed an RBI.
LLOG Exploration starter John Wenzel suffered the loss, going four innings. Thomas Anderson threw five innings of relief.
LLOG Exploration lost its first game in the regional tournament Saturday in devastating fashion, falling to Plaquemine Post 167, 11-10. LLOG Exploration held a 10-7 lead entering the bottom of the ninth. Plaquemine Post 167 pushed across four runs in its final at bat to take the hard-fought victory. Shortstop Chad Morales, who was hitless in his first five plate appearances, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, with his team trailing 10-9. He delivered a clutch bloop single to center field on a 3-2 pitch, scoring Seth Holley and Kendal Heins to snatch the victory.
“My heart was pumping out of my chest following the hit. I got a 3-2 fastball. I was trying to lay off the curveball. Luckily, the ball dropped in to give us the win,” Morales said.
LLOG Exploration was able to regroup Sunday, pounding out 16 hits in an 18-6 victory over Pit Stop Exxon in eight innings. LLOG Exploration starter Lee Batchelder tossed a total of 125 pitches going the distance.
Batchelder (4-4) allowed six runs, while scattering nine hits. He struck out nine, walked one and hit a batter. Batchelder talked about his complete game performance.
“I wasn’t expecting to go that far in the game,” Batchelder said. “Coach (Matt) Brown said he was hoping to get about six innings from me. I had a 116 pitches going into the eighth inning. I struck out the side in one inning, and that gave me confidence. My curveball was working pretty well along with my two-seam fastball.”
Pajares, who started in left field, delivered four singles in six at bats, driving in three runs. He scored twice and also stole a base.
Lassus went 3-for-6 with three RBIs. He had two doubles including a two-run double in the fourth inning. Anderson went 3-for-6 with a triple. He drove in a run and scored once. Wenzel was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored once. Catcher Josh D’Arcangelo went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run.
In Monday night’s championship game, Gauthier & Amedee Post 81 (23-16), downed Plaquemine Post 167, 13-2. Starter Brad Delatte (4-2) with three saves picked up the victory. Donnie White and Lee Nasar led the attack.
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