LHSAA baseball playoffs begin
by Joey Martin - posted Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 @ 12:52 pm

Three parish teams will be competing in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association playoffs beginning Friday.

In Class 2A, District 4-2A champion Vidalia hosts wild card Many at 5 p.m., Ferriday makes its first-ever trip into the baseball playoffs at No. 1 Menard, while Monterey visits Castor.

Vidalia finished its regular season at 20-10

Many is 13-12 overall and finished third in District 3-3A at 2-4.

"We just have to play the way we are capable of playing," Hoffpauir said. "We play well at times, but we are not consistent. Our bats began to liven up a bit near the end of the season. We just need good pitching and consistent defense and in this single-game elimination tournament we let the chips fall where they may."

Will Thomas will get the start for Vidalia.

"When Will is on, he's tough," Hoffpauir said. "He's pitched some real good ballgames for us this year."

Monterey finished second in District 3-B, while Castor was second in District 1-B.

"They have a pretty good little pitcher and a couple of boys who hit the ball pretty well," said Monterey coach Hank Zizzi. "Their fielding is not real strong. If we play ball, we have a shot. If we go out and make errors, we can get 10-run ruled."

Ferriday is a wild card from District 4-2A, finishing behind Vidalia and Lake Providence.

Menard, rated No. 1 in the state, won District 3-3A.

"I was surprised we got in, but to very pleased," said Ferriday coach Stephen Collins. "To compete in a play-in game and then get a wild card our first year in district is a step in a positive direction. Our guys are thinking baseball now and we've got the community behind us. Hopefully we can improve our youth programs and keep everything going in the right direction."

Collins took classes at Louisiana College with Eagle coach Jeff Adams.

"I don't think they will overlook us," Collins said. "We just have to go out and practice hard and play as hard as we can."

Senior Kirk Savoy, who is 6-0 on the season, leads a Menard pitching staff.

Savoy is one of three Eagle pitchers signed by Northwestern State, along with Clayton Cooper and J.C. Bredenger, who signed with Odessa Junior College.