Avoyelles Public Charter School Punches Ticket to Sulphur

The Avoyelles Public Charter School Vikings punched their ticket to Sulphur for the second consecutive year after a 6-1 quarterfinal win over Oak Hill on Wednesday night. The defending Division V Select State Champions will head to the 2024 LHSAA Baseball State Tournament with a record of 19-5 on the season.

The Vikings wasted no time jumping out to an early lead against the Rams on Wednesday night. After a 1-2-3 inning on the mound from Conner Mayeux, Tanner Dupuy led off the bottom of the first with a solo homerun to give the Vikings a quick 1-0 lead. The Vikings would then load the bases in the first after a Ram error, walk, and hit by pitch setting the stage for Carson Lemoine. Lemoine jumped on an 0-1 breaking ball, sending one to left field and scoring two to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead after one inning of play.

The Vikings would score two more runs in the bottom of the second after a leadoff double by Noah Schexnayder was followed up by four singles and a sacrifice fly by Luke Ponthier.

Those five early runs were more than enough for Mayeux on the mound who earned his fifth win of the season after a six-inning performance. Mayeux allowed only one run on three hits and finished his night with seven strikeouts. He handed the ball to fellow senior JP Bordelon in the seventh inning with a 6-1 lead. Bordelon would retire the Rams in order to secure the win and book the Vikings’ spot in the Division V Select Semifinals.

Seven Vikings had a hit in the victory led by Dupuy who finished his night with two hits. Lemoine, to go along with his two-run single, reached base safely two more times on the night. Ponthier and Sebastian Lemoine both drove in runs on sacrifice-flies. To go along with his closing performance on the mound, Bordelon also drove in a run with an RBI single through the left side of the infield.

The Vikings will play their semifinal game on Tuesday, May 7 at 11 a.m. CT against the winner of the Family Christian and Rapides game that will take place on Friday. The semifinals will take place at McMurry Park in Sulphur, Louisiana.