Jesuit High School of New Orleans

Blue Jays, Focused and Trusting In Each Other, Seek a State Championship in Sulphur

Posted May 15, 2014 / Last updated May 16, 2014

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Jays Play Live Oak Eagles Friday, May 16 at 4 PM with Winner Advancing to Saturday’s Championship Game

With a dark sky looming in the background, the 2014 Jesuit baseball team is joined by Blue Jay alumnus John Ryan '70 for a photo at home plate. The Jays bring a 32-5 record to the LHSAA State Tournament where they will play the 10th-seeded Eagles of Live Oak in the semifinal game on Friday, May 16 at 4 p.m.

With a dark sky looming in the background, the 2014 Jesuit baseball team is joined by Blue Jay alumnus John Ryan ’70 for a photo at home plate. The Jays bring a 32-5 record to the LHSAA State Tournament where they will play the 10th-seeded Eagles of Live Oak in the semifinal game on Friday, May 16 at 4 p.m.

View the Photo Gallery of Game 1, Jesuit vs. Alexandria

View the Photo Gallery of Game 2, Jesuit vs. Alexandria

The Jesuit Blue Jays are bound for Sulphur on Friday morning, May 16, one of the final four Class 5A teams converging for the biggest showdown of the season at the LHSAA State Baseball Tournament. It will be the Jays’ first trip to the state tournament since 2011 when they beat Lafayette at Tulane’s Turchin Stadium to win their 20th championship.

Jesuit is seeded 3rd and brings a 32-5 record to the tournament. The Jays will play the 10th seeded Eagles of Live Oak in a Class 5A semifinal game. The first pitch is at 4 p.m. at McMurry Park’s field #41.

Games Will Be Broadcast & Streamed

Jesuit will broadcast the semifinal game on radio station WSLA (ESPN Radio – 1560 AM), which can be heard only in the New Orleans area. However, the broadcast will be streamed live on the radio station’s web site: http://www.wslaradio.com/

If Jesuit plays in the championship game Saturday at 5 p.m., that game will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM as well as streamed live on the radio station’s web site: http://wgso.com/

Jesuit’s broadcasting team will be Jude Young ’95, who will call the play-by-play, and Billy Babin ’74, who will offer analysis and commentary. First NBC Bank is sponsoring the Jesuit broadcasts.

The National Federation of High Schools Network will also be in Sulphur streaming the playoffs as pay-per-view events. The Class 5A championship game will not be among their offerings. However, the two Class 5A semifinals will be broadcast on a pay-per-view basis.  More information is here.

WVUE-TV FOX Sports New Orleans is taping the 5A Championship game but the earliest date it will air is Saturday, May 24 at 9:30 p.m. Additional air dates can be viewed on the LHSAA web site.

The winner of the Jesuit – Live Oak game plays for all the marbles in Saturday’s championship game against whichever team emerges victorious in the Barbe – St. Amant semifinal game, scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. The Bucs of Barbe hold the #1 seed and the Gators of St. Amant are seeded 5th.

“An Unbelievable Opportunity” – Coach Joey Latino

“This is an unbelievable opportunity and I cannot be any happier for you guys,” head Coach Joey Latino told his team following their two-game sweep of 6th seeded Alexandria last week (May 9-10) at John Ryan Stadium. “What you have done is a tribute to your character. Let’s not be satisfied. Let’s go to Sulphur ready and focused. I wouldn’t expect anything less. Let’s give it our best shot.”

The Jays have practiced hard all week and the team’s senior pitching aces – C.J. Avrard and Brandon Sequeira – are well rested. Between the two right-handers, they’ve won 19 games this season with Sequeira winning 10, one more than Avrard. Each pitcher has a single loss on their record.

The Jays vs. the Trojans

Against the Trojans of Alexandria, Coach Latino sent Sequeira to the mound in the opening game, which was interrupted by torrential downpours three times. The umpires ultimately postponed the game in the bottom of the fifth inning because of the bad weather. The following day, the game picked up where it left off – the score was tied, 3-3, the Jays were batting and had one out, Harrison Daste was on 3rd base, and designated hitter Stephen Sigle had a 1-2 count on him. The first pitch was a ball to even the count. The second pitch was all Sigle’s. He hit a blooper to left field that easily scored Daste from 3rd. The Jays’ 4-3 lead held up for two more innings.

Coach Latino called on Avrard for the second game against Alexandria. Easily the biggest player on the team, Avrard encountered some turbulence in the early innings, but worked through it. The first two innings were scoreless and then the Jays erupted for three runs in the top of the 3rd, two more in the 4th, and the final three runs in the 5th. The 8-0 win was Avrard’s fourth shutout of the season.

The Blue Jay bats came alive in that second game and the Trojan pitchers were tagged for 11 hits, including an inside-the-park home run by senior Blake Baker, who belted one in deep center field (scoring Sequeira who had just hit a stand-up double and would later hit a single). An errant throw from the Trojan centerfielder didn’t hurt Baker as he rounded 3rd and headed home on a full sprint, sliding the final six feet, and momentarily sitting on his haunches with a sheepish grin on his face. His teammates went bananas.

Wielding hot bats against Alexandria last Saturday were Alex Galy, who went 4-for-4, including a double, and had 2 RBIs. Stephen Sigle, the hero of Game 1, had 2 RBIs and showed the Trojans the real definition of a designated hitter by smacking a double and a single.

Spirit Bus

If Jesuit advances to the championship game on Saturday (5 p.m.), the Student Council is planning to support the team by mobilizing a “Spirit Bus” full of Blue Jays. The bus will leave at 11 a.m. Saturday from the Traditions Courtyard and return around midnight. Students will need a permission form to board the bus. The forms can be obtained from the Council’s office in Room 113, but must be completed and turned in by the end of lunch on Friday. Act quickly because seats on the bus are limited. Students will need to buy a $10 admission ticket at the game and have enough money to cover dinner on the return trip.

Read More…

Nola.com: Jesuit coach Joey Latino, catcher Trent Forshag and shortstop Alex Galy talk to Advocate Online Sports Editor Pierce W. Huff about how the Blue Jays are rested and prepared going into Friday’s Class 5A semifinal game against Live Oak.

N.O. Advocate: Jesuit’s Alex Galy, Brett Forshag chasing state title that eluded their fathers

N.O. Advocate: Jesuit finds winning in coach Joe Latino’s details

Nola.com: Live Oak hoping to keep its payoff push going against Jesuit

Galleries

Baseball vs. Alexandria, Game 2 Quarterfinals, Best of 3, Saturday, May 10, 2014

  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_12
    In the 4th inning, Brandon Sequeira (playing 3rd base in this game) whacks a double to center field.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_23
    With a dark sky looming in the background, the 2014 Jesuit baseball team is joined by Blue Jay alumnus John Ryan '70 for a photo at home plate. The Jays bring a 32-5 record to the LHSAA State Tournament where they will play the 10th-seeded Eagles of Live Oak in the semifinal game on Friday, May 16 at 4 p.m.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_22
    Surrounded by his players in the shelter of the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Pavilion, Coach Joey Latino sings their praises while also reminding them that a hard week of practices lie ahead.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_21
    The Trojans, who were seeded 6th in the Class 5A playoffs, and the Blue Jays (3rd seed) meet on the infield.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_20
    Trent Forshag (left) celebrates with senior pitcher Christian Latino.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_19
    With the final out, the Jays win, 8-0, to earn themselves a trip to the LHSAA State Baseball Tournament in Sulphur. Infielders Blake Baker and Alex Galy do their traditional "jump 'n bump."
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_18
    As Game 2 approaches the final inning, the sunny to partly cloudy skies enjoyed by the players and fans for most of the game dissipate as May showers cover the field. The game, however, was not interrupted.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_17
    Among the Blue Jay spectators enjoying the game in John Ryan Stadium's covered grandstand is the facility's namesake - John Ryan of the Class of 1970. Ryan, who lives in Houston but frequently comes home to New Orleans, acknowledges a standing ovation given to him by appreciative fans.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_16
    The Jays tagged Alexandria's pitchers for 11 hits while C.J. Avrard and Company held the Trojans to only four scattered hits, this being one of them - a blooper that falls between 2nd base and shallow center field, where Nick Ray easily manages the play.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_15
    With Blake Baker's ITPHR - inside the park home run - the Jays go up, 5-0, and their faces show it.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_14
    ... Blake Baker slides safely home and momentarily just sits where he landed. His teammates pour like rain out of the dugout to congratulate him with Alex Galy being the first to offer a hand-up. Brandon Sequeira, who scored from 2nd, holds the bat Baker used while catcher Trent Forshag defies gravity.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_13
    With Sequeira on 2nd base, Blake Baker jumps all over this pitch and drops a big bomb in deep center field. Baker runs the bases faster than the proverbial speeding bullet and upon reaching 3rd base, Coach Latino waves him in...
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_01
    A good crowd shows up at John Ryan Stadium on Saturday afternoon (May 10) to watch two good teams duke it out. First order of business was to finish what was started the night before in Game 1 between Jesuit and Alexandria. The umpire crew postponed the game in the bottom of the 5th inning as a result of heavy rain. Well, the Jays won Game 1, 4-3. All they had to do now was win this game to advance to the semifinals of the LHSAA State Tournament.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_11
    Stephen Sigle, one of the heroes of the first game against Alexandria, pops up at this at-bat, leaving two Jays stranded on bases. By game's end, however, Sigle once again shows Alexandria the definition of designated hitter by collecting 2 RBIs on two hits, including a double.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_10
    Sporting a 2-zip lead, soon to be 3-zip by the end of the inning, the Blue Jays in the dugout go wild and erupt in cheers.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_09
    Alex Galy, whose big double yields 2 RBIs, acknowledges the "attaboys" from Coach Latino and teammate Blake Baker.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_08
    In the top of the 3rd inning, the Jays load the bases when Alex Galy smacks a stand-up double scoring Brandon Sequeira and Nick Ray, the first two runs of the game. With Galy's double, Blake Baker, who was on 1st base, advances to 3rd where head Coach Joey Latino wisely holds him.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_07
    This Trojan was on first base when a sharp grounder was hit to 3rd baseman Brandon Sequeira. He fired a bullet to 2nd baseman Blake Baker for the force out, but the Jays just missed the second half of the double play at 1st base.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_06
    C.J. Avrard pitched a complete game, his 4th shutout this season. He struck out 6 Trojans in this game. Avrard brings a 9-1 record to the LHSAA State Baseball Tournament in Sulphur.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_05
    Shortstop Alex Galy had four hits, including three singles and a double. In the bottom of the first, Galy seizes the opportunity to steal second base, and off he goes.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_04
    The Jays batted in the top of the inning in Game 2. They wasted little time hugging the rail in the dugout and making noise.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_03
    Taking it all in is this Jesuit trio. Frank Misuraca, who retired as Jesuit's longtime baseball coach and athletic director, is flanked by two of his former players - Kurt Forshag (left) and John Ryan, both from the Class of 1970. Forshag's nephew is catcher Trent Forshag '15.
  • baseball-2014_quarterfinals-game2_jhs8valexandria0_05102014_02
    A 45-minute break following the completion of Game 1 ends with the Blue Jays united in prayer, ready to start Game 2 of the Best of 3 series.