Berwick High School will meet South Beauregard Thursday.

No. 3 Berwick High School enters its Class 3A semifinal contest Thursday against No. 7 South Beauregard with more than just a glowing fan base abuzz about the school’s success this year.
Just check out some of the team member’s hair. Some members of the team dyed their hair either partially or completely blonde following their quarterfinal series win against No. 6 Buckeye last weekend.
Berwick senior pitcher Cameron Wiley said the idea started in class when someone broached the idea about dying their hair blonde if they made it to Sulphur.
“It never set in (that we were actually doing this) until we’re actually sitting in the salon (Sunday) and we all have bleach in our hair,” he said.
Don’t expect any changes if they bring home a title this weekend, either.
“Just rock the blonde,” Wiley said.
Before the Panthers can worry about a state title, however, they must knock off the defending Class 3A runner-ups from a year ago in South Beauregard at 4:30 p.m. on Field 41 at McMurry Park in Sulphur Thursday in semifinal action.
“It’s going to be a very, very tough game,” Berwick Coach John Menard said.
South Beauregard’s roster is headlined by two University of Louisiana at Lafayette signees, left-handed pitcher Logan Savoy and centerfielder Jansen Fontenot.
Savoy was the state’s Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2016. A year ago, he finished the season 10-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 115 strikeouts while also batting 0.365 with five home runs, 16 doubles and 38 RBIs. He earned All-American honors from Louisville Slugger, MaxPreps and Perfect Game and was a second-team Louisville Slugger All-American in 2015. Entering his senior season, he was 25-2 on the mound with a 1.35 ERA with four saves and 255 strikeouts in his prep career.
“They have some talent,” Menard said. “They have some guys that are going play college (ball). They have some guys on the mound that are really, pretty good. (They have) some guys with some speed. They can swing it real well, so this is going to be one of the better teams that we’ve faced.”
Berwick has a large senior class this season with nine players who have been playing together since they were youngsters.
“It’s just been an awesome experience,” senior second baseman Cody Roberie said of this season with his fellow seniors. “Never get it back. Just blessed to be in the position we’re in, and (we’ll) remember this for life” Berwick is led on the mound this year by Wiley, who is 10-2 with a 1.46 ERA. In 67 innings, he has allowed 21 runs (14 earned) on 27 hits with 37 walks and fanned 96.
Roberie leads the Panthers at the plate with a 0.365 batting average. He has collected 27 hits, including two doubles, and has 18 RBIs. Roberie has scored 19 runs and stolen 10 bases.
Meanwhile, sophomore Mitchell Sanford is hitting 0.359 with 42 hits, including eight doubles and two triples. He has 23 RBIs, has scored 31 runs and has stolen 13 bases.
Senior Andrew Askew is batting 0.357 with 30 hits, including seven doubles, one triple and two home runs. He has 28 RBIs, 30 runs scored and has stolen eight bases.
Wiley is batting 0.355 with 38 hits, including nine doubles, two triples and three home runs. He has collected 24 RBIs, stolen 15 bases and scored 31 runs.
The winner of Thursday’s Berwick-South Beauregard game will face the winner of the contest between No. 1 Brusly and No. 5 Iowa Saturday. That second semifinal contest will be played Thursday at 7:30 p.m.