Patterson drops heartbreaker to West Feliciana

The No. 17 Patterson Lumberjacks dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 16 West Feliciana High School in heartbreaking fashion in St. Francisville Tuesday.
Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, West Feliciana (17-12) scored the winning run when Patterson pitcher Reid Perkins was called for a balk, advancing the runner from third base to home.
The inning began when Perkins hit West Feliciana’s leadoff hitter with a pitch. The runner advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Nick Lester for the first out, and moved to third when the following batter, Drake Weller, reached on an error by Patterson shortstop Joseph Larson.
The winning run came home two batters later when a balk was called with the bases loaded and the two-hole hitter, Skyler Ernest, facing a 0-2 count.
Early on, Patterson (18-14) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Noah Bryant, who led off the game with a walk and advanced to third on an error by Braden Corkern, scored on a single by Randy Paul for a 1-0 Patterson lead.
Another run came home two batters later on Larson’s sacrifice fly for a 2-0 Patterson advantage.
West Feliciana scored a run in the bottom of the first when Peyton LaMartine, who doubled to begin the bottom of the frame, scored three batters later on a sacrifice fly by Corkern to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Patterson added a run in the top of the third on Larson’s groundout, while West Feliciana tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the third when Hunter Giroir’s double drove in two runs.
From there, the game turned into a battle of pitchers and defense until the bottom of the seventh.
After Don Diaz’s single in the top of the third, LaMartine relieved starter Brady Trisler on the mound. LaMartine retired 13 of the final 17 batters he faced with just one runner reaching second base after Larson singled and stole second base in the top of the sixth.
Meanwhile, after Giroir’s double in the bottom of the third, Perkins retired eight of the final 12 batters he faced between the third inning and the bottom of the seventh.
LaMartiniere earned the win. In five innings, he surrendered one hit, hit one batter and fanned seven.
Trisler received a no-decision. In two innings, he surrendered three runs (one earned) on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
LaMartiniere and Giroir led West Feliciana’s offense. LaMartiniere was 2-for-3 with a double, two stolen bases and two runs, while Giroir was 1-for-3 with a double, a stolen base and two RBIs. Corkern added a 1-for-2 performance with an RBI.
Paul and Kaden Samuels led Patterson’s offense. Paul was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run, while Samuels was 1-for-3 with a double. Larson added a 1-for-2 performance with an RBI.
Perkins, who pitched a complete game, suffered the loss. In 6.1 innings, he surrendered four runs (three earned) on six hits with three walks, two hit batters and fanned four.
West Feliciana will continue postseason play this weekend when it travels to face top seed Sterlington in a best-of-three series.