Sanford, Hoffpauir lead area recipients

Berwick High School seniors Mitchell Sanford and Zeph Hoffpauir led the area’s selections on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3A All-State Baseball team.
Sanford, an LSU signee, was a first-team outfielder, while Hoffpauir, a Louisiana Ragin Cajun signee, made the first team as an infielder.
Berwick had three more honorable mention selections, while Patterson had one honorable mention selections.
Berwick’s Seth Canty, Chad LaGrange and Barrett Hover each were honorable mention selections, while Patterson’s Reid Perkins was an honorable mention pick.
Sanford finished his senior season with a .427 batting average. He had 12 doubles, seven triples, six home runs, 30 RBIs and 61 runs scored.
On the mound, he had a 2-1 record with a 1.88 ERA and 23 strikeouts.
“Obvioulsy, Mitchell is a great talent, but he is also a great kid and a hard worker, and I think he’ll do big things at LSU,” Berwick High School Coach Brandon Bravata said.
Hoffpauir batted .354 this year with 10 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 44 RBIs and 42 runs scored.
On the mound, he was 5-3 with a 2.29 ERA with 90 strikeouts.
“Zeph’s the hardest working kid I’ve ever coached,” Bravata said. “He deserves every honor that he gets and will continue to be successful as long as he works hard at UL.”
Canty finished his junior season with a 10-1 record on the mound with a 2.39 ERA and 64 strikeouts.
“Seth Canty was our ace on the mound,” Bravata said. “He had an amazing season leading our team in just about all pitching categories.”
LaGrange concluded his senior season with a .398 batting average with eight doubles, two triples, 36 RBIs and 37 runs scored.
“Chad is a kid that has done a really good job at the plate for us the last two years,” Bravata said. “He always seems to come up with the big base hit when you need them.”
Hover finished his final season as a Berwick Panther with a .370 batting average with nine doubles, two triples, three home runs, 45 RBIs and 35 runs scored.
“Barrett was outtanding for us all year long, especially being in the nine hole, and he gave us a real bump at the end of the lineup,” Bravata said.
Perkins, a junior pitcher, recorded a 7-3 mark this season with one save and a 1.78 ERA. In 59 innings, he struckout 83.
“He actually stepped up huge this year for us,” Patterson Head Coach Blayze Romero said. “He was obviously our ace on the mound. When he was on, he was one of the more dominant pitchers I’ve seen all year. ... He was a stud.”
Sterlington’s Trey Rugg was named Class 3A Outstanding Player, while St. Charle Catholic’s Wayne Stein is the Class 3A Coach of the Year.
Other representatives from District 8-3A, which Berwick and Patterson compete in, to earn all-state honors were: Erath’s Matt Domingues (first-team outfielder), Erath’s Brandon Noel (honorable mention), North Vermilion’s Garrett Becker (honorable mention) and NOrth Vermilion’s Hayden Durke (honorable mention).
Additional reporting by www.theadvocate.com/sports