Westgate’s Charles heads talented team

Published 6:15 am Sunday, July 2, 2017

Westgate High School senior Johnathan Charles is the Best of the Teche MVP for the 2017 baseball season.

The 2017 baseball season was a strong one for Teche Area baseball teams, with one team reaching the semifinals, four advancing to the quarterfinals and an additional four teams earning playoff bids, three of whom reached the regional round.

Those four quarterfinal teams — Westgate, Erath, Loreauville and Catholic High — head The Daily Iberian’s Best of the Teche baseball squad for 2017, with several other area squads also contributing to the team comprised of the top high school baseball players in the newspaper’s coverage area.

Westgate High School senior Johnathan Charles earned Most Valuable Player honors on the squad selected by the sports staff of The Daily Iberian, chosen from a strong list of contenders.

Charles went 8-2 with a 2.42 earned run average, striking out 94 batters in 64 innings and earning first-team All-District honors as a pitcher. He also batted .405 on the year with 11 doubles, five home runs, 41 RBIs and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) percentage of 1.136.

WHS coach Greg Fontenot said he truly feels Charles was the best overall player in the area.

“We played a very tough schedule and he produced on the mound and at the plate,” Fontenot said. “He was one vote away from district MVP in a very good district.”

Charles will play baseball at Texas College and has come a long way in the classroom, his coach said.

“Nobody has done the things this young man has done against the competition that he’s done it against,” Fontenot said. “He single-handedly led us to the quarterfinals. This kid deserves it more than anyone.”

Loreauville coach Robert Segura and Westgate’s Greg Fontenot share Coach of the Year honors. 

Loreauville’s Bryson Broussard was another player making a bid for MVP honors. The District 5-2A MVP batted .512 with eight doubles, four triples, six homers and 30 RBIs. He also went 5-0 with a 0.683 ERA. Broussard pitched and played in both the infield and outfield for the Tigers, who reached the Class 2A quarterfinals.

Erath junior Chandler LeBlanc also was considered for the MVP honors. An outfielder, LeBlanc hit .415 with three triples, a home run, 25 RBIs 36 stolen bases to help the Bobcats reach the Class 3A quarterfinals.

Mason Shuffler was another candidate for MVP honors after helping ESA reach the Division V semifinals. Shuffler, a senior pitcher and first baseman, batted .338 with a .459 on-base percentage, a .915 OPS, two doubles, three triples, 27 RBIs, 22 runs and 15 walks with only seven strikeouts. He also stole seven bases. As a pitcher he went 6-3 with a 2.053 ERA, striking out 79 and walking 21 in 44.1 innings while compiling a .992 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched). He also threw two no-hitters, one against Bell City in district and one in the quarterfinals against Patrick Taylor.

Chase Mensman of Hanson also was an MVP candidate. The senior catcher batted .500 with five doubles, a triple, 12 RBIs and a .626 on-base percentage. HMS coach Christian Steiner said Mensman was consistent behind the plate, never complaining and helping motivate the team all 

season.

Catholic High’s Broc Romero was a workhorse on the mound and at the plate for the Panthers, going 6-4 with a 2.406 ERA and 53 strikeouts with just 18 walks in a team-high 64 innings pitched. At the plate the junior hit .330 with seven doubles, 27 RBIs and 24 runs scored.

New Iberia’s Austin Trahan, a senior, batted ..364, including .395 in a first-team All-District 3-5A season. A catcher, he had 11 doubles, three home runs and and 28 RBIs. He never missed a start in four years as a starter, coach Robby Norris said, helping earn a nod for MVP honors.

Charles, Romero, Shuffler, Erath’s Mason Granger and Hanson’s Spencer Bishop earned first-team Best of the Teche honors as pitchers.

Granger went 5-1 with two saves and a 2.02 ERA. Bishop was 4-2 with a 3.6 ERA and struck out 26 batters in 30 innings.

The infield includes Chase Clifton of Loreauville at first base, Beau Hebert of New Iberia at second base, Kameron Broussard of Loreauville at third base and Hunter Dugas of Catholic High at shortstop. Mensman is the catcher.

Clifton batted .343 with a ..466 on-base percentage and 23 RBIs. Hebert batted .369 with a .522 on-base percentage. He had seven doubles, a home run, 18 RBIs and 26 runs scored. Kameron Broussard hit .457 with a .565 on-base percentage and 23 RBIs. Dugas was a first-team All-District pick and batted .288 with 24 RBIs and 25 runs. He also was 3-1 with a save and a 1.135 ERA as a pitcher.

Outfielders are LeBlanc, Shajuan Nora of Loreauville and Brennon Bryant of Catholic High. 

Nora batted .403 with 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 23 RBIs as a sophomore. Bryant hit .319 with three triples, 19 runs and 13 RBIS.

Several players earned honors as utility players to fill out the first team, including Bryson Broussard and Rhette Viator of Loreauville, Westgate’s Sebastien Jenkins and Daniel Segura, Erath’s Bren Faulk, ESA’s Cole Breaux, Hanson’s Jack Vaccarella, Catholic High’s Dylan LeBlanc and Luke Verret, Delcambre’s Payton DeRanger, New Iberia’s Trahan, Centerville’s Gage Burgess, Franklin’s Brent Ina and Jardyn Mccoy and Matt Napier of Highland Baptist.

Viator, an infielder and pitcher, batted .409 with a .554 on-base percentage and 22 RBIs, and was 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA.

Jenkins, a junior catcher, batted .344 with 11 doubles, two triples, two homers and 43 RBIs. He was a first-team All-District pick as a utility player. Segura, a senior outfielder, batted .371 with 14 doubles, eight triples and 32 RBIs.

Faulk, a senior, hit .402 with 30 RBIs and 35 stolen bases.

Breaux, a senior shortstop, batted .465 with a .567 on-base percentage and a 1.229 OPS. He had eight doubles, three triples, 26 RBIs, 29 runs and 15 walks with only nine strikeouts and stole 26 bases.

Vaccarella, a junior first baseman, hit .415 with four doubles, 14 RBIs and a .471 on-base percentage.

Burgess, a catcher and pitcher, batted .390 with 25 RBIs and threw out 10 runners trying to steal. He went 7-3 on the hill with 64 strikeouts in 60 innings.

Ina, a senior, hit .312. He played shortstop and pitched. McCoy, a freshman shortstop/pitcher, hit .397.

Napier, a junior and the Bears’ starting shortstop, hit .442 with 22 RBIs and 20 runs scored, earning first-team All-District utility honors and team MVP honors.

Honorable mentions include Dondre Johnson of West St. Mary; Caleb Washington and Dale Sonnier of Loreauville; Shea Duplechin and Andre Touchet of Erath; Luke Naquin and Clarke Patrone of ESA; Catholic High School’s Alex Guilbeau, Spencer Broussard, Cole Lipari and Kade Gonsoulin; Luke Lancon, Luke Rodriguez, Noah Judice, Payton Trahan and Brock Broussard of Hanson; Max Borel, Austin Norris, Andre Landry, Tyrese Morgan, Trevor Benoit, Brant Leslie and Caleb Seroski of New Iberia; Logan Broussard of Centerville; Jardyn McCoy, Lamar Joseph and Ruston Bertrand of Franklin; Delcambre;s Trevor Baudoin, Logan LeBlanc and Cole Delcambre; and Alex Miller of Highland Baptist.