Randal Savoy talks about the impact that Dwayne Latiolais had on the baseball league in Catahoula

By MATTHEW LOUVIERE

Dwayne Latiolais, who tragically passed away last year due to complications with the COVID-19 virus, was honored with a field dedicated in his honor at Catahoula Park.

Latiolais, a Catahoula native, had served as an umpire for the Catahoula league for nearly a decade before his passing.

On Monday, his family and friends joined together on the field where Latiolais spent so much time officiating baseball games to celebrate his life and legacy with a plaque commemorating his dedication to the game and memorializing the field in his honor.

Randal Savoy spoke about the impact that Latiolais had on the league prior to the unveiling of the plaque, which was covered with one of the fallen umpire’s uniform shirts. The plaque, which lists Latiolais’ birth and death dates, also features an inscription that says, “I might not be behind the plate, but I am safe at home.”

Mitchell Melancon, a fellow umpire who has worked with Latiolais for years, said that his knowledge of the rules set him apart from the other officials.

“I’ve known Dwayne for probably about ten years, he and I had been umpiring together off and on,” Melancon said. “He was kind of the go-to person with all of the rules because he does a whole bunch of tournaments all over, so he knows the ins and outs of the game. He was the go-to person for the Catahoula Rec. Department. It wasn’t just the local rules for the parish, he knew all of them. He was always there and able to help out any way that he could.”

Melancon said that Latiolais would always do his best to treat everyone fairly and to help out in any way that he was able.

“He knew the rules, he backed up the rules, and he was always favorable to every person,” he said. “It didn’t matter if it was a local team or not, everyone was treated the same. He was always humble and would help out any way that he could.”

Melancon said that he recently worked his first game on Latiolais’ field where, according to Melancon, Latiolais’ presence is still at the ballpark.

“This was his field, if there was a need for an umpire he was there no matter what,” he said. “Monday was my first game actually umpiring for him, and I could feel that he was there.”