Catholic High School pitchers Lane Fenske and Luke Hewitt combined for 27 strikeouts to advance the Panthers baseball team to the District 7-2A championship game on Saturday, defeating Loreauville (12-14) on Tuesday and Houma Christian (16-8) on Thursday. 

The wins come after tough losses against University Lab and Riverside Academy that moved CHS to 13-9 before the district tournament began. 

Now, the Panthers have a 15-9 record, are ranked as the No. 4 team in Select Division III and are inching closer to yet another district championship. 

On Tuesday, Catholic High faced off with a familiar foe in Loreauville. After defeating the Tigers 3-0 earlier in the season, the Panthers knew they would get the best out of their rivals when they battled in Broussard’s St. Julien Park.

Loreauville scored first after Gabe Horton’s single brought senior Blake Delcambre across home plate. Two strikeouts and a routine out by second baseman Owen Morris brought the Panthers back to the dugout trailing by one run, but the bigger problem was Fenske’s stability problems on St. Julien Park’s artificial pitching mound. A quick change of footwear solved the issue, and Loreauville runners never made it past second base for the remainder of the game. 

Catholic High’s offense answered back with runs of their own, scoring twice in the first inning, twice more in the fourth and adding the fifth and final run in the sixth inning. Cohen Evan led the team in RBIs with two. 

For Fenske, the matchup between Loreauville and Catholic High transcends records as both teams look to gain the upper hand over their rivals. 

“We’re always going to get their best,” he said. “Even when they aren’t having the best year, this is always a good matchup. We just have to trust what we’ve been coached to do and we came out here and did that.”

The LSUE commit ended the night with 13 strikeouts, throwing 75 strikes from 108 pitches and allowing just two hits. 

The winning ways continued on Thursday when the Panthers hosted Houma Christian after the Warriors defeated Delcambre on Wednesday. Back home, on familiar ground, the CHS pitching staff was flawless. 

Sophomore pitcher Luke Hewitt hit his 115-pitch limit just in time to claim a no-hitter after striking out 14 batters in the district semifinal. The win advanced Catholic High to the final game of the tournament on Saturday, where the Panthers will host either Loreauville or Houma Christian.

The district tournament format is unique in the area. While most local teams play district opponents throughout March and April, the double-elimination tournament format that 7-2A uses condenses all games down to a one week period. 

After playing some of the toughest teams in the state before beginning district play, the transition can be challenging for Catholic High. In addition to having to carefully manage the pitching staff to ensure everyone gets adequate rest and recovery time, the team also has to cope with a change in difficulty. While every team sets out to win the district title, CHS players know that their reign on top means everyone will bring their A game when they face the Panthers. 

“We have to keep grinding,” said Fenske. “We know that we’re going to get their best and, these teams may not be a U High or Parkview-level team, but as long as we keep improving each game it’s going to help us out in the long run.”

Following Saturday’s district title game, Catholic High will end the regular season with an away game at Breaux Bridge and a home contest against Erath before beginning the playoffs. As the No. 4 seed, the Panthers will be given a first-round bye and advance to face either the No. 13 or No. 20 seed.