If Catholic High is going to send retiring baseball coach David Jordan out with a state championship, the Panthers could very well face University Lab in the late rounds of the playoffs.

The Panthers hosted the Cubs in a state tournament-type atmosphere on Saturday morning. CHS was No. 3 in the Division III select power ratings in the days leading up to the game; U-High was No. 2. 

CHS took a slim lead into the seventh inning, but the Cubs scored two runs and got the final out in the bottom half of the frame with the tying run on base to head back to Baton Rouge with a 5-4 win. 

“We knew it was going to be a big game,” Jordan said. “We knew it was going to be a close game. We had two outs (in the seventh) and nobody on base and couldn’t get that third out. It’s a tough pill to swallow for us.”

Lane Fenske was the starting pitcher for the Panthers (13-8), who are No. 4 in the power ratings. The senior LSU-Eunice signee allowed three runs (one earned) with six strikeouts and six walks over 5.2 innings. 

“Lane definitely threw well enough to win the ball game,” Jordan said. “He comes up and helps himself out with a big three-run home run. He’s done that all year. He’s been one of our top hitters and a clutch hitter.”

Fenske began four of six innings with a strikeout, and he finished the second and third frames by striking out a Cub with a runner on base. His homer scored Gavin Roy and Maddox Nacol. The senior was robbed of an extra-base by a diving catch by the U-High right fielder in the third inning.

“I’m proud of our guys,” Jordan said. “They got the program back to its normal status, which is one of the top programs in the state. This game isn’t going to kill us. We have a fourth of the season left. We just have to continue to play with confidence and improve.”

The Cubs (14-6, No. 2 in Division III) scored a run in the first and two in the fifth inning. Fenske picked off a runner, and catcher Cohen Evans threw out two runners attempting to steal. Evans also doubled in the fifth inning.

Nacol (shortstop), Izaac Andre (third base) and Owen Morris (second base), who had an RBI groundout in the fourth inning, made sharp defensive plays. 

“Cohen is really good back there,” Jordan said of his catcher. “A lot of teams don’t even run on him. When it’s crunch time, I want people to hit grounders to Izaac. He’s really consistent.”

JD Hidalgo had three hits, including a double in the second inning. Luke Hewitt and Hidalgo pitched in relief of Fenske. Hewitt recorded two outs in the top of the seventh before the Cubs got two singles sandwiched around a walk. 

“Hats off to them,” Jordan said. “We threw what I thought was a pretty good pitch, and their guy comes up in a clutch situation and gets a really big hit.”

CHS has upcoming games at home against Riverside (12-9) on March 2, Delcambre (13-11) on April 1, and Erath (13-8) on April 10. The Panthers play at Breaux Bridge (12-9) on April 8.

“We had a hard time finding games,” Jordan said. “We’re accustomed to playing three times a week. We only play once (this week). We just went to Tioga. We couldn’t find other games unless we traveled to Shreveport.

“I don’t want to wear us out too much with that. This is a great opportunity for us to get healthy, to practice, get better and work on our weaknesses. I like the way it looks – the way it’s going to finish up.”