By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Five Rapides Parish teams remain in the pursuit of a baseball state championship.
Alexandria Senior High, the sixth seed that defeated Riverdale 8-1 and 15-1 last week, will travel to face No. 3 Rummel in the Division I Select quarterfinals.
Game 1 will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday at Mike Miley Stadium in Metairie, followed by a doubleheader at noon on Saturday.
Menard, the 4 seed in Division III Select, will host No. 5 Dunham in the quarterfinals. The teams will play at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Game 3, if necessary, will begin at noon on Saturday.
Three parish teams remain in the Division V quarterfinals this week. Unlike the top three divisions, Division V does not feature a best-of-three series.
Oak Hill, the 8 seed, will play at No. 1 and defending state champion Avoyelles Charter at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
No. 5 Rapides travels to Baton Rouge to face fourth-seeded Family Christian at 4 p.m. on Friday, while second-seeded Grace Christian hosts No. 7 Downsville at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Merrill Blackburn Field at England Air Park.
ASH’S RIVET TO SIGN TUESDAY: Alexandria Senior High discus thrower Hunter Rivet will have a signing ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in the ASH cafeteria.
Rivet is one of the top throwers in the state of Louisiana, having broken the ASH school record in the discus on four different occasions this season.
His longest throw of the season was 173 feet, 5 inches at the District 2-5A meet, and he finished second at the Region 1-5A meet with a throw of 170-8.
Rivet has won nine of the 10 meets he entered this season and has the No. 2 throw in the state going into Saturday’s Class 5A state meet in Baton Rouge.
STATE TENNIS RESULTS: Menard’s boys tennis team finished third at last week’s LHSAA Division III tennis championships held in Monroe, while the Lady Eagles finished seventh.
Alexandria Senior High’s boys finished seventh in the Division I tournament, while Grace Christian’s boys tied for 15th in Division IV. ASH and Grace Christian’s girls also competed but did not score at the state tournament.
Junior Tommy Monceaux and the doubles tandem of sophomore Jude Meadaa and senior John Eric Laborde paced the Eagles’ team effort by making the quarterfinals.
Senior Jad Meadaa and the doubles duo of seniors Matthew Ritchie and Andrew Cowart each won a match and advanced to the second round.
Senior Lauren Sampey and the doubles tandem of eighth-grader Macie Myrick and sophomore Adacyn Stehr advanced to the state quarterfinals after winning the regional tournament for the Lady Eagles.
Junior Ahsan Mansoor, ASH’s regional singles champion, advanced to the Division I state quarterfinals, while seniors Hashem Halawani and Cameron Chaudhry made the doubles second round to pace the Trojans.
Junior Owen Spears scored for Grace Christian’s boys by advancing to the second round of the state tournament.
STATE GOLF PREVIEW: Two Rapides Parish golfers will tee off at the LHSAA state golf championships that begin today in the Lafayette area.
Morgan Goudeau of Tioga will compete in the Division I girls state tournament to be held today and Tuesday at Les Vieux Chenes Golf Club in Youngsville. The state golf tournament is a two-day, 36-hole tournament.
Menard’s Hunter Vaughn will compete in the Division III boys state tournament that will tee off today and Tuesday at The Farm d’Allie golf course in Carencro.
Although no Rapides Parish teams qualified out of regionals, there is one parish tie in the Division IV boys tournament. Former Pineville High student Bode Blackmon, a senior at St. Mary’s in Natchitoches, will play the No. 3 spot for the Tigers at The Wetlands golf course in Lafayette.
Blackmon is the grandson of Pineville resident Byron McGee, who spent 35 years working in a variety of roles for Louisiana Christian University and recently came out of retirement to accept a role as director of development and alumni for the university.