Record:  18-18          District: 7-3                  FINAL Power-ranking: 17 (4/23/2013)

2013 DISTRICT 3-4A RUNNER-UP

Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten

and be considered a good performer.  ~Ted Williams


State Semi-finalist: 9 years

1987, 1988*, 1989*, 1990**, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2001**, 2002 

* State Champions      ** State Runner-up

District Champions: 20 years 

Welcome to Alexandria Senior High School ("ASH")Varsity Baseball Team. A progressive varsity prep baseball program in Alexandria, Louisiana. Head Baseball Coach:Joey Lee

Check this site regularly for news, schedules, scores, and standings of the 2012 ASH baseball team. ALBUMS may be viewed or downloaded of action pictures of games throughout the year. Game schedules may be printed for your reference.

"Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical." Yogi Berra

"If you don't win the big one ... you haven't done anything," Coach Daniel Tomlin

ASH BASEBALL TRADITION
State Championship: 1988, 1989
State Runner-up: 1990, 2001.
State Semi-finalist: 1987, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2002
District Champs: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007*, 2008, 2012*

Longest Winning streak: 47 games from 1988 to 1990

Coaches:
1982-1983                 Ken Rollins
1984-1985                 Jay Braham
1986-2004                 Don Boniol
2005-2012                 Daniel Tomlin
2013 (partial year)     John Michael Collins

2013-present              Joey Lee

See LINKS at bottom of page under INSTRUCTION for TIPS & DRILLS to improve your game!

Alexandria Senior High School
800 Ola Lane
Alexandria, La 71303
448-8234 � 448-8206 � Fax 487-9994
Guidance: 448-8488 � Fax 442-8323
Attendance: 445-9594 � Library: 442-1159 � Field House 443-9601
Boys' PE: 445-2502 � Girls' PE 443-5359 � Choir: 448-8622
Band: 443-1134 � Cafeteria: 448-8546


Principal Duane Urbina
Assistant Principal Josh Rushing
Assistant Principal Curriculum Coordinator Ollie McGhee
Athletic Director Jeff Fitzgerald
Head Baseball Coach Joey Lee

Guidance Counselor Wendy Tannehill
Guidance Counselor Vickie Thompson
School Secretary Durinda Johnson
Guidance Office Clerk Kim Brewer
School Secretary Susan Liotta

Attendance Clerk Cynthia Aderhold
      
Hours of Operation   7:30 AM - 2:30 PM
School Colors   Purple and Gold
School Mascot   Trojans
School Uniform (shirt) Colors   White and Purple
Pants   Navy or Khaki

Disclaimer Statement: The information and articles on this web-site do not represent the opinions or endorsements of the Alexandria Senior High School, its’ administration, coaches, faculty, Rapides School Board, its’ administration, school board members, or any other parties thereby related and/or employed. Any statistics reported are unofficial and are not kept or compiled by the official scorekeeper of each game. This web-site is for entertainment purposes only and are the views and opinions of the contributors only.

The Annual All Cenla Baseball team was announced by the The Town Talk. Four ASH Trojans were recognized with 1 Trojan making the 1st Team All Cenla.

First year starter, senior T.J. Gorham who had a tremendous year both offensively batting a whopping near .400 average and defensively making many diving catches through-out the season, was selected as 1st team ALL CENLA.

Three other Trojans received All Cenla Honorable Mention. Those were Senior Shortstop Timothy Mathews, and juniors Pitcher Trace Carter and outfielder Justin McQuillin.

CONGRATULATIONS ASH TROJANS FOR REPRESENTING ASH BASEBALL ON THE ALL-CENLA TEAM 2013.

District 3-4A

First Team

P - Cody Moore, Tioga, (Sr.)

P - Adam Nelson, Tioga, (Jr.)

P - Aaron Armstrong, ASH, (Jr.)

P - Chad Gates, Grant, (Sr.)

C - Dylan Roy, Tioga, (Sr.)

IF - Asa Baker, Peabody, (Sr.)

IF - Blake Painter, ASH, (Jr.)

IF - Clayton, Noakes, Grant, (Fr.)

IF - Timothy Mathews, ASH, (Sr.)

OF - Justin McQuillin, ASH, (Jr.)

OF - T.J. Gorham, ASH, (Sr.)

OF - Conterrious Kirklin, Peabody, (Jr.)

OF - Marcus Taylor, Peabody, (Jr.)

U - D.J. Celestine, Peabody, (Sr.)

U - Lane Vercher, Tioga, (Sr.)

DH - Lance Nolan, Tioga, (Sr.)

MVP

Garrett Parker, Grant, (Sr.)

Coach of the Year

Stewart Henagan, Peabody

Second Team

P - Brandon LaFear, Peabody, (Jr.)

P - Dre Gaston, Peabody, (Sr.)

P - Trace Carter, ASH, (Jr.)

P - Austin Taylor, Tioga, (Sr.)

C - Josh Gaston, Peabody, (Jr.)

IF - Rueben Edwards, ASH, (Jr.)

IF - Logan Durand, Tioga, (Sr.)

IF - Logan Kreyenbuhl, Leesville, (So.)

IF - Adam Forester, Tioga, (Jr.)

OF - Caleb Danzy, Grant, (Sr.)

OF - Sadrick Kirklin, Peabody, (Fr.)

OF - Wade Guillory, Grant, (Sr.)

OF - Kevin Vanasselberg, ASH, (Jr.)

U - Daylon Senecal, Grant, (Sr.)

U - Grant Debevec, Bolton, (Sr.)

DH - Tremaine Spears, Tioga, (Fr.)

Honorable Mention

Kaplan Rolon, Leesville, (Sr.)

Ethan Henagan, Tioga, (Sr.)

DeVaun Scott, Peabody, (Fr.)

Steven Shows, Grant, (So.)

Kale Parks, Bolton, (Sr.)

ASH Baseball has a new Head Coach for the 2013-14 season. Alexandria Senior High School has announced that interim Head Coach Joey Lee has been promoted to Head Baseball Coach.

Coach Lee was brought on as pitching coach for the 2013 season and did an outstanding job developing the pitching staff. Overall ERA was below 3.0 for the entire season with one of the most balanced rotations in years. ASH Baseball had as many as 5 starting pitchers and a bullpen of effective relievers. Many pitchers saw action throughout the season.

Coach Lee was suddenly cast into the responsibilities of the Head Coaching position in the middle of the season when the previous coach was relieved of his duties.  Coach Lee did an excellent job of stabilizing the rotation and the team responded with quality baseball. The season ended in the 2nd round of the playoffs when the #17 Trojans gave the #1 seed St. Thomas More all they wanted in a 5-3 shootout that wasn't decided until the 7th inning.

Lee will now have a full year to prepare for the 2014 season.

Coach Lee graduated from Ouachita High School in 2002 where he was a standout baseball player. He completed his education at the University of Louisiana-Monroe where he also played collegiate baseball. His coaching experience includes Neville High School (2005-2009) and St. Frederick (2009-2011) all in the Monroe area.

ASH Baseball welcomes he and his wife Lauren and children Rex and Ana.

CONGRATULATIONS NEW HEAD COACH JOEY LEE!

ASH Athletetics held its' Spring Sports Banquet tonight at ASH recognizing the spring sports athletes and their accomplishments. ASH Baseball had 8 players recognized with All District Honors. Senior T.J. Gorham was selected as Team Captain. Congratulations to all players and seniors!

In a fight at Trojan Field the #17 ASH Trojans played like a Top 5 seed against the private school from Lafayette #1 St. Thomas More Cougars.

The Cougars held the Trojans in check for 5-innings scoring 3 runs (2-earned) off starting ace pitcher Aaron Armstrong but the Trojans put it together in the 6th and had the Cougars on the ropes. The Cougars put a right-handed relief pitcher in and lead off Timothy Mathews got his first hit of the game, a liner to center field. Three hole hitter Reuben Edwards drew a walk and then cleanup hitter Trace Carter was up to bat. The Cougars changed pitchers again and put in their power pitcher throwing 88-90 fastballs. Trace Carter took one and deposited it over left field wall for a 3-run homer, his first of the season to tie the ballgame. Game On! The Trojans then put two on base with no outs and finally had the bases loaded with 2-outs but could not put the nail in the coffin and score any more runs. At the end of 6-innings score tied 3-3.

Watch the 6th inning Mathews single,Edwards walk and the Trace Carter 3-run homerun.

In the top of the 7th inning, relief pitcher lefty JaCoby Bonton who had pitched a scoreless 6th inning had two outs with a runner on 3rd and an 0-2 count but left an outside pitch over the plate a little too much and the hitter hit a 2-run homer over right-centerfield wall to go up 5-3. ASH could not put anything together in the bottom of the 7th.

Trace Carter had an offensive day to remember against the #1 seed. After going 1-3 against Neville in Bi-district, Carter went 3-4 tonight with a 3-run homerun accounting for all 3-runs scored.

After a topsy/turvy season losing several games by 1-run and a musical chairs line-up, interim Head Coach Joey Lee did an excellent job of taking over the Head Coaching position in the middle of the season. Coach Lee stabilized the line-up and allowed the players to settle in and play some quality baseball the last few weeks. Had we had his leadership earlier perhaps ASH Baseball wins a few more close games and gets in the Top 10 power-rankings. If so, we don't face the #1 seed in the 2nd round.?!?

There's always next year with a strong junior class and promising freshmen. GOOD LUCK ASH TROJANS 2014!

ASH - 3   St. Thomas More - 5

SP      Aaron Armstrong - 5.0IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 3K

LP      JaCoby Bonton - 2.0IP, 2H, 2ER, 1BB, 2K, 1HR

MONROE — A slow start offensively spelled doom for No. 16 Neville as the Tigers baseball season came to an end Friday with a 6-3 loss to No. 17 Alexandria Senior High in the opening round of the LHSAA Class 4A playoffs.

Neville was held in check by pitcher Aaron Armstrong much of the night. The Tigers did not collect their first hit until first baseman Thomas Green hit a triple in the fourth inning.

Neville trailed 3-0 until the fifth when they pushed across a pair of runs on catcher Thomas Nickelson’s home run and RBI single by left fielder David Patrick. The Tigers pulled to within 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, but could not get any closer.

ASH grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first. T.J. Gorham led off with a double, Tim Mathews singled, then both scored on back-to-back hits by Kevin Vasselberg and Armstrong.

ASH pushed back out to a 6-3 lead in the seventh on a Reuben Edwards RBI double and Trace Carter RBI single. But with his six innings of work, giving up just two runs and driving in a run on offense, it was Armstrong who stole the show on this night.

“He commands his pitches, and we knew Neville kind of struggled with off speed guys,” ASH baseball coach Joey Lee said. “Neville battled back, and Aaron made a great pitch to get out of the jam. Then we capitalized on two of their errors.”

Neville (19-15) attempted a two-out rally in the seventh, following a two-out double by Holden Brooks and RBI single by Patrick, but the rally fell short.

“We were hitting the ball well, (ASH) just made some great defensive plays,” Neville baseball coach Mike Dejean said. “We didn’t play well enough on defense to win.”

Gorham and Mathews each went 2-for-4 to lead the Trojans. Each scored one run (correction: each scored 2-runs). Patrick finished 2-for-3 with 2 RBI to lead Neville.

Starting pitcher Matt Reevs took the loss for the Tigers on the mound.

The #17 ASH Trojans put together an outstanding performance tonight and defeated the Neville Tigers 6-3 in Monroe. ASH advances to the regional round and will get a home game against the #1 team St. Thomas More Cougars.

ASH jumped on the Tigers out of the chute scoring 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning. Leadoff hitter T.J. Gorham hit a double to left field and shortstop Timothy Mathews singled to right field. Gorham held up due to the fly ball single and did not score. First baseman Reuben Edwards then reached on an error by the 3rd baseman but he held the runners in place preventing a score. Left-fielder Kevin VanAssleberg grounded out to first for the first RBI of the game. Then pitcher Aaron Armstrong before ever taking the mound hit a 2-rbi double to right-center to score Mathews & Edwards giving himself a 3-run advantage to start. That gave him a good start as pitcher Aaron Armstrong retired the first 10 batters of the game before giving up a double in the 4th but allowed no score. The Tigers finally got to him in the 5th as he gave up a lead-off solo homerun followed by a walk that was batted in with a single the 3rd hit of the game for the Tigers.

The Trojans never trailed tonight as their 3-0 advantage evaporated in the 5th when the Tigers scored 2 to close the gap. The Trojans didn't score again until the 7th inning when the top of the order was up again and Gorham reached on an error by 3rd base, stole 2nd, Mathews laid down a perfect drag bunt for a hit and advanced Gorham to 3rd. Reuben Edwards doubled to right field to score Gorham, and Trace Carter hit a single to right field to score Mathews to increase the lead to 6-2. The Tigers scored one meaningless run in the 7th inning before Carter struck out the 9-hole hitter to end the game. Trojans win 6-3.

Trojan defense was perfect tonight and there were certainly some extraordinary catches tonight. In the 2nd inning shortstop Timothy Mathews made a WOW! catch deep behind 3rd baseline on a pop fly ball to get the 2nd out of the inning. In the 3rd inning right-fielder T.J. Gorham made a spectular diving catch (WOW!) near centerfield to get the 2nd out of the inning and retire Armstrong's 8th batter in a row. Gorham made a couple more running catches in the 6th inning to assist relief pitcher Trace Carter of 2 batters. The defense certainly made some "Wow!" plays tonight making up some ground on the season.

Offense was led by shortstop Mathews with a 2-4 night withe 2-runs scored and 3 stolen bases. Pitcher Armstrong had 2-rbi's on his 1-3 night with a run scored, 2-rbi's, a double, and a stolen base. Right-fielder Gorham scored 2 runs on his 1-3 night with a double and a stolen base.

ASH will prepare to face-off against the St. Thomas More Cougars and will have homefield advantage in the Regionals.

ASH- 6   Neville - 3

WP   Aaron Armstrong - 5IP, 3H, 2ER, BB, 2K, HR, HB

Save   Trace Carter -2IP, 2H, ER, K

The LHSAA just released the final power-rankings for Class 4-A on 4/23/2013. ASH Baseball is ranked #17 with a 17-17 record and must travel for the first play-off game to Monroe to face #16 Neville (19-14).

Once the Trojans take care of business in Monroe they will be entitled to a second-round playoff game where they will likely host the overall #1 ranked St. Thomas More Cougars. An upset of the Cougars would then put the Trojans in the #1 slot for the remainder of the tournament.....you see once the play-offs begin, everyone is back to an 0-0 record and the only thing the ranking does is determines the placement in the brackets. "That's why they play the game!"

Exciting times are ahead!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay tuned for the game time announcement.

ASH Baseball finished the regular season on a winning spree winning all three games this week to pull to 17-17. After ASH senior prom last night of which 10 baseball players enjoyed, the Trojans had an afternoon finale against the Menard Eagles on their senior day. The game had some good moments and gave everyone a little extra by going 10 innings. But the Trojans bested the Eagles with the damage coming in the top of the 10th. Leadoff hitter Reuben Edwards doubled to left field, Trace Carter sac-bunted him to third, and Kevin VanAssleberg sac-flied him to score. Aaron Armstrong hit a 2-out double to right field and Kyle Good hit a rbi single to add the extra run pulling ahead 8-6. That was all relief and winning pitcher JaCoby Bonton needed as he retired the side in the bottom of the 10th inning.

It was a joint pitching effort as Tyler Morrow, Reuben Edwards, and JaCoby Bonton all saw action. ASH fell behind 3-0 in the 1st inning but quickly scored in the 2nd inning when Kevin VanAssleberg singled and scored on an error. ASH added 3 more runs to take a 4-3 lead in the 3rd. Leadoff hitter T.J. Gorham, Timothy Mathews, and VanAssleberg all singled and scored. ASH then took the lead in the 5th when leadoff Mathews singled and scored on a VanAssleberg sacrifice fly, and Trace Carter (hit by pitch) scored on a Aaron Armstrong single. The lead was short-lived though as Menard scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th on 4 hits including a 2-run homer. Bonton then pitched 5-innings of scoreless relief and ASH scored 2-runs in the 10th to win.

JaCoby Bonton came on in relief of Edwards in the 6th inning and captured the win pitching 5 innings giving up 3-hits, 0-runs, striking out 7 and walking none.

ASH - 8   Menard - 6

SP   Tyler Morrow - 1IP, 4H, 3R, 0ER

       Reuben Edwards - 4IP, 6H, 3ER, 3K, HR

WP  JaCoby Bonton - 5IP, 3H, 0R, 3BB, 7K

CONGRATULATIONS ASH TROJANS ON DISTRICT 3-4A RUNNER-UP 

ASH Baseball played a second consecutive night at Cheatham Park and shut-out the Bolton Bears 7-0.

Starting pitcher Trace Carter had a no-hitter going through the 4th inning and gave up a hit on the 2nd batter in the 5th inning. But Carter was stingy and only gave up one more hit in the 6th inning on his way to a shutout victory.

The Bolton pitcher had a little trouble throwing strikes and the Trojans had trouble putting runs on the board scoring 2 in the 2nd inning and remaining scoreless until the 7th inning when 5 more runs were scored on 3 hits and 4 Bolton errors. ASH got 7-hits tonight with 9-hole hitter Justin McQuillin the only player with 2-hits.

Catcher Kyle Good made a web-gem play tonight when he dove down the first baseline for a bunt popup that got the 2nd out of the 6th inning. WOW! What a catch!

ASH has one regular season game remaining and will travel to play the Menard Eagles on Saturday afternoon at 5 PM.

ASH - 7   Bolton - 0

WP   Trace Carter - 7IP (CG), 2H, 0R, 2BB, 8K

ASH Baseball had no trouble avenging the earlier loss to the Peabody Warhorses tonight at Cheatham Park defeating them 9-1. Starting pitcher Aaron Armstrong went 4 innings giving up the Horses only run of the nighton 4 hits striking out 3 and walking 1. JaCoby Bonton pitched 3 innings only allowing 1-hit and 1-walk while striking out 4 on his way to a save and giving the Trojans sole possession of 2nd place.

The #17 ranked Warhorses made multiple errors tonight and the #18 Trojans took advantage. Lead-off hitter T.J. Gorham kept his hot-streak going tonight with 3-3 night with a double and 2 rbis.

ASH has moved up the Bolton game to tomorrow night at 5:00 PM at Cheatham Park.

ASH - 9   Peabody - 1

WP    Aaron Armstrong - 4IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 3K

Save   JaCoby Bonton - 3IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 4K

ASH Baseball is currently at 14-17 on the year and has a good chance of locking up district runner-up this week. ASH will face Bolton and Peabody at Cheatam Park this week and close the regular season Saturday at Menard. Should ASH win all three games the regular season would end at .500 with a record of 17-17. This would be a first for ASH Baseball. ASH has never had a 0.500 or below season.

But how does a 27-7 record sound? How about a 25-9 record?ASH has lost 10 ballgames by 3-runs or less. ASH has lost 8 ballgames by 2-runs or less. ASH has lost 4 ballgames by 1-run. Had ASH won all 10 of those close games, then you're talking about a record-win regular season for ASH Baseball! If ASH had won 8 of the games lost by 2 or less runs, you're still talking about a record-winning regular season. Considering most of those losses were to strong 5-A teams, the true strength of ASH Baseball has been severely underestimated and undervalued. Most who have watched these players growing up know what they can do and know that they know how to win. Most of these 10 losses could have or should have been won had there been different strategies or decisions made or perhaps players very capable of making plays had made the plays. And no it's not any one coach or player's fault. We've always been taught you win as a team, and you lose as a team. It's not time to point fingers but rather ask ones self "How can I perform better and to encourage my teammates in making a contribution to the team?"

In other words, ASH Baseball could be the most talked about comeback program of the state with a 27-7 or 25-9 record and power-ranked #3, 4 or 5. ASH is no stranger to adversity. After losing 8-year coach Daniel Tomlin last year hoping for a change in direction, ASH Baseball has now lost its' new head coach John Michael Collins for the remainder of the season due to unspecified rule violations. The verdict was still out on whether this new coach was the one to bring the program back to its' once dominant status. With an inherited talented group of players who shared the district title in 2012, ASH Baseball only lost one key player in slugger Erick Magee. The well seasoned and experienced group of players have been winners in the recreational Dixie league as well as travel-ball leagues winning many tournaments throughout the south.

This team is a TOP 5 power team, regardless of what the numbers say. If the coaching staff, players, parents, and fans can get a grasp of this and just believe in what they can do, this team is very capable of making a playoff run. As they say, once the playoffs begin everyone has a 0-0 record and the playing field is level. This team can play like the champions that they are or they can just quit. It is believed that they will play like champions and surprise a lot of folks.

Let's forget about the record, forget about the power-ranking, and just concentrate on the here and now. ASH Baseball can win out the season and who knows how far they can go. If ASH can manage to upset a team of higher ranking, then they will slip into their slot and have the same road as the higher ranking team.

Let's GO ASH. GO, FIGHT, WIN....for your school, for your coaches, for your parents, for your fans, but most of all, for YOURSELF!

AMEN & AMEN

ASH Baseball traveled south to face #7 Eunice Bobcats today on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The Trojans pounded out 10 hits but the Bobcats won where it counted-runs scored. Eunice wins 7-4.

Starting pitcher Reuben Edwards gave up 7 runs on 9 hits striking out 2, walking 4, and hitting 3 batters in his losing effort. JaCoby Bonton came in the 5th inning and faced 4 batters retiring all 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Lead-off hitter T.J. Gorham following up on his 4-5 game on Thursday had a 4-4 day with 2-rbi's and a double. Trace Carter was the only other Trojan with more than 1 hit going 2-3. Timothy Mathews went 1-4 but had the other 2-rbi's.

ASH - 4   Eunice - 7

LP  Reuben Edwards - 4.2IP, 9H, 8R, 8ER, 4BB, 2K, 3HB

      JaCoby Bonton - 1.2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K

ASH Baseball faced district front-runner Tioga Indians currently power-ranked #10 in the state. The Trojans gave them everything they had tonight.

ASH jumped ahead in the 1st inning scoring two runs when lead-off hitter T.J. Gorham and Timothy Mathews both opened with singles. Kevin VanAssleberg hit a 2-rbi double to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead. In the top of the 2nd., 9-holer Justin McQuillin hit a 2-out double and was batted in by a Gorham double. Mathews reached base on a hit-by-pitch and Reuben Edwards hit a single but Gorham was tagged out at home on the attempted score.

The bottom of the 2nd inning was not kind as the Indians put up a crooked 5 with no runs earned. Starting pitcher Aaron Armstrong gave up 4 hits in the inning but could have gotten out of the inning with only 1-hit and no score had the Trojans defense performed. Armstrong gave up 1-earned run in the 3rd on a solo homerun by the 5-hole hitter. Innings 4&5 were scoreless for the Indians as Armstrong struck out 4 and gave up 2 hits.

ASH tacked on 2-more runs in the 3rd when DH Tyler Morrow singled to left field and was driven in by a Blake Painter single. Trace Carter singled and was driven in by a Gorham single. ASH had a chance to do even more damage with the bases loaded when 2-hole hittter Timothy Mathews was at the plate but Gorham was picked-off at first by the catcher to end the inning.

Down 6-5 going into the top of the 6th inning, the Trojans scored 3-runs to regain the lead. McQuillin reached base on a error on a drag bunt that was overthrown at first and McQuillin took 2nd base. Gorham hit a rbi double to right center. Mathews hit a drag bunt and reached base for a hit. Mathews scored when VanAssleberg reached base on error. The Trojans failed to score in the 7th & 8th innings.

The Indians tied the score in the bottom of the 6th inning on a lead-off single and an error giving up 1-earned and 1-unearned runs. Armstrong continued in the 7th facing 4-batters striking out 2. The Indians ended the game in the bottom of the 8th on a walk-off homerun by 3-hole hitter Roy.

Hitting was led by T.J. Gorham who was 4-5 with 3RBIs and 2 doubles, Timothy Mathews 3-3 with a RBI and a double, Trace Carter 3-5, and Justin McQuillin 2-4 with a double.

ASH goes to 14-16 and 5-3 in district. ASH will face 3-A powerhouse Eunice on Saturday.

ASH - 8   Tioga - 9

LP  Aaron Armstrong(CG) - 8IP, 11H, 9R, 3ER, BB, 12K, 2HR, HB

ASH Baseball recognized seven senior players and their parents tonight in the last regular season home game on a windy April night. Seniors for 2013 are: JaCoby Bonton, Josh Breazeale, Will Dinnat, Kyle Good, T.J. Gorham, Timothy Mathews, and Tyler Morrow.

ASH faced the same pitcher as the last contest power-thrower lefty Danzey. Danzey held the Trojans scoreless for the first two innings but gave up 9 hits and 6 runs in the 3rd to be chased from the mound. Starting pitcher Trace Carter pitched for 6 innings giving up one lone earned run, a solo shot in the 2nd inning. That would be all the Cougars would score on the night as Carter held the Cougars to 4-hits with 2-strikeouts, 1 walk, and 2 hit batters. Senior lefty JaCoby Bonton came into to close the 7th inning facing 4-batters giving up 1-hit and striking out 2.

Three seniors had multiple hits with lead off hitter T.J. Gorham going 2-3, 2-hole hitter Timothy Mathews 2-4, and catcher Kyle Good 2-3. A total of 14 hits was tallied for the Trojans with every player in the line-up getting at least 1-hit.

ASH moves into 2nd place in district and will face front-runner Tioga Indians on Thursday at the Ward 10 complex.

ASH - 8   Grant - 1

WP  Trace Carter - 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 2K, 2HB

       JaCoby Bonton - 1IP, 1H, 2K

Tyler Morrow pitched a complete game going 7-innings giving up 3 hits, 1-run, 0-earned, striking out 3 and walking 2 to knotch another win.

ASH - 12   Leesville - 1

WP  Tyler Morrow (CG), 7IP, 3H, R, 0ER, 2BB, 3K

Junior right-handed pitcher Aaron Armstrong pitched a 5-inning shortened game only giving up 3-hits on the night, striking out 8, and giving up no walks to shut-out the Bolton Bears in a district contest. Armstrong looked sharp all night displaying command of his pitches giving up no free bases to the Bears.

The Bears however, displayed a weak defense giving up 10 unearned runs to the total 12 runs scored by the Trojans. The Trojans got 7-hits on the night but that was plenty as Bear pitching gave 8 free-passes with 4-walks and 4-hit batters. Second baseman Blake Painter was the only Trojan to get more than 1-hit going 2-2 with an RBI-single and RBI-double.

ASH  - 12   Bolton - 0

WP   Aaron Armstrong (CG) - 5IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 8K

In an extra-innings game to start the last month of prep baseball, the ASH Trojans hosted Bastrop and had a difficult time scoring runs despite out-hitting the Northeast La. team by 14-7.

Starting pitcher Reuben Edwards pitched 4 shut-out innings but got into trouble in the 5th inning. Going into the 5th inning with a 1-hit shut-out game and 5 strike-outs under his belt, he ran into trouble when the 8-hole hitter led off with a single hit to the shortstop hole. Freshman shortstop Matthew Beck made the stop but could not get the throw in time to first. The 9-hole hitter followed with a single to right and was thrown out by the lead-off hitter's fielder's choice to second. The 2-hole hitter hit a single to right field and the 3 and 4 hole hitters were walked. Junior left-hander Brandon Brown came into relieve and gave up a 2-rbi single and an rbi double before getting out of the inning. That would be all the runs Bastrop scored as Brown retired all 3-batters faced in the 6th with 1-strikeout. Junior righty John Hessni faced 2-batters in the 7th with the scored tied 5-5 giving up a single. Senior lefty JaCoby Bonton came into to close striking out 2 in the 7th and facing 4-batters in the 8th striking out one and walking one.

The Trojans held the Bastrop team to only 7-hits and pounded out 14 hits of their own. But scoring seem to be difficult tonight stranding 9-runners along the way.

ASH got on the board with 1-run in the 2nd when Kevin VanAssleberg singled to right, stole second, reached 3rd on the throwing error to 2nd, and scored on a Tyler Morrow groundout to shortstop.

ASH scored 3 runs in the 3rd on 5 hits. Blake Painter led off the inning reaching base on a third baseman error, Justin McQuillin sacrificed Painter to 2nd, and T.J. Gorham hit a hard shot that got past the shortstop for a rbi single. Two-hole designated hitter Timothy Mathews hit a sharp grounder in the gap between 1st and 2nd advancing to 2nd on the throw, and Trace Carter hit a 2-rbi single to centerfield. ASH leads 4-0 after 3 innings of play.

ASH had 2 hits each in the 4th and 5th innings but stranded 2-runners both times failing to score. In the 4th Gorham and Painter singled and in the 5th Carter and VanAssleberg singled.

After giving up 5 runs in the 5th the Trojans found themselves in a hole 5-4 going into the 6th. T.J. Gorham hit up the middle, stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a Timothy Mathews single to left field.  Mathews advanced to 2nd on the throw. Gorham was tagged out on a failed squeeze play by Reuben Edwards. Edwards subsequently walked. Mathews managed to score on a catcher throwing error to tie the game 5-5.

The Trojans got a runner to 2nd in the 7th when Tyler Morrow singled and pinch-runner Jacob Barger advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. Barger failed to score.

In the bottom of the 8th, 9-hole hitter Justin McQuillin drew a walk but was caught stealing. Lead-off Gorham drew another walk and managed to steal 2nd. Mathews hit a rope off the hard-throwing Bastrop reliever to right field but Gorham was held up at 3rd saving the walk-off. The second failed squeeze bunt was attempted but Gorham avoided the tag to return to 3rd getting Mathews out who was waiting to claim 3rd base.

Chris Dodson came in to pinch hit in the 3-hole slot for Edwards and wins the game with a forced balk on a 1-2 count scoring Gorham to win the game 6-5.

Relief pitcher JaCoby Bonton got the win pitching 1.2 innings with no hits, no runs, striking out 3 and walking one.

SP    Reuben Edwards - 4.1IP, 4H, 5ER, 4BB, 5K

        Brandon Brown - 1.2IP, 2H, 0R, 1BB, 2K

        John Hessni - 0.1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K

 WP  JaCoby Bonton - 1.2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K, 1HB

The ASH Trojans gave up 5 runs in the 1st inning but reliever Will Dinnat came in to relieve starting pitcher Tyler Morrow to pitch 6 innings and held the Warhorses scoreless for the 2nd through 4th innings. In the 5th the Warhorses scored two unearned runs and repeated in the 5th with two more unearned runs.

The Trojans scored 3 runs in the 2nd when designated hitter Trace Carter led off with a single. Carter adanced to 2nd on a passed ball and was hit to 3rd on a Kyle Good double. Carter later scored on a wild pitch as Good advanced 3rd.  Justin McQuillin walked, stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a catcher error.

ASH added another run in the 4th on 1 hit. McQuillin reached base on an error by 3rd base advanced to 2nd on a balk and scored on a T.J. Gorham single to left field. ASH added 2 more runs in the 5th on 2 hits. First baseman Reuben Edwards led off with a single but was thrown out at 2nd on a Kevin VanAssleberg fielders choice. Carter got his 2nd hit of the game to left field and later scored along with VanAssleberg.

Going to the bottom of the 6th with the Warhorses leading 9-6, the Trojans mounted a comeback to tie the game 9-9 at the end of 6. Gorham got his 2nd hit of the game with a single followed by a Blake Painter (Happy Birthday) double down the 3rd base line. Reuben Edwards then got his 4th homer of the season with a 2-run dinger over left field fence to tie the game at 9.

Senior lefty JaCoby Bonton came in to close the game but gave up 5-runs on 5-hits to give Peabody a 5-run lead. ASH failed to get a runner on base in the 7th.

ASH is now 2-2 in District and an overall record of 10-15.

ASH - 9   Peabody - 14

SP  Tyler Morrow - 0.0 IP (5-batters faced), 3H, 5ER, 2BB

       Will Dinnat - 6.0IP, 5H, 4R, 0ER, 3BB, 4K, 1HB

LP   JaCoby Bonton - 1.0IP, 5H, 5ER, 0BB, 2K

In the 3rd game of district play, ASH hosted the Tioga Indians with both teams in a tie for 1st place at 2-0. ASH dug a hole early and unlike the Grant game on Thursday night, the Trojans were unable to stage a comeback.

Down early 9-0, the Trojans did begin a comeback scoring 7 unanswered runs but could not dliver the final blow to tie up the game. ASH will face a tough Peabody on Thursday night at Trojan Field on Southern Heritage Bank night.

More details to follow....

ASH Baseball held Calvary to 6 runs through 5 innings of play and goes into the 6th inning tied at 6. However, 3-runs in the 6th inning led by the Calvary shortstop's second homer of the game hitting a 3-run shot followed by a 5-spot in the 7th put it out of reach for the Trojans.

Starting pitcher Reuben Edwards gave up 4 runs in the 1st inning off of 4 hits but struck out the lead-off hitter in his 2nd at-bat to leave 3 on base to keep it under control. The 2nd at bat of the inning Edwards gave up a 2-run homerun to the Calvary shortstop. ASH answered in the bottom of the 1st when lead-off hitter T.J. Gorham singled and was later batted in by a Reuben Edwards single to left field. ASH scored 2-runs in the 2nd inning to close the gap to 4-3. Timothy Mathews hit a 2-out single and was driven in by a Justin McQuillin triple.  McQuillin scored on a passed ball. After giving up 2 runs in the 5th, ASH answered with 3 runs to tie the game 6-6 after 5 innings. Josh Breazeale led of the 5th with a double to left field. Reuben Edwards hit a RBI triple. Trace Carter hit a fielders choice when the 3rd baseman held the runner at 3rd too long and was late with the throw. Edwards later scored on a passed ball. Kevin VanAssleberg reached base on another fielder's choice and advanced to 2nd as Carter scored on a passed ball. Tyler Morrow drew a walk but pinch runner Blake Painter was later thrown out at 2nd on a steal attempt. 

That was all the scoring the Trojans would do as they had 2 hits in the 6th and left one on base and went down in order in the 7th.

ASH will host Tioga tomorrow night on Hixson Ford night.

ASH - 6   Calvary - 14

LP  Reuben Edwards 5.1IP, 10H, 9R, 8ER, 3BB, 6K, 2HB

      JaCoby Bonton 1.1IP, 4H, 5ER, BB, 2K

     Will Dinnat 0.1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K (1-batter faced)

ASH got off to a good start last week going 2-0 in district. ASH easily handled the Wampus Cats from Leesville on Tuesday but took a little different approach to Grant on Thursday. However, the Trojans came out on top in both games and are looking for another good week.

ASH will face the Calvary team from Shreveport tonight again facing a tough foe to warm up for tomorrow night's contest.

Tomorrow night, theTioga Indians will come to Trojan Field to face the Trojans. Tuesday night is Hixson Ford Night.

Thursday night the Trojans will host the Peabody Warhorses. Thursday is Southern Heritage Bank Night.

Note game change for next Monday night against Bastrop. Due to the lack of of pitching arms, there will be no jr. varsity game. The varsity game has been moved to 5:00 PM. This has also been designated as YOUTH NIGHT.

In only the second district game of the season it was one for the record books as the Mighty ASH Trojans overcame a 8-0 deficit to win in extra innings vs. the Grant Cougars.

Starting pitcher Tyler Morrow who has been virtually unhittable so far this season ran into a little trouble with the Grant Cougars. Morrow gave up 9 hits in 2.2 innings of work but only gave up 3 earned runs as the Trojan defense caused some runs in the first inning. A leadoff single led to two more baserunners who reached on errors to load the bases. Morrow struck out the cleanup hitter but the 5-hole hit an rbi single up the middle to score their first run. An induced fly ball got the second out of the inning and Morrow was an out away of only allowing 1-run to score in the 1st. However, back-to-back doubles scored 2-rbi's each get the Cougars out to a 5-0 start.

A scoreless 2nd inning led to 4 more hits and 3 earned runs in the 3rd inning leaving the Trojans in a hole 8-0 after 3 innings. Right-handed Aaron Armstrong came in the 3rd to get the 3rd out striking out the 6-hole hitter. Armstrong pitched a scoreless 4th retiring the side and allowed an earned run in the 5th off 3hits leaving 2 on base. Armstrong pitched the next 4 innings allowing only 2-hits and 0 runs for the remainder of the game.

The Grant starting pitcher throwing from the left-side 86-88 mph held the Trojans scoreless for a little while. Fighting from a hole the Trojans finally got on the scoreboard in the 5th inning when lead-off hitter Timothy Mathews hit an infield single, Justin McQuillin drew a walk, and Josh Breazeale hit a liner down 3rd to score Mathews from 2nd. McQuillin and Breazeale both scored on a Edwards hit-by-pitch, VanAssleberg walk and a Armstrong walk. A second visit to the mound by the coach caused the starting Cougar pitcher to get pulled. The Cougar lefty starter lighting up the radar gun 86-88 mph did not affect the Trojan hitters as they were making contact with the ball. After 3 runs scored in the top of the 5th, the Cougars answered with 1-run which would be their last in the game. ASH -3 Grant-9 after 5 complete innings.

ASH kept the hitting going in the 6th Mathews led the inning off again with a single. McQuillin hit into a fielder's choice and got Mathews out at 2nd for the frst out of the inning. T.J. Gorham got his first hit of the game followed by a Reuben Edwards walk. Cleanup hitter Trace Carter hit a 2-RBI single to right-center gap to score McQuillin and Gorham. ASH - 5 Grant -9 after 6 innings.

The 7th inning is where it got interesting. Lead-off hitter and pitcher Aaron Armstrong hit into a 6-3 to get the first out of the inning. Catcher Kyle Good drew a walk followed by a Mathews walk. McQuillin hit a single to left field to score pinch runner Blake Painter (Good) to the score the 1st run of the inning. Josh Breazeale hit another liner down 3rd base to score Mathews. Score 7-9 Grant. With 2-outs, 2-runs down, 2-runners on, an 0-2 count, and the tying run at the plate, power-hitter Reuben Edwards hit a 3-run homer off the scoreboard. ASH ahead by 1, 10-9........or not.

The ASH team stormed the field to celebrate the potential winning homerun but it was short-lived as the field umpire declared the homerun hit the top of the chainlink fence and was not a homerun. Since the team interfered with the play (Grant coach yelled to throw the ball in after it bounced from scoreboard), the umpire declared interference from the team and declared homerun hitter Reuben Edwards was out. Scored tied 9-9.

With Armstrong at his best keeping the Cougars at bay, the Trojans left 2 on base in the 8th but did not score.

In the 9th inning, 9-hole hitter Justin McQuillin reached base on errant throw by the shortstop and collided with the first baseman. After the dust settled the go-ahead run was hit to 2nd by a Gorham single. Breazeale laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance runners McQuillin and Gorham to scoring positions. Homerun hitter Edwards who had technically won the game in the 7th inning, hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score the McQuillin go-ahead run and win the game.......again. For insurance, Trace Carter hit a RBI single to left field to give Armstrong a 2-run cushion to close the game out.

ASH goes to 2-0 in district and will not play until Monday when they meet a tough Calvary team currently power-ranked #1 in Class 2-A. Tioga will follow on Tuesday.

ASH - 11   Grant - 9

SP Tyler Morrow - 2.2IP, 8R, 3ER, 0BB, 3K, 2HB

W Aaron Armstrong - 6.1IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 9K

In ASH's opening game of District 3-4A play, the Trojans had little resistence from the Leesville Wampus Cats defeating them in 5-innings 13-0 on the 10-run rule.

Trace Carter held the Cats in check only allowing 2-hits in 4-innings of work. Will Dinnat closed the 5th inning giving up no runs on 1-hit.

After Kyle Good hit his first varsity homer on Monday night, Tyler Morrow went yard over left-field fence to get his first homerun of his career. Gorham went 4-4, Kevin VanAssleberg went 3-3, and Josh Breazeale went 3-4 to lead the 18-hit attack. ASH will travel to Grant on Thursday.

ASH -13   Leesille - 0

Starting catcher Kyle Good hit his first home-run of his career, a solo shot in the 6th inning, but it wasn't near enough as hitting was sparse and defense was not sharp.

After a busy week of games last week, the Trojans only got one day of rest before returning to the field to play a foe they could have bested on Saturday. Playing Class 5A Sulphur, the Trojans were visibly tired with hitting hard to come by and defensive errors that are usually not made.

Sulphur scored only 4 earned runs but errors helped them out with 7 more runs. The Trojans score 4-hard earned runs. Hopefully the Trojans can get a break with some district games this week and get a little well-deserved time off to refocus.

ASH - 4   Sulphur - 11

LP  Aaron Armstrong 3.2IP, 8H, 8R, 4ER, 3BB, 2K

     JaCoby Bonton 2.1IP, 2H, 3R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K

Kyle Good 1-1, 1RBI, HR, 2BB

Tyler Morrow 2-3, R, RBI 

Timothy Mathews 1-2, SAC, HB

Reuben Edwards 1-4, R, RBI, 2B

In Game 2 vs. Sulphur, starting pitcher Reuben Edwards gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in the first inning and did not allow another run until the 5th inning giving 1 run on 2 hits. But the Trojans could not get on the board until the 6th inning scoring 3-runs on 4 hits leaving the tying run on 3rd and the go-ahead run on 2nd when the Trojans failed to keep the rally going.

In the 6th with the Trojans down 4-0, lead off (9-hole) hitter Blake Painter singled to left field. After a 4-3 ground-out by T.J. Gorham, Timothy Mathews singled to left field. Pitcher Reuben Edwards hit into a 6-3 groundout but scored Painter for the 1st run of the inning. Centerfielder Kevin VanAssleberg got his 1st hit of the game very timely hitting a hard double to the right-centerfield gap scoring Mathews. After Tyler Morrow reached base on a hit-by-pitch, Trace Carter singled to right field to score VanAssleberg and advance Jacob Barger (pinch runner for Morrow) to 3rd for the 3rd run of the inning. Trace Carter tried a delayed steal to second on the first pitch to Good but the Tors didn't bite. With the tying run at 3rd and the go-ahead run at 2nd, catcher Kyle Good bearly missed timing on a good pitch catching the end of his bat to ground-out to 2nd. The Trojans had another chance in the 7th inning but couldn't get anything going only getting 1-runner on base when Painter earned a 10-pitch walk.

Hits were spread out during the game for ASH except the 6th when the Trojans put together 4 hits and 3 runs.

Hitting was led by shortstop Timothy Mathews going 3-3 with a double. Mathews was the only mult-hit hitter of the game with 4 other players getting 1-hit each.

Edward pitched another complete game giving up 4 earned runs on 9 hits, 1 walk, 3 strike-outs, and 1 hit batter.

ASH Baseball will have a chance to avenge the loss on Monday when Sulphur will travel to Trojan Field for a 4:30 game. District play will begin on Tuesday with ASH hosting Leesville. Tuesday night will be Mid-State Orthopaedics Night with the first pitch by Dr. Leddy.

ASH - 3   Sulphur - 4

LP  Reuben Edwards - 6IP, 4ER, 9H, 1BB, 3K, 1HB

In Game 1 of the final day of the Sulphur SPOT tournament, ASH loses to Haughton 7-6 scoring 3-comeback runs in the 7th with the tying run at 2nd.

In his first start junior Blake Painter pitched 5.0 innings giving up 4-earned runs on 6-hits, 2-walks, 2-strikeouts, and 1-hit batter. Haughton jumped to a 2-run start in the 1st inning on 2-hits and a hit batter. But ASH answered in the bottom of the 1st scoring 3 runs on 3-hits and a walk to regain the lead. Painter settled down and only allowed 2-runs in the 3rd on 2-hits pitching innings 2, 4, and 5 with no scoring. Relief pitcher John Hesni pitched a scoreless 6th inning but allowed 3-runs on 3-hits and a walk in the 7th inning. ASH scored in the 6th inning to tie the game clearing Painter with a no-decision giving Hesni the loss with his 2-innings of work.

Trace Carter led the hitting going 2-3 with a double.

ASH - 6   Haughton - 7

SP  Blake Painter 5.0IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER< 2BB, 2K, 1HB

LP  John Hesni 2.0IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 2K, 1BB

Starting pitcher Tyler Morrow earned his 3rd win pitching a complete game 7.0IP giving up only 1-earned run, 2 runs, on 5-hits, 0-walks, 5-strike-outs, and 1-hit batter. Hitting was not necessary today as the Trojans only got 4-hits but were granted 9-walks and a hit-batter to put runners on base for scoring opportunities.

Kyle Good, Blake Painter, Josh Breazeale, and T.J. Gorham all recorded 1 hit each.

ASH - 6   Parkway - 2

WP Tyler Morrow - 7IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K, 1HB

Kyle Good 1-4, R

Blake Painter 1-3, 2RBI, BB

T.J. Gorham 1-3, R, BB

Josh Breazeale 1-3, R, BB

In the opener of the Sulphur SPOT tournament, the Trojans got off to a good start 10-running the Airline team with the catcher Kyle Good walk-off 2-rbi single to left-field in the 6th inning.

Starting pitcher Trace Carter pitched a complete game 6.0 IP giving up only 1-earned run on 8-hits, 0-walks, 1-hit batter, and 5 strike-outs. Power-hitter Reuben Edwards went 4-4 at the plate capping it with a wall-banging double in the 6th inning to set-up for the Kyle Good walk-off that scored Edwards and Kevin VanAssleberg (walk) to get the 10-run margin. Defense was solid with only 1-fielding error that cost no runs.

ASH hitting was good 8 of the 9 hitters getting a hit for 11-hits. Edwards was the only player to have extra hits.

ASH - 11   Parkway - 1

WP  Trace Carter - 6.0IP, 8H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K, 1HB

The annual contest with 5A Lafayette Lions always proves to be a tough one. The Lions only outhit the Trojans 8 to 6 but the Trojans gave a little help with 4 defensive errors and 3 hit batters and 2 walks to pace the Lions scoring along with timely hits.

The first runs were scored in the 2nd when the Lions scored 3 runs on 1 hit, 2 errors, a walk, and a hit batter. The Trojans had trouble with the Lions starting pitcher striking out 6 times and getting 4 hits but no score. The Lions got their first earned runs(3) of the game in the 6th inning on 4 hits, and walk.

The Trojans managed only one run in the 6th when a Timothy Mathews walk was batted in by a Reuben Edwards double. Other scoring opportunties were there but never capitalized. In the 2nd inning Kevin VanAssleberg hit an infield single, stole 2nd, and was moved to 3rd on a Chris Lachney infield single. But pinch runner Jacob Barger was caught stealing on his run to 2nd for the 3rd out stranding VanAssleberg.

Josh Breazeale hit an infield single in the 3rd, stole 2nd, and was thrown out at home when T.J. Gorham hit into a 5-3 out and the throw back to 3rd in an attempt to pick Breazeale was overthrown but the left fielder was there to make the throw to the plate.

John Hessni who pinch hit for Trace Carter was hit by pitch in the 7th, advanced to 3rd on a single by Lachney and a groundout by Breazeale. Hesni was stranded at 3rd on a strike-out to end the game.

ASH - 1   Lafayette - 9

LP  JaCoby Bonton - 5.2IP, 7H, 9R, 3ER, 2BB, 2K, 3HB

      Blake Painter - 0.1IP, H (faced 2 batters)

Hitting:

Reuben Edwards 2-3, RBI, 2B

Chris Lachney 2-3

Josh Breazeale 1-2

Kevin VanAssleberg 1-3

It was a good day for ASH Baseball as the Trojans won both games decisively over two 5-A teams.

In Game 1 this morning ASH defeated Nactichoes Central 10-3 behind the efforts of winning pitcher Tyler Morrow and homerun hitter Reuben Edwards. Morrow had a no-hitter going for 4 innings before he gave up 2 hits and 2 unearned runs in the 5th. Morrow secured his win and left it to Brandon Brown to tidy up.

ASH hitting seems to be coming around as the Trojans had 11 hits and scored 10 runs to defeat the Chiefs. Reuben Edwards had a good day at the plate hitting 1 of 2 homeruns for the day. ASH scored 4 runs in the 3rd to get on the board first with 3 hits, a single from Timothy Mathews, a 2-rbi double from Aaron Armstrong, and a 2-rbi single from Trace Carter. Justin McQuillin reached base on a fielder's choice, T. J. Gorham on a hit-by-pitch, and Mathews with a single all scoring along with Armstrong who was knocked in by Carter.

ASH tacked on 3 more runs in the 5th with only 1-hit by Trace Carter. The sixth inning saw 3-hole hitter Reuben Edwards hit a 3-run homer that lined over the left-field fence scoring T.J. Gorham (singled) and Mathews (HP).

ASH - 10   Natchitoches Central -3

WP Tyler Morrow  - 5+IP, 2H, 3R, 1ER, 2BB, 2H

       Brandon Brown 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, HP

Hitting

Reuben Edwards 1-3, R, 3RBI, 3-run HR

Kevin VanAssleberg 2-4, R, 2RBI

Trace Carter 2-4, R, 2RBI

Timothy Mathews 2-3, 2R, HP

T.J. Gorham 2-3, 2R

Josh Breazeale  1-3

Aaron Armstrong 1-4, 2R, 2B

In Game 2 ASH had a rematch of Tuesday's night game with 5A Ouachita Lions. ASH went into the bottom of the 5th with a 5-3 deficit to score 10-runs off the relief pitcher noted by Reuben Edwards second homer of the day. Starting off at the top of the order in the 5th, Timothy Mathews got his first of two hits in the inning singling a spinner in left field. Edwards reached on an error, Armstrong walked, Carter hit-by-pitch, and VanAssleberg hit a RBI single. Chris Lachney hit a rbi bunt single  followed by Breazeale who reached on error, and McQuillin a 2rbi double. Back to the top of the order again Gorham hit a 6-3 for out 2 (his second for the inning), and Mathews hit a single to centerfield (his 2nd of the inning). Edwards capped the 10-run inning off with a 2-run bomb over left field fence.

Aaron Armstrong went 6.1 innings giving up 7 runs on 10 hits with 5 walks and 5 strikeouts. Will Dinnat finished the Lions off getting the last 2-outs.

ASH - 13   Ouachita - 7

WP  Aaron Armstrong 6.1IP, 10H, 7$, 5BB, 5K

      Will Dinnat 0.2IP, 0H, 0R

Hitting:

Reuben Edwards 2-4, 2R, 3RBI, 2-run HR

Timothy Mathews 2-4, 2R

Trace Carter 1-3, 2R, RBI, BB

Kevin VanAssleberg 1-3, R, RBI

Justin McQuillin 1-3, 2R, 2RBI, 2B

Chris Lachney 1-4, R

On a beautiful Friday night at the Red River Prep Classic, the 2013 ASH Trojans recognized the members of the 1988 State Championship team. Coach Don Boniol threw out the first pitch tonight to start the game against the Shreveport-based Calvary team.

ASH jumped to a quick lead on the private school who has two major league prospects on their pitching staff. Starting ASH pitcher Trace Carter contained the team in the first 3 innings only allowing 2 hits with no runs. ASH lead-off hitter hit the first pitch of the game to right field to score a single. Two-hole hitter Timothy Mathews drew a 6-pitch walk and clean-up hitter Aaron Armstrong hit a 2-RBI double to score 2-runs in the bottom of the 1st.

Carter struck out the first 2-hitters of the 2nd inning, issued a walk, and then got a dribble 2-3 out. In the bottom of the 2nd, Blake Painter reached base on a hit-by-pitch and later scored on a T.J. Gorham fielders choice.  Gorham stole second and scored on a Timothy Mathews single up the middle. 

Two ASH defensive errors in the 4th inning and 2 hits led to 4 unearned runs to tie the game. ASH could not get anything going offensively as the Calvary starting pitch bore down working 88-91 mph to keep the Trojans off balance. ASH only managed to get 1-runner on base after the 2nd inning when Kevin VanAssleberg singled to left.

ASH will start a double-header Saturday morning facing Natchitoches Cental at 10 AM and a rematch with Ouachita at 12:45.

ASH - 4   Calvary -6

LP  Trace Carter 6IP, 5H, 4R, 0ER, 2BB, 8K

      Chris Dodson 1IP, 3H, 2R, 0ER

Hitting:

Aaron Armstrong 1-3, 2RBI, 2B

Timothy Mathews 1-2, R, RBI, SB

T.J. Gorham 1-4, 2R

Kevin VanAssleberg 1-3

Justin McQuillin 1-3

The 2013 version of ASH Baseball put on a hitting clinic tonight against the Eagle ace as they pounded out 15 hits, scored 10 runs, and left 7 on base to defeat the Menard Eagles 10-2.

ASH did't get a good start when starter Reuben Edwards' defense gave up 2-unearned runs on 2 infield errors in the top of the 1st. But the Trojans quickly recovered on defense and never allowed a runner to get to 3rd base for the remainder of the game. The Eagles only got 4-hits for the game.

Lead-off hitter T.J. Gorham led going 3-4 with 4-rbi's. Timothy Mathews, Aaron Armstrong, Josh Breazeale, and Justin McQuillin all recorded 2-hits with Mathews, Tyler Morrow (1-3), and Breazeale each recording a double.

Starter Reuben Edwards pitched 5-innings giving up 2-runs (0-earned) on 3 hits, 2 strikeouts, and 2 walks. Reliever Chris Dodson recorded a scoreless 6th inning and closer Will Dinnat recorded a 1-hit scoreless 7th inning to end the game.

ASH - 10   Menard - 2

WP   Reuben Edwards - 5IP, 3H, 2R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K, HB

        Chris Dodson - 1IP, 0H, 0R, BB

        Will Dinnat - 1IP, 1H, 0R, HB

ASH Baseball showed some character and grit as they had a 10-inning game on a cold Tuesday night in Monroe.

After having difficulty with the Lions' starting pitcher the Trojans only mustered 3-hits in 7 innings but managed 3 runs. Starting Trojan pitcher JaCoby Bonton after recovering from a concussion looked unhittable as he recorded 6-strikeouts in the first two innings. The Trojans feeling generous gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the 1st inning when a couple of errors allowed the runner who reached on a 2-out walk to score and tie the game 1-1. A couple more errors in the 3rd allowed the Lions to tie the game at 3 when they scored two more runs. Bonton pitched 5-innings giving up 3 runs (1-earned), striking out 10, and walking 4. Aaron Armstrong relieved in the 6th but had no idea he was also going to pitch another 5-innings but got the win in the scoring frenzy at the end.

After the end of regulation tied at 3, the Trojans got to relief pitcher Souileau and put a crooked number (5) at the top of the 8th on 7-hits. To answer, the Lions put their own crooked number 5-runs on 5-hits to tie the game to continue. A scoreless 9th led to the 10th inning as the temps were getting to a windy 45 degrees. The Trojans scored another 5-runs on 6-hits to get yet another 5-run lead. And it worked. Armstrong closed the game on strike-out facing 4-batters to get the win.

ASH - 13   Ouachita - 8

SP   JaCoby Bonton - ND, 5IP, 2H, 3R, ER, 4BB, 10K

WP  Aaron Armstrong - 5IP, 7H, 5R, 2ER, 3BB, 3K

ASH pitching led the way this weekend as ASH goes 2-2 in the annual Trey Altic Classic tournament in Northeast La.

More details to follows.....

ASH Baseball got to compete with the top teams in the state this weekend facing off against defending Class 5-A champions Barbe, Zachary, Byrd, and West Monroe.ASH came away 0-4 but just as easily could have come away 2-2.

In Game 1 on Saturday morning, ASH faced an always tough Zachary Broncos.  Starting pitcher Aaron Armstrong looked sharp in his first outing holding the Broncos scoreless and hitless in the first 2 innings. One bad inning in the 3^rd allowed the Broncos to score 4 runs on 4 hits gaining a lead of 4-1 after 3. ASH put one on the board in the first inning but could not manage to score anymore until the 6^th inning. The Trojans scored 2 runs on 3 hits when the top of the order produced. Kevin VanAssleberg lead off with a hit, followed by Josh Breazeale singling to right field but VanAssleberg was thrown out on the attempted run to 3^rd base. First baseman Reuben Edwards doubled to drive Breazeale in and Edwards scored after Trace Carter was hit by pitch and Justin McQuillin reached on an error. The Trojans had opportunities to score more runs but couldn’t execute at the plate.

 ASH 3-Zachary 6

LP           Aaron Armstrong  - CG 7IP, 6R, 5H, 7K, 3BB, 1HB

Hitting:

Kevin VanAssleberg 2-4

Josh Breazeale 1-4

Reuben Edwards 1-3

T.J. Gorum 1-3

 In the nightcap on Saturday, ASH faced the 5A Champs Barbe Buccaneers. Starting pitcher Jacoby Bonton got into trouble early but only gave up 1-run on 1-hit leaving 3 on-base when he struck-out the 7-hole hitter. Bonton found his rhythm and held the Broncos scoreless in the next 2 innings only giving up 1-hit striking out 3. The Trojans managed to score their only run in the 2^nd when Edwards singled to left, Breazeale singled to right, and shortstop Blake Painter got a sacrifice fly to score Edwards.  ASH finished out the game with 7 strike-outs in the next 4 innings and remained hitless. Bonton had to leave the game when he collided with first baseman Edwards on a bunt in the 4^th inning. Tyler Morrow and Chris Dodson could not cool down the hard-hitting Lake Charles team as they pounded out 10-hits and 17 more runs to end the game in the 6^th.

 ASH 1-Barbe 18 

LP           Jacoby Bonton – 3+IP, 2R, 3H, 4K, 3BB

 Hitting:

Reuben Edwards 1-1

Josh Breazeale 1-2

Timothy Mathews 1-3  

In Game 1 on Sunday morning ASH faced the West Monroe Rebels. Hot hitting drove starter TraceCarter from the mound after 2.2 innings giving up 9 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits striking out 3 and walking 1. Relief pitcher Brandon Brown came in and basically got the Rebels number as they had trouble hitting off the crafty left-hander. Brown pitched 4.1 innings only giving up 5 runs (1-earned) on 5-hits (4 coming in the 7^th).  

ASH 2 – West Monroe 14 

LP           Trace Carter – 2.2 IP, 9R, 6ER, 10H, 3K, 1BB       

             Brandon Brown – 4.2 IP, 5R, 1ER, 4H, 2K, 3BB 

Hitting

T.J. Gorum 2-2

Kevin VanAssleberg 1-3

Josh Breazeale 1-4 

In the second game of the day’s double-header, ASH face host C.E. Byrd Yellow-Jackets. Starting pitcher Tyler Morrow held control of the Jackets for 3.2 innings only giving up 5-runs on 4-hits striking out 2. Reliever Chris Dodson continued pitching 3.1 innings only giving up 1-run on 4-hits. ASH jumped out to a lead in the first inning lead-off hitter T. J. Gorum doubled, Mathews hit an in-field single-bunt and Trace Carter sac-bunted Gorum in. Josh Breazeale hit an RBI single to left field to score Mathews. ASH gave up 2-runs in the bottom of the 1^st to tie the game but regained the lead in the 4^th. VanAssleberg and Good scored when VanAssleberg doubled, Good hit a fielders choice, Blake Painter reached base on a strike-out passed ball, and McQuillin hit an RBI single. The lead quickly evaporated as Byrd answered with 3 runs on no hits and 2 fielding errors. ASH again battled and tied the score in the 5^th when John Hesni scored off a bases-loaded walk. Byrd scored again in the bottom of the 5^th inning when the Yellow-Jackets scored their only run off of reliever Chris Dodson. ASH had a chance to tie the game in the 7^th inning when lead-off hitter Timothy Mathews singled to right field that rolled through the fielders’ legs and rolled to the fence. Mathews rounded 3^rd and was sent home but was thrown-out at third on the attempt to retreat.  The Trojans still had a chance to tie but Jacket’s pitching struck-out the next 2-batters. 

ASH 5 – Byrd 6 

SP           Tyler Morrow – 3.2IP, 5R, 4H, 2K, 2BB, 1HB

LP           Chris Dodson – 3.1IP, 1R, 4H, 0K, 0BB, 1HB 

Hitting

Timothy Mathews 2-4

Josh Breazeale 1-1

T.J. Gorum 1-2

Kevin VanAssleberg 1 -2

Justin McQuillin 1-3  

Please download the program ad, complete, and return with payment to Paul Mathews. This is due this week so we can get program printed.

Thanks.

Parents please click on the link below or go to the "HANDOUTS" section of the menu to download and print the concession schedule for the 2013 season. Please be aware that these are the times volunteered and any changes to your duties are your responsibility to cover.

Thanks for all of your support and efforts to make this season a great and successful season with our new coaching staff. These are exciting times for ASH Baseball!

In a sudden change of schedule, the tournament scheduled to begin this Thursday night at Zachary High School has moved to Shreveport with ASH playing Saturday and Sunday.

New schedule of games and locations:

Fans will get a chance to see the ASH Trojans Baseball in action today opening the season at Tioga.

ASH will face off against Class 3-A Buckeye Panthers in a 5:45 PM shortened jamboree game. ASH Baseball has a new look sporting new attire. ASH also has many new faces with a new coaching staff led by Head Coach John Michael Collins.

ASH's regular season games will begin next weekend when they travel to the Zachary High School to face power-houses Zachary, Barbe, West Monroe and C.E. Byrd. It won't take long to see what ASH has.

After travelling to West Monroe to play a 14-inning scrimmage against the Class 5A team, the Trojans hosted cross-river rival Class 5A Pineville on Tuesday. First year Coach John Michael Collins got a good look at many players with everyone getting playing time in both games. As the Trojans continue to get tuned up for the season start, preparation for a strong season are ongoing.

ASH Baseball is hosting a dinner/auction on Thursday night in Trojan Cafeteria as one of the last fund-raisers for the year. Be certain to come out in support of the 2013 team.

ASH has scheduled to host the Class 5A Lafayette Lions on Monday, weather permitting. Next weekend the Trojans will play in a jamboree atTioga as the last tune-up before regular season games began.

Coach Collins and his team have been putting in a host of hours in preparing for the start of what some are expecting to be a historical season. ASH is loaded with seniors and juniors who have had playing experience. Returning All-District seniors Josh Breazeale, Timothy Mathews, Jacoby Bonton and Chris Lachney lead the team. Returning All-Cenla player Justin McQuillin(honorable mention All-State), along with All-District juniors Trace Carter(honorable mention All-State), Aaron Armstrong and Kevin VanAssleberg are returning. Players to watch are juniors Reuben Edwards and Blake Painter, senior T.J. Gorum, and senior power-hitters Tyler Morrow and John Hesni. Senior catcher Kyle Good is expected to make contributions at the plate and behind the plate this year. Utility players seniors Conner Debevec, Will Dinnat, and Jacob Barger have significant experience and junior Chris Dodson will make contributions to this year.

Thanks to our generous supporter and sponsors who made it possible for our state-of-the-art scoreboard at the ASH Trojan Field. Sponsorships are available for two 3x6 scoreboard sponsorships. The sponsorship is a 5-year committment that includes premium web-presence, season tickets, and game sponsorships for 5 years.

Contact Paul Mathews for details. (318-715-1384)