Welcome to the website of the Ponchatoula High School Green Wave baseball team.  The Wave, coached by Mark Gosnell, plays in the stately confines of historic Athletic Park, one of the best prep baseball facilities in Louisiana.  Ponchatoula traditionally fields one of the top prep teams in south Louisiana, and in the spring of 2008 the Green Wave pulled off one of the most successful seasons in Ponchatoula baseball history, advancing all of the way to the state 5A quarterfinals in the state tournament at Denham Springs. 

In 2009 the Green Wave returned only two starters from the previous season, and despite a grueling schedule with over 20 games against state playoff teams, Ponchy was competitive and battled down to the wire, narrowly missing the state 5A playoffs.

With six Green Wave starters returning this season, including All-District players Elisha Settoon, Dylan Hills, Dylan Meyers and Justin Crowell, Ponchatoula is looking to contend strongly for the district title and a 5A playoff spot in 2010.

Ponchatoula rallied for four runs in the fifth inning, capped by Darrin Bach's two-run single, to drop Newman, 8-4, in the Gateway Ford Classic finale Saturday night at Athletic Park.

The Green Wave (4-5) rebounded from a close 2-1 loss to Franklinton Saturday morning.  Ponchatoula finished 2-1 in the tourney as did South Lafourche and Franklinton.  Newman finished 0-3.

"I was very proud of the way we bounced back after a tough loss in the morning," said head coach Mark Gosnell.  "We tacked on some runs by doing a lot of the little things right that we didn't do in the morning, like getting the sacrifice hits and moving runners around.  It's the type of thing that we have to be able to do in tight games."

Ponchy drew first blood in the bottom of the first.  Hills led off with a single and stole second before Trey Marino walked.  Justin Crowell then brought both runners home with a two-run single.

Newman tied the score in the top of the third off of Greenie starter Ryan Byers.  A hit batsman and a walk set the stage for a two-run double by Joe Wolf.

The Wave regained the lead in the fourth when Kaleb Kraft reached on an infield error and moved to second on a single by Joe Green.  With two out Hills singled home pinch runner Mark Traylor for a 3-2 lead.

Ponchy then put the game away in the fifth.  Crowell walked, and Elisha Settoon reached on an infield error.  Dylan Meyers laid down a bunt single, and Kraft plated Crowell with a sacrifice fly to center.

Green then drove home Settoon with a sacrifice fly to right before Randall Meyers walked and Bach dropped a single into left, scoring both Randall Meyers and courtesy runner Jake Lipps. 

Bach, who relieved Byers in the fifth, was charged with giving up a pair of runs in the sixth when he walked three straight batters with two men out. 

Morgan Hall then greeted reliever Trey Marino with a ground ball that was booted for an infield error, allowing two runs to score.

But Marino shut the door on Newman after that, facing only four more batters to pick up the save.

"Marino did a great job of closing the game out," Gosnell said.

Byers notched the win with four innings of work, allowing two runs on three hits.  He struck out five, walked four, and hit one batter.

Hills led the 10-hit Ponchy attack with three hits.  Marino, Crowell, Settoon, Dylan Meyers, Kraft, Green and Bach all had one hit.

The Green Wave will host Walker Tuesday in a 6 pm. game at Athletic Park. 

Dylan Hills fired a complete-game, one-hit shutout and helped his own cause with a two-run homer as Ponchatoula blanked South Lafourche, 8-0, Friday night in the opening round of the Gateway Ford Classic at Athletic Park.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Wave (3-4), who had played four of their last six games against ranked opponents. 

"We're thrilled to get a victory at home tonight," said Ponchy head coach Mark Gosnell.  "It seems like we've been on the bus for the past two weeks.  We had to find a way to stop the bleeding, and it starts on the mound."

Hills (1-1) gave up a leadoff double to Tyler Danos in the top of the first, but he dominated the Tarpons the rest of the way.  He allowed only three more baserunners, two on infield errors, while striking out eight and walking just one in seven innings of work.

"Dylan was outstanding tonight, and he put up some zeros on the board early which allowed us to get going offensively," Gosnell said.  "We finally got some two-out hits from some of the guys who've been struggling, and that gave us a lead, allowing us to relax a little bit at the plate."

Hills capped a four-run, third-inning rally with a two-run homer while also doubling off the wall in the sixth.

He got Ponchy going in the top of the first with a walk before stealing second and moving to third on a fielder's choice grounder by Trey Marino.  Hills then scored the game's first run on a ground ball to third by Elisha Settoon when he beat the throw home.

Settoon moved to second on Justin Crowell's single and later scored on a wild pitch.  Dylan Meyers' sacrifice fly plated Crowell for a 3-0 Ponchy lead.

The Greenies scored four runs with two out in the third to up the lead to 7-0.  Kaleb Kraft walked, Dylan Meyers singled, and with two out Randall Meyers slapped an RBI double to left, scoring Kraft. Ryan Byers followed with a single to score Meyers, and Hills belted a towering shot over the left centerfield fence to climax the scoring.

Ponchy added a final run in the sixth when Hills doubled off the wall and courtesy runner Jake Lipps advanced to third on Trey Marino's sacrifice fly.  Justin Crowell's RBI single scored Lipps for the final 8-0 margin.

Hills and Crowell both had two hits to lead Ponchy at the plate while Kraft, Dylan Meyers, Randall Meyers and Byers had one hit each.

Ponchatoula will face Franklinton, a 4-0 winner over Newman, at 10 am. Saturday and will wrap up the tourney with a 5:30 pm. matchup Saturday with Newman.

State playoff contenders from 5A, 4A and 2A classifications will highlight the schedule of the 2010 Gateway Ford Classic to be held at Ponchatoula's Athletic Park Friday and Saturday, March 5-6.

South Lafourche (5A), Franklinton (4A) and Newman (2A) will dot the schedule beginning at 4 pm. Friday.

The Gateway Ford Classic schedule is as follows:

Fri., Mar. 5        4:00  Newman vs. Franklinton

                       6:30  S. Lafourche vs. PHS

Sat., Mar. 6       10:00   PHS vs. Franklinton

                        12:30  Franklinton vs. S. Lafourche

                          3:00  S. Lafourche vs. Newman

                          5:30  Newman vs. PHS

Lefty Kelly Blalock limited Ponchatoula to six hits while his Central teammates banged out 12 en route to a 10-3 pasting of the Green Wave Wednesday at Central.

The Green Wave (2-4) opened the scoring in the top of the first when Trey Marino blasted a solo homer over the right centerfield fence.

But Central countered off of Wave starter Marino with a solo homer of its own by Landon Thibodaux.

Central struck again in the bottom of the second for two runs with two out on a single by Jacob LeSage, a double by MJ Leduff, and a two-run single by Chet Myer.

The Wildcats increased their lead to 5-1 in the fourth on two singles, a double, a sacrificy fly, a walk and a hit batter.

Ponchy then replaced Marino with reliever Darrin Bach, and the Wildcats broke the game open in the fifth. Three walks, a single and a double did all of the damage for an 8-1 lead.

Ponchatoula scored a pair of runs in the sixth. With one out Dylan Hills singled before Marino doubled him to third. Elisha Settoon then brought both runners home with a two-run single to make the score 8-3.

In a little over five innings on the hill, Blalock gave up only one run on six hits, fanning four and walking one. He benefitted from two rally-killing double plays.

Marino pitched four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, striking out three, walking two and hitting one batter.

Bach pitched one inning in relief, allowing three runs on two hits while walking three.

Brandon Lessard relieved for Ponchy in the final inning. He allowed two runs on three hits and two walks, striking out one.

Marino led Ponchy at the plate with two hits while Settoon, Hills, Crowell and Ryan Byers had one hit apiece.

The Green Wave next hosts South Lafourche at 6:30 pm. Friday in the opening round of Ponchy's Gateway Ford Classic.

Kahn Petite belted a two-run, first-inning homer, and the 14th-ranked St. Amant Gators never looked back to defeat Ponchatoula, 4-2, Sunday in the East Ascension Tournament finale at St. Amant.

Ponchatoula finished 1-3 in the tournament with their regular season record falling to 2-3.  For the second straight game, the Green Wave outhit their opponent- this time 7 to 4- but left 12 men on base in the loss.

After Lee Elisar was hit by a pitch, Petite unloaded his right-field blast off of Ponchatoula starter Dylan Hills for a 2-0 St. Amant lead in the bottom of the first.

The Gators scored two more in the fourth.  Task Plauche singled, David St. Pierre sacrificed him to second and Chris Boyter walked before both runners advanced on a wild pitch.  On a subsequent wild pitch, a wild throw at the plate allowed two runners to score, making it 4-0, St. Amant.

Ponchatoula got on the board in the fifth when Blake Falconello and Dylan Meyers walked before Trey Marino singled home pinch-runner Brett Vampran, cutting the deficit to 4-1.

The Wave scored again in the top of the seventh when Justin Crowell walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a single to right by Kaleb Kraft.

But it was too late as the Green Wave left 12 runners stranded for the game, including three times with the bases-loaded.

Marino and Kraft both had two hits to lead Ponchatoula at the plate while Settoon, Crowell and Joseph Green had the other safeties.

In suffering the loss, Hills went five innings on the bump for Ponchy, allowing four runs, two of them earned, on four hits.  He struck out five, walked one and hit three batters.

He was relieved in the sixth by Darrin Bach, who retired the St. Amant side in order. 

12th-ranked Rummel erased a 3-1 deficit, erupting for five runs in the fifth inning to overcome the Ponchatoula Green Wave, 7-3, Saturday night in the third round of the East Ascension Tournament at Dutchtown.

The Green Wave (2-2) held a 3-1 lead through four innings as starter Elisha Settoon limited the Raiders to just one hit.

But Rummel got to Settoon in the fifth, scoring five runs on six hits for a 6-3 lead.  The Raiders notched another run in the sixth off of Ponchy reliever Branden Lessard.

The Green Wave took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Dylan Hills and Settoon slapped back-to-back singles off of Rummel starter Ross Mutter.  Kaleb Kraft and Justin Crowell followed with RBI singles for the two-run margin.

Rummel scored an unearned run off Settoon in the first before the Wave responded with another run in the third off of Raider reliever Taylor Migliore.

Hills blooped a double over the first baseman's head before Settoon crashed a line drive double to deep center for a 3-1 Ponchatoula lead.

The Raiders then got to a tiring Settoon in the fifth with an RBI single by Ray Veit, RBI doubles by Kyle Blakesly and Albert Hotfelter, and a two-run triple by Cameron Hoffman.

Hotfelter relieved Migliore in the seventh to squelch a bases-loaded rally with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.

Migliore picked up the win in relief, going 5 and 1/3 innings in relief, giving up one run on 7 hits while striking out 11 and walking four.

Settoon and Hills had three hits each to lead Ponchy at the plate while Crowell had two hits.  Kraft, Joe Green and Dylan Meyers had one hit each.

Ponchatoula actually outhit Rummel, 11-8, but the Green Wave left 12 men on base, including two bases-loaded situations. 

Settoon was tagged with the loss as he gave up six runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking two. 

Lessard pitched one inning in relief, allowing one unearned run on one hit with one strikeout. 

The Wave was scheduled to play its final game of the East Ascension Tournament Sunday against 14th-ranked St. Amant at St. Amant. 

Ponchatoula staged a six-run rally with two out in the fourth inning to bust open a tight game and drown the Walker Wildcats, 11-4, Saturday morning in the second round of the East Ascension Tournament at Walker.

The Green Wave (2-1) led 3-2 with two out in the top of the fourth, but a triple to deep right-center by Dylan Hills and a run-scoring double to deep left by Elisha Settoon keyed a decisive, six-run rally.

After consecutive walks to Dylan Meyers and Trey Marino loaded the bases, Justin Crowell produced a  single scoring Settoon with pinch-runner Jake Lipps scoring on an error by the catcher.

Joseph Green then walked to load the bases again before a base-clearing double by Kaleb Kraft to deep right made the score 9-2.

The Wave added two more runs in the fifth on a two-run single by Trey Marino which plated Zack Traylor and Hills.

Ponchatoula drew first blood off of Walker starter Kaleb Ward in the top of the first on a leadoff triple by Hills and Settoon's RBI single.

Walker took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first off Ponchy starter Ryan Byers.  Seth Gaudet singled, Trenton Strange was hit by a pitch, and Taylor Wade delivered a two-run double.

The Wave responded with two runs in the top of the third to take a two-run lead.  Hills doubled, Dylan Meyers walked, and Crowell lined a two-out, two-run single to score both Hills and pinch-runner Lipps.

Ponchatoula banged out 10 hits in the victory.  Hills led the way with three hits while Settoon and Crowell had two apiece.  Marino, Green and Kraft had one each.

Byers was the winning pitcher for the Wave, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four, walking one, and hitting three batters.

Darrin Bach relieved in the fifth and picked up the save, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one and walking one.

The Green Wave was scheduled to face 5A Rummel in the third round of the tourney at Dutchtown Saturday evening. 

Lefthander Brandon LaCoy shut down Ponchatoula on four hits, and his Tioga teammates scored all of the runs he needed in the first two innings to down the Ponchatoula Green Wave, 7-2, in the opening round of the East Ascension Tournament Thursday in Baton Rouge.

LaCoy pitched all seven innings, striking out seven, walking four and hitting two batters to pick up the win.

"We got beat by a good baseball team," said Ponchatoula head coach Mark Gosnell.  "We could only manage four hits and struggled at the plate.  But that's a credit to their pitcher- he mixed it up well.  Our hats are off to Tioga."

The Green Wave (1-1) could manage only a double by Dylan Meyers and singles by Trey Marino, Kaleb Kraft and Justin Crowell in their first loss of the season.

Meanwhile, the Indians (1-1) greeted Marino, the Wave starter, with five runs on six hits in the first two innings.

Two singles, a double and an RBI ground out led to a 2-0 first-inning lead for Tioga.  A solo homer, two singles and two errors put three more runs on the board in the second for a 5-0 Indian cushion.

Marino allowed only one run over the next four innings while the Green Wave looked to make a game of it in the third with a two-run rally.

Dylan Hills was hit by a pitch before Elisha Settoon reached on an infield error.  Marino singled Hills home, and Settoon later scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Joe Green to cut the deficit to 5-2.

But that was all of the offense that Ponchy could muster as the Wave produced only five baserunners over the last four innings.

In taking the loss Marino pitched six innings, allowing six runs, four of them earned, on eight hits while striking out six and walking none.

"Trey got the ball up a little bit early, but he settled down after the second inning, and I was proud of the way he came back," Gosnell said.

Darrin Bach pitched the final inning for Ponchatoula, allowing one run on one hit while walking one.

Ponchatoula will play two games in the East Ascension Tournament Saturday, both at Parkview Baptist in Baton Rouge.  The Wave faces 5A New Iberia at 10 am. and 4A Holy Cross at 3 pm.

Dylan Hills and Elisha Settoon limited Comeaux to just four hits while Ponchatoula pounded out 10 safeties for a pair of three-run rallies and a 6-3 season-opening win over the Spartans from Lafayette Tuesday night at Athletic Park.

The Green Wave (1-0) scored three runs in both the first and fifth innings for the victory over the Spartans (0-1) from District 3-5A.

"We're really excited to get a win tonight in our first game of the season," said Green Wave head coach Mark Gosnell.  "Comeaux has an outstanding team, and they're going to win a lot of games this year.  This was a real good test for us early in the season."

Hills started on the mound and picked up the win, chunking four innings of scoreless ball before giving up two runs in the fifth.  Hills allowed three hits while striking out four, walking three and hitting a batter.

Settoon relieved in the sixth and gave up one run on one hit while striking out three, walking two and hitting a batter in two innings of work.  He got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh to pick up the save.

"Dylan was outstanding for five innings, and Elisha did his normal great job of shutting them down in the sixth and seventh innings," Gosnell added.

The Green Wave started their scoring with a three-run surge in the bottom of the first.

Hills drew a leadoff walk from starter Haydn Saucier before singles by Settoon and Trey Marino loaded the bases.  Justin Crowell's single plated Hills, and Kaleb Kraft's grounder to short scored Settoon with Marino scoring on a wild throw to first. 

With Hills holding Comeaux's bats at bay, the score stood 3-0 until the Spartans made a game of it with two runs in the top of the fifth.

With one out, Mason Broussard and Brad Landry worked Hills for walks before Saucier singled home Broussard with Comeaux's first run.  Mike Strentz then drove a sacrifice fly to deep left center to plate Landry, cutting the deficit to 3-2.  

But Ponchy responded with three runs in the bottom half of the fifth.  Settoon led off with a single, and pinch-runner Jake Lipps moved to third when Dylan Meyers' sacrifice bunt was thrown wildly to first. 

Marino then singled home Lipps before Crowell's bloop single loaded the bases.  Joe Green then singled home Dylan Meyers, and Randall Meyers' fielder's choice ground ball scored Marino for a 6-2 lead.

Settoon then relieved Hills on the mound and held Comeaux scoreless in the sixth before facing a bit of drama in the top of the seventh.

Settoon hit Broussard and walked both Landry and Saucier to load the bases with nobody out.  Strentz, the three-hole hitter who slammed 15 home runs for Comeaux last year, worked the count to 3-2 before Settoon blew a fastball by him for the first out.

Settoon then got cleanup batter Robbie Romeo to ground into a force out, scoring Broussard on the play to chop the lead to 6-3.

With two out and the tying run at the plate, Settoon then struck out Shawn Hebert on three pitches to preserve the victory.

Settoon and Crowell led the 10-hit Ponchy assault with three hits apiece while Marino had two hits. Hills and Green had one hit apiece for the Wave.

"Comeaux's pitcher was very good, so we're really happy with the way we swung the bats tonight," Gosnell said.  "We put pressure on them every inning up and down the lineup, and if we continue to concentrate like that at the plate we can go a long way this season." 

Gosnell said he was pleased with the way his players have overcome the lack of outdoor practice time due to bad weather conditions.

"I was very proud of the way our kids stayed focused," he said.  "We have a mature team, and hopefully we can keep that going that day-in and day-out, especially when we get to the thick part of the schedule."  

Ponchatoula will next face 4A Tioga, ranked 16th in the LBCA preseason poll, in the first round of the East Ascension tournament at 4 pm. Thursday at Catholic High in Baton Rouge. 

The 2010 Ponchatoula Green Wave baseball team has announced its sponsors for televised Green Wave baseball games this spring.

Hancock Bank, Jani-King, Raising Cane's, Smoothie King, Subway, S&S Sports, Bonjour Boutiques, the Car Wash Depot and Tangipahoa Clerk of Court Julien Dufreche are this year's sponsors.

The Wave games will be televised on Charter Cable's FPTV-Channel 17 beginning March 13.  A "Game of the Week" will air each week at 2:30 pm. Saturdays, 2:30 pm. Sundays, and 11 pm. Wednesdays on Channel 17.

The games will be produced again this year by WaveSportsVideo with individual game DVD's, team highlight DVD's and individual player highlight DVD's available at the season's end.  Orders for individual player highlight DVD's must be made by March 12th by contacting Allen Waddell (allenwaddell@wavesportsvideo.com).   

I am very proud of our "Baseball" year in 2009.  We returned only two starters from the '08 squad that made it to the state tournament in Denham Springs and the State Quarterfinals.  The Green Wave battled in arguably the toughest district in the state all the way to deep in the second round of league play with a chance to make the playoffs.

This experience carried over to the summer where the PHS squad "Pevey Realtors" won their division and qualified for the Southeast Regional Tournament.  Ponchatoula's Athletic Park was the host site for the regional and produced this year's state champion Peake BMW (Brother Martin).  This past year's prep state champion also came from a 7-5A district rival in the Northshore Panthers.  Our coaching staff is very excited about the upcoming season and is looking forward to competing for a district title and a return trip to the state tournament at Tulane.

I would like to personally thank Mr. Rick White for his time and effort to make our summer programs a success.  Also, special thanks to Tessa Hills, Rick Settoon, and all other parents and Grand Slam Booster Club members for their time and commitment to Ponchatoula Baseball.

Special congratulations to senior Dylan Hills who has verbally committed to Southeastern and will sign in November during the early signing period.

See you at the ballpark.

Mark Gosnell