De La Salle 7, Thomas Jefferson 2

At JPRD Playground, Metairie, Division II quarterfinal playoff game

Records: De La Salle (15-4); Thomas Jefferson (14-8)

PLAYER OF THE GAME

De La Salle pitcher Cera Blanchard

She did it on the mound and at the plate. Blanchard dominated from the circle in three of the first four innings while the offense was on the way to building a 5-1 lead. She also had a hand in the offense, going three for four at the plate with four 4RBI.

4 KEY MOMENTS: HOW THE GAME WAS SHAPED

1) The Cavaliers were aggressive from the start as pitcher Cera Blanchard retired the side in the top of the first, and then contributed an RBI single in the bottom half to score lead-off hitter Gabby Vado, who reached base on an error.

2) Blanchard continued her mastery of the Jaguar line up striking out two of three and retiring the side for the second consecutive inning while her teammates added more offense in the bottom half. This time, it was a base hit by Vado that brough home Skyler Miller, icreasing the De La Salle lead to 2-0.

3) Thomas Jefferson showed flashes of why they made the playoffs in the top of the third when they cut to lead to one, 2-1 as Brooke Taylor hit a single to score Nikki McMassey.

4) De La Salle had threatened to break the game wide open when they score three runs in the fourth, and at one point, had the bases loaded, but the Jaguars halted the surge and the offense added two more runs in the next inning for a comfortable 7-2 advantage.

SCORELINE

BOX SCORE

Thomas Jefferson – Serena Brown (CF), 0-3; Brooke Taylor (C), 1-3, RBI; McKenzie Bourgeois (P), 1-3; Regina Fletcher (0-3; Witney Kramer (LF), 0-3; Isabella Landaiche (1B), 0-3; Nikki McMassey (RF), 1-1, 2R; Ashlyn Arcement (3B), 1-3; Raleigh Dugas (2B), 2-2, 3B, RBI

De La Salle – Gabby Vado (SS), 4-4, 3RBI, 2R; Tayla Hunter (2B), 3-4, R; Taylor Edwards (3B), 1-3, R; Cera Blanchard (P), 3-4, 4RBI; Ali Cerise (C), 0-3; Lainey Robertson (1B), 1-3, R; Skyler Miller (CF), 2-3. R; Summer Neumiller (LF), 1-4, R; Dulce Rivera (RF), 0-3

DECIDING PITCHERS

WP: Cera Blanchard (15-2), 7IP, 2R, 5H, 3BB, 6K

LP: McKenzie Bourgeois (7-4), 6IP, 5R, 3ER, 13H, 2BB, 2K

NOTABLE:

Thomas Jefferson had a 4-1 record against teams in the Division II quarterfinals while De La Salle is 2-2.

In the 2018 Division II postseason, Thomas Jefferson was seeded eighth and defeated No. 9 Academy of Our Lady 4-3 in the first round and fell 17-3 to top seeded Parkview Baptist in the quarterfinals. De La Salle was seeded seventh and beat 10th seeded St. Louis 5-0 in round one and fell 5-1 in the quarterfinals to second seeded Hannan.

THEY SAID IT:

“I had to go up to the plate knowing I was going to hit the ball and do this for the team. We needed to be aggressive.” De La Salle shortstop Gabby Vado

“We were very glad to be moving on and going to the state tournament. I knew the team had my back, and we want to keep playing.” De La Salle pitcher Ciera Blanchard.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the first time since a De La Salle team made the semis, so we’re real proud of that. I got this job in January and we started talking about how what level we were on and where we need to be to get to this point in the season. What you saw today is what we do. I also have to give credit to Thomas Jefferson because they put the ball in play a lot.” De La Salle coach Bobby Ledoux

“I told the girls to not let this be the end, but the beginning of something special. We had a very good season and this year was something to build on.” Thomas Jefferson coach Kevin Perry

NEXT UP: De La Salle advances to the semifinals to face top seeded Parkview Baptist, a 7-1 winner over No. 8 Academy of Our Lady in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Division II championship at Frasch Park in Sulphur, La.