By Chris Kinkaid

St. Tammany News

Laneco Construction (Pope John Paul II) took a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s American Legion game with two outs, but the contest was halted due to darkness right after Laneco went ahead.

Lanceo Construction (Pope John Paul II) base runner Dylan Aymond gets thrown out at third as Taylor Nunez puts the tag on him. Aymond stole second and tried to advance to third when the throw went into center field. Ross Macaluso came up throwing and gunned a strike to Nunez for the out in the seventh inning of Tuesday'€™s game at SHS. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

The score was tied, 4-4, after the teams battled for seven innings. In the eighth, Zack Pohto, who had two hits, and Andre Damiens drew back-to-back one-out walks.

Following the second out, Blake Bonnaffons, who had a pair of singles, hit a slow grounder to third. The throw was low and got by the first baseman allowing Pohto to score the go-ahead run.

Pohto talked about the play.

“Blake hit a great ball right in between the pitcher and third baseman,” Pohto said. “Coach L.P. (Pagert) was just wheeling me in, saying ‘Zack, get there, get there.’ There was no looking back.”

The game will restart where it left off Wednesday at 5 p.m. Laneco will have runners on second and third and two outs, leading 5-4. James Cousin is due to bat.

It’s the second time this summer that Thomas Pump has had a game stopped due to darkness. On June 3, Home One Homes (Northlake Christian School) and Thomas Pump were tied at 4-4 after eight innings. The match-up has not been rescheduled, but American Legion Sixth District East Chairman Jay Felker said the rule states teams must compete all district games in order to qualify for the playoffs.

Hood Chevrolet (Fontainebleau High), 4-2, is leading the tightly contested East Division that features four teams with two losses. Laneco and Home One Homes are tied for second with 3-2-1 records, followed by Thomas Pump (3-2-2), and Advantage Ford (1-6).

Tuesday’s game was a hit or miss game for Laneco Construction. Laneco walked 14 times and struckout 13. Its hitters faced a 3-2 count 14 times in the game, and Laneco hitters walked nine times, struck out four times and flied out once when dealing with a full count. The teams combined for three innings where a run was scored without the benefit of a hit.

Laneco took a 2-0 advantage in the first without putting the ball in play. Laneco Construction drew five consecutive two-out walks. Pohto began the walk-a-thon, followed by Andre Damiens and Bobby Mayfield. Bonnaffons and Cousin each had RBI base on balls.

Thomas Pump came back with a run as Reis led off with a double. Meyer eventually drove him in to make it 2-1.

Thomas Pump knotted the game at 2-2 in the third with a two-out rally. Reis walked and stole second. De St. Germain laced an RBI double to the left center-field gap.

Laneco responded with two in the fourth. Ross Macaluso walked, and Nate Hewitt singled. Pohto drove in Macaluso with a hit. Following a Damiens’ walk to load the bases, Mayfield, who walked four times, collected an RBI with a base on balls.

Thomas Pump got a run the fifth without a knock. Dylan Aymond walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Thomas Pump tied the game for the second time in the sixth, once again without a hit.

Matt Conn reached on an error with two outs. He then stole second. Conn attempted to steal third, but the throw went into left field, allowing him to score the tying run.

Laneco Construction added one more before the game was stopped.

Laneco coach Mark Homburg said it was a crazy game.

“We strike out 14 times. We walk at least 10 times. We make a couple key errors that kind of hurt us,” Homburg said. “They only have three hits. We had a chance with the bases loaded to put them away, couldn’t do it. They had a couple chances early. We each squandered opportunities and it comes back to bite you in a tie ballgame.”

After seven innings, Laneco Construction had left 12 men on base, eight in scoring position, while Thomas Pump left just four on and one in scoring position.

Thomas Pump coach Scott Schwaner said his team seems to struggle early in the week.

“That’s part of summer baseball,” Schwaner said. “It’s real hard to get them in as a group, workout and practice. It seems like every week, our first game of the week coming back, we struggle for the first couple innings.”