The Tammany Zephyrs, located in the Mandeville area, captured the 2008 United States Specialty Sports Association 11AA Louisiana State Tournament by going 5-0 during the competition last weekend in Lake Charles.

Daniel Cook threw 10 innings in the tournament, giving up four runs, one earned, on three hits with 12 strikeouts and four walks.

“It was really exciting,” Cook said. “I really didn’t think we were going to win because we had won one tournament. We are a good team, and we finally showed it.”

Pictured are the Tammany Zephyrs, who went 5-0 last weekend to capture the 2008 United States Specialty Sports Association 11AA Louisiana State Tournament. From left, first row: Josh Nunez, Garrett Groce, Matt Jones, Michael Ferrer, Jared Gambino and Austin Barrios; second row: Austin Engolia, Ross Allbritton, Austin Moore, John Laws, Daniel Cook and Zachary Boylan; and third row: Assistant coach Douglas Ferrer, head coach Mark Allbritton, assistant coach Brad Laws and assistant coach Quinn Boylan.

Zachary Boylan, who stole home in the semifinals and drove in two runs in the finals, talked about the team’s enthusiasm about the victory.

“It was good. We were all excited. We dumped water on our coach,” he said.

The state tournament win qualified the Zephyrs for the USSSA World Series, but due to the timeframe, the team will not make the trip.

The games were either six innings or one hour and 40 minutes. The seeds to begin the competition were determined by USSSA points that teams accumulated in past tournaments based on where they finished. The more points you have, the higher your seed. Following pool play, the 14 squads were re-seeded for single-elimination bracket play by runs allowed, and if that was tied, run differential. The top two seeds in bracket play earned byes.

Five local teams participated in the tournament, including the Louisiana Xplosion, Northshore Knights, Pelicans and the Slidell Fighting Cardinals.

The Zephyrs, seeded eighth to begin but second in bracket play, got good pitching, which helped them get to the title.

In the pool-play opener, Cook threw a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and did not give up an earned run during a 4-3 victory over Louisiana Sub-Zero last Friday.

Boylan scored twice and added a hit along with a walk.

Tammany came back on Saturday with a 12-2 win over the Northshore Knights.

Matt Jones went 2-for-2 with a run batted in and a run scored. Ross Allbritton and Josh Nunez each had a hit and two RBIs. Boylan got a hit and posted an RBI.

The run differential earned the Zephyrs the second seed for bracket play.

The first game of Tammany’s bracket play ended in exciting fashion for the Zephyrs as Jones got a walk-off single, driving in Garrett Groce with the winning run of a 2-1 victory over the Spartans of St. Bernard Parish in the eighth inning.

The Zephyrs took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Michael Ferrer executed a safety squeeze sending in Groce, who had two hits and scored both runs.

The Spartans tied the game in the fifth, leading to extra innings.

Cook got the win as he gave up one unearned run on one hit with four strikeouts and four walks.

In the semifinals, Tammany’s Ferrer scored the game-winning run on an error, ending the game on a ball hit by Jones in a 5-4 victory over the Louisiana Xplosion.

With the game tied at 4-4, Ferrer walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and eventually came home to end it.

Boylan had an RBI and scored a run when he stole home, while Cook posted a hit and tallied for Tammany.

The Xplosion’s Michael LeBlanc had an RBI double, which tied the game at 2-2, while Holden Harwell finished 2-for-3. Kyle Burkart had a hit and walked twice.

The Zephyrs won big in the finals, 8-2, behind the exploits of John Laws, who pitched three innings, allowing one run with three strikeouts. He also helped his cause with a two-run double.

Boylan finished with two RBIs. Jones and Austin Barrios both had a hit and scored a run.

Tammany coach Mark Allbritton said he was proud of his team.

“It was a bunch of kids that overachieved. Any of the teams could have won it, but we were fortunate to win it. We got phenomenal pitching from Daniel Cook and Austin Moore,” Allbritton said.

The Xplosion went 2-0 in pool play. They took the opener over the Louisiana Blue Claws, 6-5, Friday.

Harwell and Ryan O’Krepki each went 2-for-3. Austin Jackson was the winning pitcher. He gave up two hits and three runs with three strikeouts in four innings of work.

Louisiana came back on Saturday and knocked off Warrior Baseball, 12-2, in a three-inning contest.

Harwell belted a solo homer, while O’Krepki and Cody Sposito both finished 2-for-3. Ruston West, the winning pitcher, threw three innings and allowed one earned run on one hit.

The Xplosion got a No. 6 seed for the bracket play and won its first game when Nick Carbo got a walk-off single to score West in a 4-3 victory over the Northshore Knights.

Down 3-0, the Xplosion mounted a rally. Sposito started the comeback with a single, and Burkart was hit. Both runners stole and David Dipiazza hit a two-run single up the middle. West tied the game with a double, setting up Carbo’s hit.

The Knights struggled in the tournament, going 1-3.

Northshore began pool play with a 10-3 loss to the Opelousas Titans on Friday. The Knights then fell to the Zephyrs before entering bracket play.

Northshore won its first game of bracket play, 5-3, over the Slidell Fighting Cardinals. Christopher Vickers had a two-run single for Slidell, while Cai Suprean posted an RBI single.

The Knights run ended with the loss to the Xplosion.

Slidell’s Fighting Cardinals went 2-0 in bracket play. They opened with a 5-1 victory over the Pelicans behind Cody Doucette’s one-hitter.

Doucette finished the game, allowing no earned runs with six strikeouts and a walk.

Tré Dolan homered for the Cardinals and Khalil Bijou hit a two-run single.

Slidell came back and defeated the Spartans, 6-4, Saturday as Dolan and Drew Kennedy played long ball with back-to-back shots. Dolan’s was a two-run homer.

The Pelicans struggled in the tournament, going 0-3. They lost their first game to the Fighting Cardinals Friday and then fell to the Iowa Sting, 9-1.

In bracket play, the Pelicans suffered an 11-3 setback to the Bayou Tigers. Despite the struggles, Pelicans coach Lance Licciardi said it was a great experience and his players had a good time.