Catholic slams past Sidell

• By FRED ALDRICH
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: May 6, 2008 - UPDATED: 6:37 a.m.

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Catholic High sophomore left fielder Alex Facundus smashed a grand slam with two outs in the first inning to set the tone for the game, and Catholic went on to top Slidell 10-3 in a Class 5A regional playoff game on Monday at Grizzly Field.

The win sends Catholic into the quarterfinals of the state tournament which begin Friday at A.B. Netterville Field at North Park in Denham Springs.

Both coaches pointed to Facundus’ home run as a turning point even though it came early in the game.

“It just let the air out of our balloon,” said Slidell coach Sam Abney. “Sean (Nelson, the Slidell starting pitcher) got the first two batters out, but then he walked a couple and gave up the home run.

“The home run wouldn’t have been as hard to come back from if it wasn’t for the walks,” he said.

Catholic coach Kyle Achord said his team “settled in” behind the grand slam and let starting pitcher D.J. Ponder go to work.

“I liked our matchup with D.J. against their power guys, and I thought it would come down to the way we swung it,” he said, “and right now we’re swinging the bats as well as anybody.”

Facundus said he went to the plate just looking for a base hit.

“I was just hoping I could help manufacture some runs,” he said. “I’m not sure what kind of pitch it was, but I know he got it up.”

It was Facundus’ 10th home run of the year and second first-inning grand slam in two playoff games, the first coming in the Bears’ bi-district win over Pineville.

The rest of Catholic’s run production was distributed throughout the lineup as six different starters scored at least one run in the game. Austin Nola, Ryan Lewis, Gannon Achord and Spencer Harrell all recorded RBIs before first baseman Greg Judice finished the scoring with a monster solo blast to straightaway center in the sixth inning.

All of Slidell’s scoring came in the top of the fourth when they were down 7-0. The Tigers scored three runs on three hits and a walk. Catcher Lance Swearns drove in a run with a single and Randall Meyer drove in two with a double.

Aside from the fourth inning, Ponder was in control of the game, facing no more than four batters in any other inning and finishing with a complete game five-hitter.