From Staff Reports

Robicheaux Ford used timely hitting and several Taco Bell errors en route to a 12-2 Swampland semifinal win Tuesday in Berwick in six innings.

Taco Bell (Berwick) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, chasing Robicheaux Ford’s (Van-debilt Catholic) starter Matt Bergeron.

“We came out a little flat and Matt was up in the zone and they hit him pretty good,” Robicheaux Ford coach Corey Sullivan said. “So, I pulled him because I didn’t want them to have a big inning, and Josh (Bergeron) did a great job of shutting them down.”

J. Bergeron handcuffed Taco Bell’s bats for the remainder of the game.

Berwick starter Neal Theriot suffered the loss as he surrendered two runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout in 3 and 1/3 innings.

“We also took advantage of a lot of their errors,” Sullivan said. “But we will have to be better tomorrow if we want to win it all.”

Robicheaux Ford, the No. 2 seed, will play top seed Synergy Bank (E.D. White) for the Swampland League championship today. Syner-gy Bank rallied from a 9-0 deficit to defeat South Loui-siana Bank (South Terre-bonne) 10-9, in Tuesday’s nightcap.

Taco Bell, the No. 3 seed, reached the semifinal by routing No. 6 seed Reeco Rentals (Thibodaux), 12-4, in Monday’s quarterfinals. Taco Bell won nine games this season, the most since the team started playing Swampland.

“Over the last three weeks, we have been playing very good baseball,” Taco Bell coach Mike Thomas said. “Today, we just didn’t do that. We committed seven errors, and we gave up seven unearned runs and against good teams, you can’t do that. We haven’t committed very many errors all sum-mer, but that’s the game of baseball. Some of our better players didn’t play well today, but come February, I know we will be a good team.”

“I’m very proud of how the kids played this summer,” Thomas said. “We were shorthanded all summer, but these guys really competed.”

Synergy Bank 10, South Louisiana Bank 9

Top-seed Synergy Bank showed why it was one of the best teams in the Swampland League on Tuesday as it overcame a 9-0 deficit to No. 5 South Louisiana Bank for a 10-9 victory in the other semifinal in Berwick.

Down 9-0, in the bottom of the fourth inning, Synergy Bank used timely hitting and took advantage of multiple South Louisiana Bank errors to storm back during the fourth through sixth innings for the lead and eventually, the win.

Synergy Bank scored two runs in the fourth inning courtesy of Seth Gravois’ sacrifice fly to right field as well an error.

In the fifth, Synergy Bank scored three runs scored on singles while the E.D. White-based squad plated two more in the inning via errors and one each on a ground out and a flyout.

Synergy’s Nick Falgout tied the game when he scored on Brett Duet’s two-out infield single.

In the bottom of the sixth, Synergy took its first and only lead of the game when it scored the winning run. On the play, Jace Toups beat the South Louisiana Bank catcher’s tag attempt at home plate on a fielder’s choice by the third baseman.

While the Synergy Bank offense began to find its groove mid-way through the game, its second relief pitcher, Justin Theriot, shut down the South Louisiana Bank after a hot start. In 3 1/3 innings of relief, he surrendered just one hit, struckout six and walked two.

Offensively, South Louisi-ana Bank began the game on a tear and as it scored seven first-inning runs, including a grand slam over the left field wall by Chance Verdin.

E.D. White starter Bren-nan Legendre lasted just one inning as he surrendered seven runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

SLB added to its lead on a two-RBI double by Seth Cadiere in the second inning.

Verdin led South Louisi-ana Bank with a grand slam, while Cadiere added a double.

Scott Szush, who finished the game for Synergy Bank, earned the win, while Jarrett Sevin, who come on in relief of SLB starter Seth Cadiere, suffered the loss.

For Synergy Bank, Toups had two hits, including a double, and Michael Waguespack had two hits.