Gauthier Amedee begins quest for state title

The high-school baseball season has come to a close, and the month of June has arrived. 

And with the new month comes a new baseball season. Some of the best baseball players from the parish have come together to represent Ascension’s American Legion squad, Gauthier Amedee.

Gauthier Amedee will have a new look this year. The team had a big roster shakeup, and they will be led by a new head coach.

For the past five years, Gauthier Amedee has been guided by former Destrehan and current Riverside Academy head coach Marty Luquet. Luquet led the team to an American Legion World Series appearance back in 2018.

This season, Gauthier Amedee will be guided by East Ascension head coach Kade Keowen. 

Keowen, a former assistant coach at LSU-Eunice, has been the Spartans’ skipper for the past five years. He has led them to the playoffs in three of his four full seasons at East Ascension.

Gauthier Amedee will be looking to return to state championship glory this summer. They won the state title in 2020. Last season, the team fell short at the state tournament.

Gauthier Amedee began the event with a 1-0 win over Gibbs Construction and an 8-3 victory over the Lafayette Drillers.

However, GA tripped up against Retif Oil, 4-2. This forced Gauthier Amedee to play in an elimination game. The team lost that contest, 2-0, against Gibbs Construction.

Gauthier Amedee finished the season with an overall record of 14-7-1.

Under Keowen, GA will have virtually a brand-new roster in 2022. They will only return four players from last summer—Slade Zeppuhar, Will Delaune, Brayden Billingsley (St. Amant) and Lex Melancon (Ascension Catholic).

Delaune, a Dutchtown standout, hit .328 last season with a team-leading 30 RBIs. 

Zeppuhar hit .362 (second on the team) with 24 RBIs from the plate. From the mound, he was 4-2 with a 2.78 ERA. He piled up 25 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.

Zeppuhar is one of three college players on the roster. The St. Amant alum is currently playing for Baton Rouge Community College.

Jacob Dunn is also on BRCC’s roster. Dunn is a former Ascension Catholic standout, who was last year’s District 7-1A MVP and Ascension Parish MVP. This will be his first season playing for Gauthier Amedee.

East Ascension alum Kael Babin is also on this summer’s roster. Babin currently plays for Hutchinson Community College.

The other players on this year’s Gauthier Amedee roster are: Lee Amedee (St. Amant), Luke Conerly (East Ascension), Ashtyn Ellis (St. Amant), Nick Gisclair (Dutchtown), Caleb Ickes (Dutchtown), Jacob Mayers (St. Amant), Grant Morrison (Dutchtown), Cole Poirrier (St. Amant), Dominick Regira (East Ascension), Tanner Vadnais (Dutchtown) and Reuben Williams (Dutchtown).

Of the 14 high-school players on the roster, all were all-district performers this past season. Amedee, Delaune, Mayers, Melancon, Poirrier, Regira and Vadnais all made the first team.

Gauthier Amedee opened the season last Tuesday. The Ascension squad split a double-header with the Southland Hogs.

This weekend, GA went 3-1 at the 2D Hub City Classic tournament at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Gauthier Amedee will compete in the Perfect Game 18U World Series in Hoover, Ala., this week. The tournament begins on Thursday.

The team will host the Impact Sports Tournament next weekend.