BACK-TO-BACK: Top-seeded Rosepine shuts out Doyle to win the Class 2A Championship

Sulphur, LA (KPLC) - The Rosepine Eagles capped off the best season in program history with back-to-back Class 2A State Titles on Friday. No. 1 Rosepine blanked 11th-seeded Doyle in the championship game re-match, 11-0 at McMurry Park in Sulphur.

While the matchup was the same, the 2021 and 2022 championship games couldn’t have been farther from each other on the competitive scale. After a 1-0 win a season ago, the Eagles doubled that run total in the first inning. Rosepine then quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead by the fourth inning after four-run and five-run innings.

“To end up 34-2 on the season while winning the district title by going 10-0 and winning a state title with these guys, [it’s special]. Not only [for] my seniors, because we’ve got a good junior class and underclassmen,” said Rosepine coach Jeff Smith. “We’re just brought into each other and this is just a wonderful thing for our guys and the community.”

Once again, LSU signee Ethan Frey stole the show both in the batter’s box and on the mound. Frey’s picked up the game’s first RBI and in the fourth inning, hit a bases-loaded triple to bust the game open. He’d finish 1-for-2 on the day with 4 RBIs.

Meanwhile, on the bump, he was just as dominant as he was a season ago vs. Doyle. Frey pitched all five innings allowing just a single run while striking out 12 batters.

Frey’s impressive stat line once gained earned him the game’s Most Outstanding Player award for the second consecutive season.

“It feels great to know that all the work we did since we were younger paid off,” said Frey. “To go out the best way possible— this what every kid dreams of, to win one, much less two [titles] and we did it. It feels unreal.”

The Eagles were led in the hit department by Jake Smith and Braden Trull who each picked up a pair of base knocks.

Rosepine’s 2022 season will go down as one of the most dominant ever in LHSAA baseball history. The Eagles set a school record for wins with 34, while the team ended the season with a 30-game win streak. The team picked up nine wins vs. teams in Classes 3A and above, including the Sulphur Golden Tors, who made the Class 5A state tournament. In the postseason, Rosepine’s average score was 14-2 and the team didn’t allow a single run in either the championship game or the semifinal round.

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