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American Press
15-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Rebuilt Bronco, Flanagan unflappable since return, Broncos face Live Oak in championship series
Sam Houston senior Cole Flanagan has won three games on the mound in the playoffs this year. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press) Cole Flanagan had to watch from the dugout last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. But now he is back on the front lines as the Broncos look to win the program's first state championship since 2001. 'It was tough, but you have to stay in there and support your guys and do the thing in the dugout and keep the energy up,' Flanagan said. 'It is nice to be back out there for myself, but having these guys to play with has been awesome. 'I have had great teams and great leadership for four years, so I am trying to go about how the people before me led and try to do that with this team. It has been going pretty well.' The No. 11 Broncos, who have won 14 of their last 15 games, open a best-of-three series against No. 1 Live Oak for the Non-select Division I state championship at the state baseball tournament in Sulphur at 5:30 p.m. today. Game 2 will be at the same time Friday. If a third game is necessary, it will be played on at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. 'We can't take it for granted,' Flanagan said. 'We have to live in the moment and enjoy every minute of it.' The Louisiana-Lafayette signee had a stellar sophomore year, going 6-2, including a win over Live Oak in the quarterfinals, and batted over .300. After limited pitch counts early in the season, Flanagan said he feels back to his old self. He is 7-2 with a 2.10 earned run average and batting .375 with 30 RBIs. He has improved his control, increasing his strike-to-ball ratio from 2.79 to 3.81- to-1. He has 61 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings. He pitched a complete game two-hit shutout on Saturday to complete the Broncos' (35-7) sweep of Barbe (34-6) in the semifinals. 'I feel great,' Flanagan said. 'I feel like I was a little bit better maybe. 'The surgery went well, so that is a good thing. I had to go to five months of physical therapy, a lot of rangeof- motion stuff and get my elbow back in shape and get my shoulder back in shape to be able to throw.' With the new series format in all rounds of the playoffs for Divisions I, II and III, pitching has become exponentially more important. The Broncos have a deep pitching staff led by Flanagan and sophomore Owen Galley (8-1, 722/3 IP, 1.25 ERA). Six Broncos have won three or more games on the mound, and the staff has a 1.85 ERA. Flanagan and Galley have each won three postseason games. The Broncos' playoff run hasn't been easy. They had to win on the road at defending champion West Monroe and 12-time state champion Barbe. But Flanagan said the Broncos are well prepared to take on the Eagles. 'I feel like we have had a tough playoff run,' Flanagan said. 'The arms and teams that we have played have all led up to this point for preparation. We just have to come out here and do the same thing we do every day and play with everything we have. I expect another close one and get in there and go win a dogfight. Outcompeting them is our goal. 'Throwing the fastball and letting the guys behind me make the plays has been my mind-set out there. I have a good defense working behind me this year.' Knowing that the Eagles (32-6) have a strong pitching staff, Flanagan said the Broncos will have to scratch out every hit and run they can get. ULL signee Sawyer Pruitt shut out Benton in the semifinals with 11 strikeouts, and left-handed pitcher Zant Gurney has allowed one earned run in two postseason starts. Five of Sam Houston's eight postseason wins have been by one or two runs. 'Coach has been preaching to us that every time we get in the box to get in there and compete, no matter the outcome, and we will ultimately get what we want,' Flanagan said.
American Press
14-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Bonding over baseball: Cassard, Hebert final meeting
Nearly two decades ago, Sam Houston head coach Chad Hebert and Live Oak head coach Jesse Cassard's friendship began on Glenn Cecchini's staff at Barbe High School. In 2006 they helped the Bucs win the Class 5A state title. Each have become successful head coaches, and along the way they shared tips and insights, checking on each other's family and played some intense games over the years. Cassard announced his retirement two weeks ago, so this week will be the final time the two coach against each other. And the setting will be perfect. The No. 1 Eagles (32-6) and No. 11 Broncos (35-7) will face off in the first game of a three-game series at 5:30 p.m. Thursday for the Non-select Division I baseball championship at the state tournament in Sulphur. 'We're really good friends,' Cassard said. 'Just following Griff, his son, and I know he loves Cal, and he's always checking on Cal, my son. We've been friends since we coached together, and we've always stayed in contact. 'At this point, both of us are going to get our kids ready to play, and whoever plays best is going to win. It'll be a good, clean series. We both have really good teams, and we both have experience at this point in the playoffs, so it'll be fun.' Even after Hebert and the Broncos swept Live Oak in the quarterfinals for a second year in a row last season, they still talk strategy. 'Honestly, before the season, I had asked him, I said, 'Hey, what's some of the things you do for practice that we can change some things up?'' Cassard said. 'And he's sending me 15 videos at a time. Like, 'Hey, why don't you try this?' So we bounce things off of each other a lot.' Head-to-head, Hebert is 7-3 against Cassard. 'We're both super competitive,' Hebert said. 'He and I are close enough personal friends to where we realize it's just a game and we're going to compete hard against each other and words are going to fly and things are going to be done and said. 'At the end of the day, it's a baseball game. It's not going to dictate our friendship or our love that we have for each other.' Hebert said many of the things he learned from Cassard at Barbe and two seasons as his assistant at Zachary in 2010 and 2011 have stuck with him throughout his career. 'I don't feel like Jesse as a competitor was ever scared of anybody,' Hebert said. 'When we were at Zachary, he was always overly aggressive and trying to put pressure on people to get them to fold under the pressure and make them beat themselves at times, and we kind of stuck with that model. '(I) picked up a lot of good things in the run game from him, just things throughout the years, and he and I bounce things off each other yearly.' After a five-year stint at Barbe as an assistant, Cassard took over the Zachary program and led the Broncos to three consecutive Class 4A state championships from 2007 to 2009. He coached Sulphur to the quarterfinals in 2017, and since 2019, Cassard has led Live Oak to a 182-59 record and has them in the final for the first time since 2014, when the Eagles lost 7-1 to Barbe. It is the sixth and final time Cassard will take a team into the state tournament. He is retiring after 18 seasons as a head coach with a 476-120 record. 'My son, he's a senior, and he's going on to play college baseball,' said Cassard, who played two seasons at McNeese State. 'I want to go and watch him play and just be a dad and not have to feel bad about missing my games to go watch his games and stuff like that. I've loved coaching. It's been great.' Under Hebert, the Broncos have played at the state tournament seven times since 2017. They lost a round shy in the quarterfinals in 2022, and the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the tournament in 2020. Hebert is 270-53 in seven seasons. 'I think he's a player's coach,' Cassard said. 'He gives them some leeway to play their own way and play their own style. 'He kind of sets out a plan for them, and they really get behind him. I've never heard him throw a kid under the bus. He's always got his kids back. That's why they play like they do because they're on their coach's side. I think that's the biggest thing. He's always been a student of the game. He's always wanted to learn more. He gets his guys playing well at the right time, and they play a really consistent brand of baseball.'
American Press
10-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
PHOTO GALLERY: Sam Houston beats rival Barbe in semifinals
PHOTO GALLERY: Sam Houston beats rival Barbe in semifinals Published 11:27 pm Friday, May 9, 2025 1 of 23 No. 11 Sam Houston (32-7) beat No. 2 Barbe (34-6) 2-1, 1-0 in the Non-select Division I semifinals on Thursday and Friday to advance to the championship series next week at McMurry Park in Sulphur. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press) Email newsletter signup Featured Local Savings
American Press
10-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Flanagan pitches shutout, Broncos sweep Bucs to reach finals
Sam Houston celebrates after being Barbe 1-0 on Friday, May 9, 2025, at Barbe High School to sweep the Non-select Division I semifinal series between the archrivals. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press) In a monumental showdown between state powerhouses, senior Cole Flanagan pitched one of the best games of his career, and Sam Houston completed a sweep of archrival Barbe to earn a spot in the Non-select Division I championship series next week in Sulphur. Flanagan followed Owen Galley's 3-hitter on Thursday with a two-hitter on Friday to beat the Bucs 1-0. Flanagan struck out five and walked one batter in his second complete game of the postseason and had the hit of the game. In the bottom of the third inning, Flanagan put down a perfect bunt to score Charlie Donaldson from third base. With the game on the line in the top of the seventh and two runners on base, Flanagan struck out the final batter to send the Broncos (32-7) to the finals for the first time since 2019. 'Cole's been our guy all year on both sides of the ball,' Sam Houston head coach Chad Hebert said. 'He started down in the yard, and we moved him up. 'He kind of got his rhythm. You know, he's back from arm surgery and he looks as good as ever.' The Broncos' defense backed up Flanagan with several big plays. Barbe's J.D. Alexander led off the seventh with a hard grounder to the right side, but second baseman Carson Christ made a sliding stop and threw him out at first base. After a single by Presley Courville and Flanagan's only walk of the game, center fielder Charlie Donaldson ran down a big fly ball by Ja'Derryian Washington for the second out. Sam Houston turned a 6-4-3 double play in the third inning. 'We've been really good on defense all year,' Hebert said. 'As a matter of fact, it was the best fielding percentage as a team since I've taken over at Sam Houston. 'Big play after big play tonight, and that's what it takes to win a championship. You've got to have those big plays. Charlie Donaldson was huge in the last inning, running that ball down. Carson Christ's sliding play in the last inning, you couldn't have scripted it any better for those kids.' Sam Houston will play the winner out of No. 1 Live Oak and No. 5 Benton in a best-of-three series starting on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The second game will be on Friday at 5:30 p.m., and the third game, if necessary, will be played at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two wins are the Broncos' first over the Bucs (34-6) in the postseason. Barbe beat Sam Houston in the 2019 Class 5A finals, plus an 11-inning 1-0 win in the semifinals in 2021. 'You're not going to find a better rivalry in the nation,' Hebert said. 'I don't care what anybody says. 'It feels good to come here and do it because I have so much respect for Coach Glenn (Cecchini). You look around here, what he's built. He's built baseball in Southwest Louisiana. I will always give him credit for that. He gave me my start in 2006 as my first coaching job. 'And I wake up every day chasing this place, trying to build the best facilities and give our kids the best opportunity to be one of the best programs in the state. And it's a blueprint that he set forth, man. And for me to beat that guy, one of my mentors, a person that I truly, truly look up to, is to say it means everything to me.' In the last three weeks, Sam Houston beat last year's Non-select Division I finalist Barbe and defending state champion West Monroe on the road. Sam Houston has won 20 of its last 21 games. 'Right now, they've proven that they can play in any environment, on the road, at home, wherever it is,' Hebert said. 'I told them just to enjoy the moment, and then we'll get back to work. We'll start breaking down film and things on Sunday.' Barbe southpaw Jairus Miller (13-1) struck out eight batters and walked two, but took his first loss of the season.
American Press
09-05-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Bultron, Peshoff homer, Broncos take game one from Bucs
FILE PHOTO: Sam Houston's Ashton Bultron hit home run Thursday and the No. 11 Broncos beat No. 2 Barbe 2-1 in the first game of a best-of-three Non-select Division I semifinals at Barbe High School. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press) No. 11 Sam Houston had just two hits in the opening game of its Non-select Division I semifinals series at No. 2 Barbe on Thursday, but they were two huge hits. Ashton Bultron and Haden Peshoff, and the Broncos beat the No. 2 Bucs 2-1 and move a win away from the championship series next week at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state baseball tournament in Sulphur. The second game of the series is today at 6 p.m. If necessary, game three will be on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Broncos (31-7) are the first to crack the Bucs' (34-5) nearly impenetrable pitching staff this postseason. Lawton Littleton and Jairus Miller combined to pitch four scoreless games in the regional and quarterfinal round. Bultron ended that with a two-out solo shot to left field in the top of the first inning. Littleton had six strikeouts after three innings before Peshoff's solo home run to right field with two outs in the fourth inning. Littleton had eight strikeouts and five walks. Sam Houston's Owen Galley held the Bucs to one base runner and no runs through four innings until Barbe's Jordin Griffin plated Ja'Derryian Washington on a single with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Galley pitched a complete game with four strikeouts and two walks. The loss ended the Bucs' 28-game win streak.
