Baseball’s Division I Non-Select is arguably the hardest playoff bracket in the entire state of Louisiana to make it into — in any sport.
Just ask South Lafourche.
Last season, the Tarpons had one of their most successful seasons in school history and were not able to crack into the bracket because of the depth in the class.
This year, the Tarpons are older, more experienced and hope that they have what it takes to survive the rigors of the season and get that playoff opportunity that they wanted last year.
The expectations are high at South Lafourche as coach Chandler Guidroz and his team hope to crack into the postseason bracket and give playoff baseball back to the community.
The Tarpons beat St. James 4-0 on opening day and have a clear recipe: timely hits, throw strikes and play defense.
If the team does that, its coach thinks this could be a very nice season for Big Blue.
“We know how hard our division is and how many quality teams are in it,” Guidroz said. “So that puts the pressure on us to be consistent and play good baseball throughout the entire season. But I think our kids are embracing that challenge and are hungry. I think our guys want to show what they’re made of and we really like what we’re seeing from this year’s team.”
The Tarpons are deep on the mound.
Guidroz said he believes this year’s South Lafourche baseball team has as deep of a pitching staff as it has had in some time — a testament to the hard work that the kids put in with pitching coach Bucky Angelette.
Carter Callais got the ball on opening day against St. James and was solid.
Guidroz said he also likes others like Josh Mack, Julian Morales, Eddie Galicia and many others to comprise a staff with a clear goal: throw strikes and make opponents beat you by swinging the bat.
Another big key to the South Lafourche season will be its defense and so far, that has been a strong suit.
In that opening day game against St. James, the Tarpons committed no errors.
In the preseason scrimmages and jamborees, Guidroz also spoke glowingly of the way his guys worked on its defense.
“We have been making the routine plays,” Guidroz said. “And look, it’s high school baseball. If you throw strikes and can throw and catch the ball, you’re going to be OK. You’re going to get your offense to the plate and you’re going to be in a good situation more times than not and we have been really fortunate to be able to be playing really solid defense so far.”
Offense for the Tarpons is a storyline to follow coming into the season.
South Lafourche lost Jacob Pierce and Jack Ledet — arguably the best 1-2 punch in any batting order last season.
But Guidroz said that while no one is going to replace that 2025 duo, he believes the Tarpons have strength in numbers and will be able to hit.
Ress Duet is at the top of the batting order and is going to be looking to set the table for Mack, Morales, Callais and Galicia — all big thumpers with experience last season.
Beau Robert is also a top of the lineup weapon.
Guidroz said his team will not have near the home run power that it did several seasons ago when the team was annually making deep playoff pushes, but he added that this year’s group is going to be scrappy and capable of putting the ball in play and taking extra bases.
“We are an offense that can hit it into the gaps and for some power, but we know our bread and butter is that small ball and executing and taking advantage of opportunities,” Guidroz said.
So with the start of the season now here, the challenge is going to be consistency.
In Division I Non-Select, to just have a winning season is not enough. You have to win 20+ games to get a shot in the playoffs and cannot afford any lulls during the season.
That’s easier said than done, but Guidroz said he and his team know what they’re up against and are ready for the challenge.