Saturday, May 10, 1952
GATORS, TIGERS FEAST IN SISL
The carnivores are carousing in the South Island Second League at midseason... the first place Guedon Gators (7-3) and the runner-up Meraux Tigers (6-4) have feasted on the Cubs (5-5), Moccasins (5-5), Saints (4-6) and the Blues (3-7)... both clubs are riding high with Guedon winning its last four games and Meraux copping two in a row... the two leaders seem to be the creme de la creme halfway through the season... the Gators are one game ahead of the Tigers... so far, it's a high-scoring league with mediocre mound staffs.
1st Place: Guedon Gators (7-3)
The Gators are ravaging the league with a high-octane attack and sufficient pitching, plus they are the best defensively, too (.972 FA)... Guedon has a run-producing lineup led by George Thomas (.357), Anthony Stassi (.333), Winky Biggio (.324), Mike Rogers (.314) and Charley Comeaux (.313)... cleanup hitter Maurice Melancon (.222) has 3 homers and 8 RBIs to top the team... and pitcher Chris Charlet (4-1, 3.06) has done a good job as the number -one starter... but the team has trouble when it has to go to its bullpen... Charlet has only 2 complete games this year... Guedon's impressive bats and Charlet's quality pitching should give the Gators a good chance at the SISL flag.
2nd Place: Meraux Tigers (6-4)
The Tigers are just about as tenacious as the Gators with firepower... they are well-stocked with an abundance of bats, too, sparked by the league's top hitter, Clinton Theriot (.410), Ike Barbier (.364), Buddy Brodnax (.350), Jackson Maxwell (.333) and Stephen Pascal (.310)... and Meraux has dependable pitching, paced by Mario Michelli (3-2, 3.15) with 7 starts... and his bullpen has been fairly reliable with Tim Watford (0-1, 3.18) and Felix Goudeau (1-2, 4.50)... the Tigers can match the Gators hit-for-hit and homer-for-homer... and Meraux is good defensively with a .962 FA... they beat Guedon 8-7 the first-time around in their first meeting in March... they will play game two tomorrow afternoon in Guedon... they have 3 games left against one another... victory face-to-face will be decisive factor in the pennant race... Michelli for Meraux and Charlet for Guedon will be the key performers in the hunt for the pennant.
3rd Place (tied): Delacroix Cubs (5-5)
The Cubs can put runs on the scoreboard, too, just like Guedon and Meraux... they split two games with the Gators and lost twice to the Tigers... pitching is their downfall... number-one starter Clem Robin (3-4, 4.15) usually keeps Delacroix close and gives them a shot at a win, but the bullpen is another story... the bats have to win games... and the Cubs have some good ones in Clarence Chaisson (.390), Rufus Chauvin (.341), Chancey Guilbeau (.303), Doug Juban (.283) and James Ellison (.270)... plus Jefferson Roebuck (.222) can go deep and drive in runs, too... Chauvin and Guilbeau have 4 homers apiece and Roebuck has hit 2... Chauvin tops the SISL with 15 runs batted in... Delacroix will probably have to be satisfied with third or fourth place in the standings... they just don't have the pitching to hang with Guedon and Meraux.
3rd Place (tied): Chitamaca Moccasins (5-5)
The Mocs don't make a lot of contact at the place, but hit with power, pitch very poorly and play average defense (.954 FA)... that's it in a nutshell... Chitamaca's top batters are Allen Toussaint (.366), Adam Derouen (.326), Remi Jarreau (.325) and Washa Ducioux (.290)... Matt Briscoe (.229) has also been productive with 2 roundtrippers and 8 RBIs... it's another story on the hill where mediocrity prevails... Chitamaca has tried 3 different starters this season... none of the them effective... Bill Donovan (3-2, 4.24) has been the most successful in 4 starts... Travis Jumonville (0-1, 5.03) and Norville Dupre (1-2, 5.33) have had their troubles in the other 6 starts... the Moccasins seem to be headed for the fourth spot in the league.
5th Place: St. Dominic Saints (4-6)
Out of the starting gate the Saints sizzled with four wins in the first six games... they did it with outstanding pitching and productive bats... but both have fallen off in the last four games, all defeats... pitchers Paul Amiss (4-2, 2.07) and Gerry McClure (0-4, 1.29) have done very well, but they suffer from a lack of run support and a lack of defense (.950)... St. Dominic is last in runs and last in homers... they have not hit one out of the park this year, while the rest of the league regularly does it... the other five clubs have hit 11 or 12 home runs this season... the Saints are a bunch of punch-and-judy hitters with no extra-base power... Paul Amiss (.350) is the leader with some help from Connie Ryan (.341), Steve Farelly (.297), Mickey Retif (.286), Billy Steen (.278) and Don Gonczi (.275)... the RBI leader is Bobby Taylor (.233) with just 5 ribbies... St. Dominic has to find some hitters with power to be a contending club in the South Island Second League... they have the pitching.
6th Place: Bayou Bleu Blues (3-7)
The Blues have second-class pitching and good power, but they don't hit for much of an average... in addition, they are very bad with the gloves... their .915 FA is, by far, the worst in the SISL... not a good formula for success... heading up the Bayou Bleu attack is one of the better hitters in the league, Luc Desselle (.400)... he leads the league with 6 homers and also ranks second with 13 RBIs... the Blues have several other pretty fair batters in Marcel Boudreaux (.333), Zachary Richard (.304), Dexter Truex (.268) and Sammy Marcello (.262)... Jean-Michel Delhomme (1-4, 4.47) has been the most active starter with 8 starts, but he has been replaced by Randall Robicheaux (1-0, 3.45)... Robicheaux pitched well last week in his first start and beat St. Dominic... he will get the starting assignment this weekend... if the pitching perks up, the Blues could be challenging for third or fourth place this year.
