MONROE, La. – The No. 30 Ouachita Lions turned heads across the state with a 7-5 victory over No. 3 Live Oak Monday night in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.
“It was unbelievable,” Ouachita head coach Josh Morrison told “The Morning Drive with Aaron and Jake” Tuesday. “I didn’t think about it right after the game, but on the way home, my pitching coach said, ‘Man, that schedule really paid off.’”
The Lions competed with some of the best teams in the state with more than half of Ouachita’s 21 losses coming by two runs or fewer.
“We’ve been right there all season long. It didn’t really matter who was in the other dugout,” Morrison said. “We struck first in the third inning and did a really good job on the bases to get (Live Oak) uncomfortable.”
Ouachita scored three runs in the top of the third before Live Oak tied the game and later took a one-run lead in the fourth.
Morrison said Live Oak was “out of whack” trying to defend the bunt game, which helped produce some runs.
Ouachita handled the adversity and retook the lead for good in the seventh.
“We thought we were going to be better on the mound going in, so we felt good about that,” Morrison said. “We thought we could get to them. We actually got their starter off the mound in the fourth inning. We got off the bus, and our guys expected to win that ballgame.”
Zach Shaw, Dada Jones and Hudson Wright each produced two hits apiece in the victory. Shaw threw a complete game and struck out seven in the victory.
“Zach Shaw is phenomenal,” Morrison said. “He’s towed the rubber for four years here, and there’s not a better arm in the state of Louisiana. We surely haven’t seen him. He’s durable, and man, he can go the distance. He only gets better as the game goes on. We know if he’s on the mound, we’re only one big hit away. He had his best stuff last night.”
