BY TED POTTS
New Orleans Boosters lived to play another day in this year’s AAABA Tournament by defeating Altoona Johnston Realty 15-1 Tuesday afternoon at Fichtner Field in the West End.
The Boosters scored three runs in the first inning and the rout was on.
Altoona made a fast exit from the tourney, going winless in two games.
New Orleans begins play today with a 1-1 record.
The Boosters, managed by Wilbur “Bill” Babin, scored their 15 runs on 14 hits, including a two-run home run by first baseman Max Ledet in the sixth inning.
Ledet’s homer set the game’s final score.
Jordan Rittiner was the winning pitcher, tossing five innings and giving up Altoona’s lone run on a sacrifice fly by Matt Baer in the bottom of the first. Tyler Stiffler, who tripled ahead of Baer’s at-bat, scored the Johnston Realty run.
After that, Altoona would not cross the plate again in this year’s tournament.
Kaleb Fleck was the losing pitcher, lasting just 12/3 innings.
New Orleans’ first inning runs were the result of a single to right-center by Scott Fabre that plated one run and a two-run double by Mason Katz. The Boosters tacked on three more runs in the second thanks to a triple by Beau Boudreaux that scored Lucas LeBlanc, who had doubled; a wild pitch; and a ball hit by Katz to center field that was dropped.
The seventh New Orleans run crossed the plate in the third on a ball hit by Boudreaux that scored LeBlanc, who had doubled.
The Boosters kept the rout on, with four runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth.
Kurt Farabaugh’s Johnston Realty managed just four hits while committing six errors.
