Dylan Biddick has picked up where he left off last summer for the Acadiana Cane Cutters.
The leadoff and designated hitter doubled and homered, driving in three runs and scoring three in the Cane Cutters’ 16-9 win over Seguin River on Friday at Fabacher Field.
“Honestly I’m just trying to stay within myself and my approach,” said Biddick, who led the team in hitting last summer and is tied for third with a .333 average for the 2-2 Cane Cutters.
“The last two games, I struggled with my approach by swinging at everything. I was getting antsy. Before the game, I told myself to go back to what I was doing. I took deep breaths, and I was seeing the ball well.”
Biddick doubled and scored in the bottom of the first inning. His two-run homer in the second inning drove in second baseman Austin Mills, who reached base in all five at-bats and scored three runs. Mills is hitting .300 with three stolen bases.
“That’s what we expect out of him,” Dukes said of Mills. “For him to get on base, move around and move runners. He did a good job on a squeeze play. That’s his job in the nine-hole. That’s his game.”
Mills drove in a run on a bunt single in a four-run fourth inning. He also beat out a grounder for an infield hit and scored in the sixth. On both plays, the Ascension Episcopal product dove headfirst into first base.
“When I talked to coach Dukes, he told me to lay one down the third base line,” Mills said of the bunt single. “The third baseman was creeping up, and the first baseman was playing back. I was able to put it in a great spot and use my speed to beat it out.”
First baseman Peyton Woods, who leads the team with a .389 average, had three hits with two doubles and three RBIs. Woods has a triple and homer and is tied for first in RBIs with Biddick (five).
“He’s solid,” Dukes said of Woods (Doyle High, Southeastern La.). “We’re super-happy to have him. He takes a good, professional at-bat every time he comes up to the plate.”
Isaiah Castenada collected four of the Cane Cutters’ 12 walks and scored four runs. Hunter Azemar added a two-run single. Aarren Marshall scored twice. Bennett Mittelsteadt, Coy Clements and Brandon Levy each drove in a run. Connor Stelly chipped in a hit and scored.
“We’re playing team baseball,” Dukes said. “When we grind out at-bats, we’re a very good team. The problem is that when we come out of our approach at the plate, bad things happen.”
Five Acadiana pitchers combined to walk 17 and hit four batters. Levy, who has a 0.00 ERA with eight strikeouts in four innings, pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game. He was preceded by Lucas Harrington, who struck out four in 1.2 innings.
“It was a marathon,” Dukes said of the game, which ended close to 11 p.m. “We have to get to strike one and stop putting people on base. You can’t have a team score nine runs on three hits.”
Seguin River dropped to 1-3.
