The Glenbrook baseball program has been on quite a roll.
In 2021, the Apaches won the MAIS Class 1A championship in their last season in the organization. In 2022, Glenbrook successfully made the transition to the LHSAA but wasn’t eligible championship honors as a first-year school.
Last year, the Apaches made it to the Ochsner LHSAA State Tournament on their first try, falling to No. 2 Ascension Catholic 4-1 in the semifinals.
And now Glenbrook has made it to the championship game. The No. 11 seed Apaches (16-10) will face No. 1 Opelousas Catholic (29-6) for the select Division IV state title Friday at 2 p.m. at McMurry Park in Sulphur.
Last season it was no surprise that Glenbrook reached the state tournament as the No. 3 seed with a wealth of talent including two Division I signees.
While expectations might not have been quite as high as last season, there was still plenty of reason for optimism entering the 2024 season.
Three starters returned — pitcher/infielder Easton Sanders, infielder Jackson Waller and catcher/pitcher Landry Powell.
Playing a tough schedule including three-game series against 5A teams Benton and Haughton, the Apaches got off to a 3-8 start. But they have gone 13-2 since then including playoff victories over No. 6 St. John 8-5, No. 3 Ouachita Christian 4-2 and No. 2 Covenant Christian 3-2.
While the returning starters have done their jobs, the Apaches wouldn’t have made it this far without the contributions of outfielder Seth Mangrum, first baseman Dawson Day, leftfielder Preston Frye, second basemen Ryan Reagan, third baseman/pitcher Sam Ricord and rightfielder Hudson Glasscock.
Opelousas Catholic has defeated No. 17 Cedar Creek 11-3, No. 8 St. Frederick 9-5 and No. 5 Central Catholic 3-0 in the playoffs.
The Vikings have won 21 of their last 23 with the losses coming against non-select Division II semifinalist Iowa and select Division III semifinalist Parkview Baptist.