WAVE RUNNER—Ponchatoula’s Tyler Nelson (12) scampers home with the Wave’s fourth run in the second inning as East Ascension catcher Justin Trahan waits in vain for the relay throw during Monday’s Class 5A regional at Athletic Park. The Greenies went on to defeat East Ascension 5-4 and end a 13-year State Tournament drought.

PONCHATOULA-For 13 years, the Ponchatoula Green Wave has wondered the Class 5A prep baseball desert. Monday night at Athletic Park, the Greenies finally punched their ticket to the Promised Land.

Pitchers Torin Lucas and Regis Stephens did the mound version of a Houdini act, constantly wiggling out of trouble that was largely of their own making, but holding down fourth-seeded East Ascension's potent offense to score a 5-4 victory in the Class 5A regional playoffs.

And when Stephens punched out the final batter to strand the tying run at second, the Green Wave had played its way into the State Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 1995.

"It's the best feeling you could ever have in the world," said Stephens, one of 12 Green Wave seniors on this team, after working his way through three tumultuous innings in which the Spartans (26-12) had him on the ropes - but couldn't finish him.

"I was trying to throw strikes and get people out, but it wasn't going my way," said Stephens, who allowed only two hits but gave up two runs thanks to three walks, a hit batter, two wild pitches and a balk.

"I was struggling pretty bad," Stephens said. "My curveball wasn't there every time, my slider wasn't there - I threw it one pitch. I just had to stick with my fastball and get people out with my fastball.

"It all came down to the last pitch with two outs. It was everything I've worked for for four years and I got the guy out."

As a result, the Green Wave (20-11) will make its first appearance ever in the Class 5A State Tournament - they were a 4A team but still in the highest classification back in '95. On Friday, they take on Barbe at 1 p.m. at North Park in Denham Springs.

"Congratulations to Mark Gosnell," said Spartans coach Wayne Grenfell after the 20th-seeded Greenies frustrated his team at every turn. "They out-played us tonight and they made the key play at crucial times. They deserved to win."

Ponchatoula parlayed a four-run second inning into a tournament berth thanks to the gutty efforts of Lucas (12-0) and Stephens. Lucas, starting on three days rest after a complete-game road victory at Captain Shreve in the bi-district round, worked the first four innings and gave up two fourth-inning runs. He walked three, hit two batters and gave up two hits.

But he also picked off a runner, had another thrown out trying to steal, and worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fourth to preserve a 4-2 lead.

"Torin gutted it out for four innings and he got up around 70 pitches and we had to get him out of there," Wave coach Mark Gosnell said. "We've lived and died with Regis with the lead at the end of the game. He found a way."

Ponchatoula had help from the Spartans in building its lead. B.J. Welch opened the bottom of the second by reaching on an error, then EA ace Dane Amedee (6-4) walked Stephens before Elisha Settoon laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runners ahead.

Amedee also walked Jacob Griffin to load the bases, and one out later he plunked Wave one-hole hitter Tyler Nelson to put the Greenies ahead to stay. Laramie Pittman then cracked a two-run single, and Dylan Hills' infield grounder was fumbled for an RBI single to make it 4-0.

East Ascension got two back in its fourth when Matt Richard walked, went to second on a passed ball and scored on Dustin Wambsgans' RBI single. Dustin Lambert also singled and Lucas walked the bases loaded befor hitting Troy Gautrreau with a pitch to force in a run and make it 4-2. But he got a strikeout to escape further damage.

"We were fortunate to make some pitches when we had to," Gosnell said. "They got some guys on base, but we were able to make that pitch and get that guy to pop up, get that flyout or get that ground ball. And that says a lot for those guys, even though they were struggling a little bit."

Ponchatoula padded the lead to 5-2 in the fourth when Pittman cranked a one-out double and Hills cracked a scorching RBI single to left.

But Stephens came on and walked leadoff batter Mark Waguespack to start the fifth, then a wild pitch and an errant pickoff throw got him to third. He scored from there on an RBI ground out by Marcus Bailey to make it 5-3.

Then came the key inning. Stephens hit the leadoff batter to open the sixth, walked the next batter, gave up an RBI single to Gautreau to make it 5-4, then walked another batter to load the bases with nobody out.

But Stephens stiffened, catching Smith looking at strike three, getting Richard to pop out to shallow center - not deep enough to tie the game - and then getting Bailey to ground into a force at second for the third out to leave it 5-4.

"We had bases loaded and I had my best two hitters up, my best two players up. And we didn't come through," Grenfell sighed. "That's the game of baseball. That's the way the breaks are."

For the sixth time in seven innings, East Ascension put the leadoff man aboard in the seventh when Wambsgans reached on an infield hit and got to second on a wild pitch. But Stephens got a fly to center, a comebacker ground out to the mound, and then a strikeout to spark the party in Ponchy.

Pittman was 2-for-3 and Hills 2-for-4, each with two RBI for the Wave. Wambsgans was 3-for-4 with one RBI to pace East Ascension's five-hit attack.

"This team doesn't quit and we're really excited to be going and these kids deserve it," Gosnell said. "At the end, it was crunch time, but we found a way to get it done."