By Kyle Roberts
MONROE, La. — Ruston High sophomore John Parker Moak went 4-for-4 at the plate Thursday night, helping the Bearcats (11-6) get to a 12-6 win in the 2025 District 2-5A opener over Ouachita Parish High School on the road.
The win for Ruston matches the Bearcats’ win total from last year with a little less than half the schedule remaining to be played in the season.
Ruston opened up with a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, with sophomore John Parker Moak hitting a one-out fly-ball double into center field to score both senior Peyton Martin and freshman Dalen Powell. Senior Jake Tyler would single in the next at-bat to score Moak and give Ruston its 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.
”Moak is starting to swing the bat really well for us,” Ruston High Head Coach Bryan Beck said. “It’s really good for us to have another good lefty bat in the lineup. Tyler had a good night and produced for us, too. It’s good to have some guys with big-time pop getting in the lineup and producing– it will be really good for us going down the stretch.”
Ouachita responded with a run in the first and three more in the bottom of the second inning to take a 4-3 lead.
The Bearcats, however, would put together a five-run inning in the top of the third to go up 8-4. Tyler added another two-RBI single to start the scoring, bringing in both junior Lander Smith and Moak to reclaim the lead 5-4. After senior Jake Simmons drew a walk on the next at-bat, sophomore Dillion Williams tripled to right field to score both sophomore Michael Brisco and Simmons for a 7-4 lead. Finally, senior Kolby Sonnier would single to right field on a pop fly and score Williams for the 8-4 lead.
The Bearcats would get another run in the top of the fourth after Simmons doubled to right field to score Moak and put Ruston up 9-4.
After scoreless innings by both teams in the fifth and sixth innings, Ruston added three more in the top of the seventh inning, beginning with a single by junior Jackson Lee to right field, scoring senior Caleb Hampton from third base. After senior Carter Love stole third base in the next at-bat, Martin would hit a sacrifice fly to score love and put Ruston up 11-4. Lee would then score on a wild pitch in the following at-bat for Ruston, giving Ruston a 12-4 lead.
Ouachita would get two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it would not be enough as Ruston would get the 12-6 win.
Moak led Ruston with his four hits and two RBI’s which included two doubles, while Tyler added three RBI’s on two hits.
Despite the great run production for Ruston, Beck said the pitching and defense overall was not what he would have liked to have seen after the committee of hurlers gave up nine total walks on the night.
”Senior Talan Billberry got the start and we had to pull him after the third inning,” Beck said. “We were on dirt and grass and acted like we hadn’t played on that before. We were just throwing the baseball around, not fielding it, and just put him in a bind. We just can’t do that with a senior starter like that. We have got to be better defensively for our starting pitcher.”
The Bearcats are scheduled to play Natchitoches Central tonight, which has an Alabama commit on the roster as a pitcher and Brock Laird at shortstop, grandson of longtime Ruston football coach Billy Laird and son of former coach Brad Laird.
”We’ll have our work cut out for us — Natchitoches Central is really good,” Beck said. “They’ve got a really good baseball team. We should have a playoff atmosphere here tomorrow night, and we need to be really ready to play and execute in all phases to have a chance to win.”
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