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LAKE CHARLES WEATHER

Local prep pitchers earn honors - By Jim Gazzolo

Jun 05, 2023 03:18PM ● By Josh Thibodeaux

The streak is over.

For three straight seasons, a player from Barbe High School was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for the state of Louisiana.

Not this year.

The honor for this season will go on the other side of the river.

Friday Suphur left-hander Jake Brown was selected as the state’s best player by Gatorade. The senior is the second from the school to earn the honor, joining Kyle Breaux, who earned the award in 2015.

Brown finished the year 10-2 with a 1.71 earned run average for Sulphur which advanced to the semifinals last month in the state tournament.

Brown allowed just 39 hits in 73.2 innings of work. He also hit .336 as a batter with seven home runs, 26 runs batted in and stole 20 bases.

Brown breaks the Barbe streak that saw Gavin Guidry, Jack Walker and Brody Drost captured the award the last three seasons.

“Jake Brown is the best two-way player in Louisiana and the two-time MVP in the toughest district in the state,” said Andre Boudreau, head coach at Southside High School in a press release. “He has the ability to affect the game in multiple ways.”

Barbe was not shut out of the state honors though. Earlier last week Landon Victorian was named the top prep player in Louisiana by Max Preps.

Victorian finished 8-0 with a 0.97 ERA. In 50.1 innings he the right-hander struck out an eye-popping 80 hitters, over half of the 151 outs he recorded.

He helped Barbe to another Division I non-select state championship in May.