SULPHUR — After falling 9-1 in the first game of the best-of-three state tournament finals to Monroe, the Concordia Parish 14-year-old tournament team had to dig deep for Game 2 of the doubleheader.

Head coach Jarrett Hoffpauir approached his team immediately after the loss, as they prepared for the ensuing contest.

“I said, ‘We have two options — we can sit here and hang our heads or we can get up and let them know that we’re here to play,’” Hoffpauir said.

To the delight of Hoffpauir and all those who gathered in Sulphur to watch Concordia Parish, the 14-year-old group that went 5-0 in the tournament before the final series responded.

Concordia Parish’s Landon Havard got the team in motion with a two-out, 2-RBI single in the first. The team executed in small ball situations, played strong defense and Trenton Miller threw a complete game, as Concordia Parish defeated Monroe 7-6 to split the day.

“We just played great baseball,” Hoffpauir said. “I was so proud they didn’t give up.”

Conner Branton, who produced two walkoff hits the day before to advance his team to the state finals, laid down a bunt to squeeze in a run in the sixth inning and make the game 7-5.

After Concordia Parish sealed its victory, Hoffpauir met with the players and told them they had to be ready to go again in the morning for the series-deciding contest.

“I told them, ‘Now you know we can win this series,’” Hoffpauir said. “They looked at me with big smiles on their faces.”

A state champion will be decided today as Concordia Parish and Monroe play at 8:30 a.m.