Catholic defeated Brother Martin by a final score of 3-2 to win the longest high school baseball championship game in Louisiana history. It was the third-straight state title for the Bears.
They had to win twice in one game to complete the three-peat. Kind of.
A high school baseball baserunning controversy required Catholic to forfeit its game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The ruling ultimately sent the game to the bottom of the 15th.
Catholic completed the three-peat with a two-game sweep over Brother Martin.
Established in 1894, Catholic High School is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It enrolls approximately 1,150 students in Grades 9-12. The Bruins are assigned to District 5-5A of Louisiana High School Athletic Association competition. Their baseball program is one of the best in the country.
The Bears finished at 38-2 to win the state championship in 2024. They went 37-5 to win their second-straight state championship in 2025. It was more of the same in 2026.
Catholic, the top-ranked team in Louisiana, faced Brother Martin in Games 1 and 2 of the state championship series on Thursday and Friday. Game 3 was scheduled for Saturday, if necessary.
It wasn’t necessary.
The Bears defeated the No. 4-ranked Crusaders by a score of 6-2 in Game 1. They won Game 2 by a score of 3-2, twice, in the longest state championship game in Louisiana high school baseball history.
Why twice? Catholic walked it off against Brother Martin in the bottom of the ninth but the winning run was called back due to a niche rules violation. A celebratory dog pile had already occurred. Awkward!
Louisiana high school baseball players must touch first base.
The Bears loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 2-2 game. Jude Schneider drew a walk on the next at-bat to secure a victory for Catholic on a walk-off walk. That is when he goofed.
Schneider got caught up in the emotions of the state championship win. He joined his teammates in celebration as the winning run scored from third. As a result of the dog pile, he did not touch first base.
Because he declared a direction and never reached the base in a timely manner, Brother Martin was able to tag the bag for an out. The run scored was pulled off of the board and the game continued to the 10th. The Bears were forced to return to their dugout, reset, and keep playing.
This is how it all went down in real time on the broadcast:
Video courtesy of LHSAA Network
— Friday Night Scoreboard Show (@k104scoreboard) May 16, 2026
Catholic BR with the bases loaded walk to win the game …except runner never makes it first and is called out. Game in the 14th and still going ‼️‼️
Update: Catholic scores in the bottom of the 15th and ends up winning 3-2! pic.twitter.com/YQ8jCJGpzd
Here is a better look at the chaos from behind the plate:
WAIT… THEY DIDN’T WIN 😱
— GeauxPreps.com (@GeauxPrepsLA) May 16, 2026
Catholic High thought it had walked off the state championship on a bases-loaded walk… but the batter never touched first base 👀
One of the wildest moments you’ll ever see in a championship game. Catholic High did walk it off in the 15th inning…… pic.twitter.com/irZEpip2cf
Here is another angle from down the third base line:
— – (@Spicoli_____) May 16, 2026
The bizarre ruling did not impact the outcome in the end. Six innings later, Catholic ripped a line drive to win the longest state championship baseball game in LHSAA history by a final score of 3-2.
Head coach Brad Bass is proud of his team’s resilience.
“We may be viral all over the world right now. That’s fine. What needs to be real viral is that that happened, the ultimate high, the ultimate low, and a group of kids united and battled back and got it done.”
It doesn’t get much crazier than that! Catholic won the high school baseball game twice in six innings.