2023 LHSAA Softball Season Concludes With Crowning of Champions
by Hunter Bower // GeauxPreps.com Owner
NON-SELECT DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 St. Amant 4, No. 3 Sam Houston 0
Addison Jackson’s high school softball career closed with a memorable moment as the senior pitcher tossed a complete game shutout to help lead St. Amant to a 4-0 win over Sam Houston and claim the school’s second consecutive state title.
Jackson was superb inside the circle having surrendered zero runs on five hits over seven innings of work while striking out three batters.
At the plate, the Lady Gators put together a collective effort with four different batters driving in a run while three different players drew at least one walk.
It was a scoreless contest until the fourth inning when St. Amant put up three runs highlighted by Mary Beth Zeller’s RBI-double. The Lady Gators added the insurance run in the sixth to make it a 4-run ballgame.
Sam Houston’s Alexis Dibbley took the loss allowing four runs on five hits and striking out three in six innings.
SELECT DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 St. Thomas More 7, No. 2 Tioga 3
St. Thomas More reigned supreme once again Saturday afternoon as the Lady Cougars hit past Tioga, 7-3, to take home its first state championship since 2014 and finished the season at 30-3.
In a game filled with errors, the Lady Cougars took advantage towards the end of the contest, scoring four runs in the last three innings. Among the hit leaders were Kennedy Stutes, who drove in two runs, as well as Shyanna Irvin who recorded a single and a home run.
Tioga received a home run from Abbi Troquille as well as a two-RBI double from Kaitlyn Roberts.
Ava Prejean picked up the win for St. Thomas More having worked six innings and struck out four batters.
The win gave the Lady Cougars their eighth state title as a program, tying them for third most among all schools in the state.
NON-SELECT DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 North DeSoto 7, No. 2 Albany 4
Laney Johnson’s two-run home run in the fifth inning gave North DeSoto the momentum it so desperately needed to move past challenger Albany and claim its third consecutive title in a 7-4 victory Saturday afternoon.
The chances of repeating for a third straight year weren’t met without its challenges for the Lady Griffins who watched on as Brilee Ford smashed a three-run homer in the first frame that spotted the Lady Hornets a 3-0 lead to begin the game.
It was the first time in the postseason that North DeSoto had been scored upon.
However, the Lady Griffins responded in the bottom frame with a two-run bomb from Payton Miller to pull within one of the lead.
In the fifth inning with Albany holding a one-run lead, Johnson launched a two-run home run that ascended North DeSoto to the lead that it would not surrender again as the Lady Griffins added an additional two runs in the next frame for a 7-4 lead.
Aly Delafield finished an amazing career with a win inside the circle with 10 strikeouts. Ford took the loss for Albany.
With the win, North DeSoto has now won six championships in the last eight seasons.
SELECT DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 Buckeye 4, No. 2 Vandebilt Catholic 1
It was a banner day for the Buckeye Lady Panthers as they used a spectacular pitching performance from Olivia Henry to defeat Vandebilt Catholic, 4-1, to take home the school’s second consecutive state title.
Saturday’s title win is the third overall for Buckeye in school history.
Henry tossed six innings and struck out five batters while having limited Vandebilt Catholic to just five hits and one run on the day. Adysen Mitchell launched a home run for the Lady Panthers while Allison Brossett turned in two extra-base hits.
For Vandebilt, Hays Ruthedge hit a double and a home run to get the Lady Terriers on the board.
NON-SELECT DIVISION III STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 Kaplan 4, No. 1 Sterlington 0
For the first time since 2016, Kaplan rose the state softball championship high above after shutting out top-ranked Sterlington in Saturday’s Non-Select Division III title game.
Kennedy Marceaux was awarded Most Outstanding Player honors after using two home runs, one of which led off the game, as well as a double to help the Pirates seal the contest. Abigail Ford smashed one out of the park as well while pitcher Briley LeBoeuf was credited with the shutout win with four strikeouts.
Sterlington pitcher Maddie Taylor led the team with a double and six strikeouts in seven innings of work.
SELECT DIVISION III STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 Calvary Baptist 13, No. 6 D’Arbonne Woods 3
Calvary Baptist claimed its third consecutive state softball championship Saturday after taking down D’Arbonne Woods, 13-3, in five innings in a rematch of the District 1-2A district championship.
Kynzee Anderson took the win with six strikeouts in five innings of work while Tavis Leadon led the hitting effort highlighted by a 3-run home run while Danni Lynch collected four hits while Ramsey Walker recorded three.
Laynie Jones led D’Arbonne Woods in hitting with a a 2-RBI single.
The Lady Cavs used eight runs in the final two innings to lock up the state title following a three-run effort in the third inning by D’Arbonne Woods to pull to within one of the lead.
Calvary Baptist now has five state softball titles in its collection and is tied for sixth most in history.
NON-SELECT DIVISION IV STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
French Settlement 3, Montgomery 1
French Settlement partied like it was 1999 on Saturday as the Lady Lions took down top-seeded Montgomery, 3-1, to claim its first state softball title in 24 years.
Malloy Miles took the victory after allowing just one run on four hits along with nine strikeouts.
Three different Lady Lions drove in a run including Ava Acosta and Ramsie McMorris who each doubled in the contest. In total French Settlement hit the ball six times.
For Montgomery, Brighley Crayon took the loss despite four strikeouts and no walks while Katelyn Wyatt provided the only RBI hit on the day.
The championship win is the third in school history for French Settlement.
SELECT DIVISION IV STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 Riverside 5, No. 1 Catholic (PC) 0
Riverside used a barrage of hits in back-to-back innings that would ultimately lead to its first state title win since 2022 as the Lady Rebels blanked top-seed Catholic of Pointe Coupee, 5-0, in Saturday’s Select Division IV title game.
Riverside exploded for five hits and two runs in the fourth inning while adding three additional runs in the next frame to take control of a lead that would never be touched while MVP Amber Palermo was credited with the shutout win with only three hits allowed and one strikeout on the day.
Olivia St. Pierre was 3-for-3 on the day with four RBI, a home run and a double.
The championship is Riverside’s second in school history.
Catholic’s Morgan Landry took the loss for the Hornets while Lillian St. Germain led in hitting with two singles.
NON-SELECT DIVISION V STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 4 Converse 2, No. 2 Quitman 1 (9 inn.)
It took nine hard-fought innings but in the end it was worth it for the Converse Wildcats as they edged No. 2 Quitman, 2-1, to claim their first state championship in softball since 1994.
Quitman took a one-run lead in the first frame but it was a sacrifice fly from Maci Morgan that helped tie the ballgame at 1-1, a score that remained for the next four innings.
In the top of the ninth, Abby Friday helped drive in the winning run as she doubled on a 1-2 count that helped lead Converse to its historical victory.
Avery Prine was credited with the win after an exceptional performance inside the circles having surrendered just one run on four hits while striking out 17 batters.
SELECT DIVISION V STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 Claiborne Christian 4, No. 3 St. Joseph’s 1
Make that back-2-back state championship victories for Claiborne Christian.
The Lady Crusaders used four runs in the first two innings of Saturday’s Select Division V title game to secure the early lead and the eventual 4-1 win over St. Joseph’s.
Anna Miller took the win with 11 strikeouts and just three hits surrendered in seven innings of work. Three different Crusaders collected hits on the day highlighted by Allie Wainwright’s home run.
Madelyn Dupuis struck out nine batters despite taking the loss for St. Joseph’s.
The championship is Claiborne Christian’s sixth in school history.