More in Store: No. 1 Pineville softball has aspirations of bridging school’s illustrious past
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Pineville softball coach Allison Frye decided the topic was worthy enough to get feedback from her players.
The Lady Rebels were in the Division I select state semifinals last season and were eliminated by John Curtis Christian, 9-7. It was the second trip to the semifinals in four years, but for a program that was dominant in the 1980s and the latter half of the 90s – winning six state championships in Class 3A and 4A – Frye wanted to get her team’s input about the meaning of getting to the top of the mountain this year.
Should Pineville go on to reach such a milestone, it would mark the first state crown for the school in 27 seasons.
“I sent each one of them a text and asked what it would mean to you to win a state championship for Pineville High,” Frye said. “I got some really good responses, some from seniors that really went above and beyond on what it would mean to them. Then we had a long conversation about that a couple of weeks ago.
“I sat down and read a couple (of responses) to them,” Frye said. “It’s bigger than just us. It’s doing something for the school, the community, and the past programs, and getting them to try to understand we need to take full advantage of this opportunity. We have a great team, a team we believe that could go all the way. Some of the freshmen and sophomores that went (to the state tournament) last year think this is kind of what we do. Anything can happen, you never know.”
For the second time in four years Pineville is the top-seeded team, but this time it’s in the select division where students in Rapides Parish are part of an open enrollment structure. Two years ago, the Lady Rebels made it to the state quarterfinals before bowing out to Archbishop Chapelle in their initial foray into the select bracket.
This year they’re considered to be one of the state’s top teams, opposite traditional select power St. Thomas More, where Pineville is built with experience on the field to go with the elements of a championship-level team – excellent pitching, hitting, and defense.
Pineville (30-5), which had a first-round bye, took its first step in the postseason Monday with an 8-0 victory over No. 16 Evangel Christian. The Lady Rebels return to host No. 9 Archbishop Chapelle (17-10), the reigning state champion, in Saturday’s quarterfinal at noon.
“I’m not big on rankings,” Frye said. “We’ve been ranked No. 1 all year. We’ve had a full season to talk about that and have that pressure on us. They know numbers don’t matter and it’s going to be whoever’s hot, who’s mentally prepared enough to get it done when the time comes.”
The Lady Rebels are ranked fourth in the state by MaxPreps behind three-time Division III select state champion Calvary Baptist, Division I non-select’s top seed Sam Houston, and North DeSoto, the top-seeded team in Division II non-select.
“We were there last year and have one freshman starter this year, so everybody got to experience that,” said Frye, who coached Holy Savior Menard to a state title in 2015 in her four years there. “Going to the state tournament gets you a little hungrier to want to go back and get that experience and opportunity again. We have really good leadership. This senior class has been one of the best that I’ve ever coached. They’ve done a great job with the younger kids throughout the year.”
Hot start paves way for season
The first indication of this year’s Pineville team positioning itself for potential postseason glory took place during the initial stages of the season.
By comparison, last year’s state semifinalist team began 8-10 and finished the regular season by winning 11 of 14 games and wound up 21-14 overall.
When Pineville advanced to the state quarterfinals in its last year in the 2022 non-select bracket, they won their first 13 games before its first loss. The Lady Rebels didn’t lose again until their regular season finale, snapping an 18-game winning streak, until they were eliminated by Sam Houston (4-3) for a 33-3 record.
Given the team’s deep playoff run of last season, coupled with its maturity, the Lady Rebels won their first eight games this season and 13 of 14.
“This is one of our better seasons,” Frye said. “We’ve been focused on playing our game, playing up to our potential every game. In the past, we’ve dropped a couple that I feel like we shouldn’t have. We’ve had a strong focus on our team, everybody in our dugout, and doing what we’re capable of each game. I think they’ve done a pretty good job of that all year.
“It’s kind of a different route than we’ve taken, especially last year,” Frye said. “We had a rough start and kind of got hot late. This year it’s been pretty consistent from the beginning, which I was obviously hoping for.”
Five of the team’s 11 shutouts occurred in the first month of the season with pitchers Addalyn Burch and Chelsie Simpson providing a solid 1-2 combination to go with a defense that’s been a staple of the team’s success.
“I realized early on that we had a pretty good defense,” Frye said. “I’ve been telling them from the beginning that I thought this was the best defensive team I’ve ever coached. Adding the freshmen, and adding in a couple of sophomores, finished it out and gave us good, quality players at every position.”
The Lady Rebels also proved they could be dominant when aligning all facets of their game where a powerful offense helped contribute to 16 of 19 run-rule victories before April.
The team’s only setbacks were to West Ouachita (17-7) on March 5 and to District 2-5A rival Alexandria (8-6) on March 18. That was followed by highly anticipated non-district matchups with nationally ranked Calvary Baptist and North DeSoto on March 31 and April 4, respectively.
Both matchups, which ended in a pair of one-run defeats, spoke volumes about the competitiveness of this year’s team which finished with Alexandria in a tie for the District 2-5A title with identical 8-2 records that included a late 9-7 loss to Ouachita more than two weeks ago.
The Lady Rebels haven’t lost since.
“We talk about the little things a lot and how one little thing can be the difference in a game when you’re playing good competition,” Frye said. “It’s a pretty mature team and we’ve been able to do some things that we haven’t been able to in the past as far as mentality-wise. We’re not scared to play anybody. Playing good competition can only make you better and pushes you and gives you different experiences to grow. Those games were definitely good for us. Playing in good, competitive environments against top-notch teams can only prepare you better.”
Frye also complimented the play of the district which sent four of six teams to postseason play with Pineville and Alexandria still on a collision course for the state semifinals.
“Our district’s always been super competitive,” she said. “ASH being 10 minutes away from us, the girls know each other and that’s always a huge rivalry thing. Having a competitive district plays a part in the season and having good games throughout the week.”
Getting all of the pieces to fit
Pick an area of this year’s team and it’s a good bet you’ll find excellence.
Burch, a senior who has signed with Southern Virginia, leads Pineville’s superb pitching staff where sophomore Chelsie Simpson has also excelled.
“She’s not real flashy in the circle, doesn’t dominate like some of the big pitchers that people talk about,” Frye said of Burch. “She’s very confident in what she does. She has been successful and is a super competitor. She deserves more credit than she gets.”
The latest outing from Burch may have been among her best this season with a two-hit shutout of Evangel with nine strikeouts and one walk.
Burch is 22-4 with a 2.38 earned run average, 14 complete games and eight shutouts. She’s struck out 147 batters in 141 innings and Simpson (8-1) has a 2.29 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 61 innings.
One of the loudest bats for the Lady Rebels this season belongs to Burch who doubled and drove in a team-high three runs against Evangel. She’s one of the team’s four .400-plus hitters with a .404 average, a homer, and 33 RBIs.
Pineville has one of the state’s top players in senior first baseman Madelyn Halle, a Class 5A honorable mention All-State selection in 2024. She’s already signed with Mississippi College and has been selected to the LHSCA All-State game.
“She’s always been a big hitter,” Frye said. “She’s broken out this year. She’s settled down. Her swing’s better than ever, she’s more confident than ever and the numbers show that.”
Senior Cassidy Sicuro, a McNeese State signee and LHSCA All-State selection, is another returning honorable mention Class 5A All-State choice and leads the team in batting (.537), on-base percentage (.593) and doubles (24). She’s also driven in 26 runs, stolen 19 bases, tripled three times, and homered once.
Sophomore Briley Byrnes is next with a .486 batting average to go with a .545 on-base percentage, nine doubles, and a team-best 32 stolen bases. Halle is the team’s biggest power source, leading the way with a 1.208 slugging percentage, 21 home runs, and 70 RBIs, and is second in on-base percentage (.556) and third in batting (.433).
Sophomore right fielder Jadin Basco is another key offensive contributor (.406 batting average, .878 slugging percentage, .527 on-base percentage, 14 homers, 43 RBIs, 16 stolen bases), and senior catcher Mallory Edwards (.429 batting average, .733 slugging, .429 on-base percentage, 9 homers, 34 RBIs, 16 doubles).
“Cassidy’s our lead-off hitter and is a super competitor,” Frye said. “She’s kind of the sparkplug that starts it all off. She’s the best leader I’ve been around in my life. She gets it going and sets the tone, and the kids feed off of her. Briley hits in the two-hole and can do a little bit of everything. She has great speed and is going to have a good at-bat every bat.
“This is Jadin’s first varsity season and she’s a big bat for us,” Frye said. “She’s a constant threat in the lineup and has tons of power and plays outfield. Mallory’s really broken out for us this year. She had never contributed to our offense like she is now. She’s having good at-bats against good pitching. She’s provided a major contribution to our lineup and has been very good for us this year.”
One of the team’s deeper positions, a sign of Pineville’s depth, has been at designated player where Frye has counted on sophomore Chelsie Simpson, junior Ava Moore, sophomore Aniyah Jackson, and junior Savanna Johnson.
Simpson has enjoyed a solid season with a .339 batting average and a .661 slugging percentage with six doubles, four homers, and 21 RBIs. Moore is right behind at .333 and .633 in hitting and slugging, respectively, with four doubles, a homer, and 16 RBIs, while Jackson is batting .385, slugging at .923 with two homers and 8 RBIs.
“There’s a lot of depth on this team,” Frye said. “A big part of us being successful is everyone buying into their role and when it’s your time, be confident and get in there and do what you can to help the team. We’ve got very good softball players sitting on our bench. That’s the tough part, keeping them all together.”
Pineville would love nothing more than to go wire-to-wire and reach the pinnacle of the sport.
Health has played a role in the Lady Rebels’ level of consistency but they’re approaching the time of the year where everything they’ve worked for is very much within their grasp.
“We’ve had a great year, and you never know what next year will bring,” Frye said. “This could be your one chance to do something special for the community. I’ve tried to get them to understand we have a great opportunity in front of us.”
Featured Image Courtesy of Pineville High School on Facebook