Power Trip: National recognition follows Logansport’s Ainsley Morvan
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Ainsley Morvan’s father, Jeremy, planted the seed.
From the time Logansport’s sophomore shortstop/pitcher began playing softball, her dad sized up her approach at the plate to that of a big-game hunter.
“He would say, ‘If you’re a lion in the jungle, like you’re hunting for something. You’re not just going to go and prey on something that’s not going to fill you up. You’re going to wait until you get something that you need’. When I was in the box, he would say to find your antelope. Don’t waste it (pitches) on something you don’t want. Find your antelope so you can get the most out of that.”
Morvan has been the epitome of accumulating her share of skins on the wall.
When fourth-seeded Logansport (20-10) opens play in the Division IV nonselect state playoffs next week, the Lady Tigers will have one of the nation’s top weapons in Morvan trying to put a charge in her team’s chances for a deep postseason run.
Logansport, who will host the Basile-Haynesville winner in regional action, has the nation’s top home run hitter in Morvan, a slight-of-build, 5-foot-3 left-handed hitter, with 22 homers, along with Anleigh Woods of Wicksburg High in Newton, Ala., according to MaxPreps.com.
Morvan’s also one of the top run producers with 62 RBIs, a player that can also steal bases, pitch, and play the kind of defense befitting a standout player.
“I know I’m small, I’m not the biggest,” said Morvan, the granddaughter of former Logansport High football icon Dale Morvan. “With the right mechanics and mindset, you can pretty much do anything. I’ve created a lot of muscle memory. There’s not a week that goes by without hitting in the cages two or three times outside of practice.
“You’re trying to do damage,” Morvan said. “You have to find a pitch you can do the most damage with. With two strikes on the corner, I know I can’t do damage with that. I’ll wait and take it where it’s pitched and do damage.”
Logansport softball coach Kyle Creech, now in his ninth season with a record of 166-87, acknowledges Morvan’s show of power looks deceptive until you trace the amount of work she’s put into her craft.
Morvan’s batting .553 with 22 of her 47 hits leaving the park. Thirty-six of her hits are for extra bases and she’s reached base 67 times – including 30 walks for the second straight season – to go with her responsibilities in the infield when she’s not pitching.
Moreover, she’s 14-8 in the circle with a 3.45 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 112 innings.
“Fundamentally, there’s no flaws in her swing,” Creech said. “There are no holes in her swing. She’s not a big kid. She can barrel them up. She has lots of muscle memory. She doesn’t have to have a coach with her all of the time, saying, ‘Let’s do this. She does the work on her own, and she works with her coaches.”
Morvan went from team manager as a sixth grader, rotating into groups at practice, fielding groundballs, to a full-fledged starter a year later.
She’s been in the Lady Tigers’ starting lineup for the past four seasons.
“I’ve always been around the game, been a part of Logansport softball,” Morvan said.
Given the athletic genes that run through her family’s veins, Ainsley was on a softball field as early as four or five years old and has risen through the area’s ranks.
Travel ball became part of her routine between the ages of 8-12 when Morvan took that a step further with a spot on the Texas Bombers. She’s part of the Texas Bombers’ Gold U16 team that’s ranked No. 1 nationally.
“My goal is to play the D1 level,” Morvan said. “Travel ball has helped me with that. You go to a tournament, and there’s so many college coaches sitting in the stands. It’s a lot of pressure at a young age. They’re sitting there watching you. You have to perform to the level they think you should play at. Sometimes you just have to put it in God’s hands. He knows what’s going to happen. He knows the plan.”
Attention from college coaches has followed, and Morvan has made several trips to Ole Miss for camps that have exposed her to a level she aspires to play. The Lady Rebels’ program has also made an impression on Morvan, who compares the vibe in Oxford, Miss., to that of her hometown.
“That’s been my favorite,” she said. “It kind of reminds me of home. There’s a small-town atmosphere. They’re all about the school and the sports there, and that’s kind of how Logansport is. I like the atmosphere there.”
Because she was a speedy runner who batted left-handed, Morvan was a candidate to make her mark as a slap hitter who could also bunt her way on base with regularity.
That was until the summer before her seventh-grade year, when Morvan homered for the first time in her life against Evangel Christian.
“You look at other girls, and they’re way bigger than me,” she said. “They’re stronger than me. I used to work on bunting and slapping a lot at a younger age. Once I got into the rhythm of hitting, you’ve got to swing your hardest. Some of the other girls may not be swinging their hardest, but they’ve got so much muscle and power behind it, they really don’t have to. You have to use everything you have in every swing to make sure you get the results.”
Logansport has a pre-K-12 campus that enables athletes as young as the seventh grade to play varsity sports.
“We play them if we need to,” Creech said.
Three games into her varsity career in 2023, Morvan’s plate – as a seventh grader – grew in responsibility when Creech’s daughter Avery, the team’s projected top pitcher, was lost for the season with a patella injury that required surgery.
“It shows how selfless she is,” Creech said. “She’s at home at shortstop. We needed her to pitch and she never complained. She’s always been, ‘Coach, what do you need me to do? Whatever contributes to the success of the team. That’s a lot of pressure for a seventh grader, and she handled the pressure.”
Morvan was 10-8 with 77 strikeouts in 97.1 innings and a 5.32 ERA, but also possessed a potent bat. She batted .478 with nine homers and 16 doubles. Six triples and 52 RBIs.
Logansport went 21-11 and lost to Oak Grove in the state quarterfinals.
“She helped carry us there,” Creech said.
The 12-year-old Morvan embraced her two-way role that would have a great impact on her team’s success.
“I really played shortstop for the most part until our pitcher got hurt,” she said. “I was pretty tiny in the seventh grade, and you’ve got some big seniors, and I didn’t know what to do. They always say pressure is a privilege. I’ve always liked being in pressure situations to see if I can overcome it and see what I could do.”
Logansport’s pitching staff was galvanized again by the return of Avery Creech in 2024 and Morvan, who was 2-2 with three saves and a 3.98 ERA in 26 innings, was able concentrate again on playing a position and leading the Lady Tigers’ offense.
She reached double-digit homers with 17 – registering 31 extra base hits among her 41 hits – to go with a robust .531 batting average and 56 RBIs.
Morvan was named Class 1A All-State honorable mention after Logansport advanced to the state semifinals against French Settlement.
“When you see girls that put up home run numbers, they’re normally your bigger girls, sometimes your DHs (designated hitter) who don’t play in the field,” Morvan said. “In travel ball, I play in the outfield. I play in different positions (at Logansport) wherever the team needs me to and not be one dimensional.”
Morvan has covered a great majority of the infield during her career, playing catcher, second, third base, shortstop, and pitcher.
“She’s one of those kids that can play wherever I need her to and she would be the first one to go do it,” Creech said.
Morvan was back in the circle with greater regularity in 2025.
Logansport reached the state championship game a year ago against district rival LaSalle, with Morvan leading the way as the team’s primary pitcher with a 3.91 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 121 innings.
She landed a spot on the Class 1A All-State first team at utility with a .625 batting average, 74 runs scored, 21 homers, 18 doubles, and 70 RBIs. Her combined 43 extra base hits were part of her 70-hit output to go with 26 stolen bases.
“If you’re not having success at the plate, then you’ve got to flush it and move to the next at bat because you’ve still got a job to do in the field,” Morvan said. “You have to do what your team needs you to do. I know if I’m not having a good day on the mound, I know Kenndi (Smith) can come in. I have a job at pitcher or shortstop that I have to do regardless of how my plate appearances were going that day.”
Morvan didn’t wait to begin building her candidacy to lead the nation in home runs this season. She belted one in the team’s opening 7-4 victory over West Monroe, going 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs in the win.
“Normally I’ve hit second or third,” said Morvan, who homered in four of her first five games. “This year I’m in the No. 1 spot and getting more plate appearances. You try to make it simpler and not try to do as much. You need to be on base, and the hitters behind me can hit.”
With an on-base percentage of .670, Morvan found a variety of ways to get on base. She’s walked 28 times, some of which have been intentional out of respect for her power, but Morvan also understands the value of finding a way on base to impact the team’s offense.
“I’ve had games with a double or a single,” she said. “As long as you’re on base and can produce runs for your team, I don’t think it matters how you get on base. Marianna Roberts (who has been hit a team-high 19 times) gets on base and scores runs. Whether it’s a home run, hit by pitch or walk, I don’t think it matters.”
Creech believes the presence of Smith, a senior, has helped alleviate some of the pressure in the lineup. With a .471 average and 40 RBIs, second to Morvan, Smith has given the Lady Tigers another capable weapon in the batting order to complement Morvan.
“She has a senior behind her that protects her and several other good players around her,” he said of Morvan. “You really can’t pitch around her right now because you have to deal with another big bat behind her. She (Morvan) can change the game with a swing. She lives for big moments. That’s what she works hard for.”
Morvan has homered in 15 games with a season-high of three in a 9-3 win over Caddo Magnet and two each in a 16-1 win over Northwood-Shreveport and a 10-7 loss to Stanley.
She’s enjoyed eight multiple-hit games and 12 with more than one RBI, including a season-high seven in an 18-0 victory over Lakeview on the strength of a homer and two doubles.
Morvan has exhibited tremendous plate discipline for someone with a high home run total. In 185 official plate appearances, she’s only struck out four times and maintained an astronomical 1.529 slugging percentage.
“We’ve overcome a lot this year,” Morvan said. “We beat West Monroe to start this season. Then we’ve gone out and did not have as good of a game. Being determined to go out the next game with more confidence, that’s something this team’s done really well.
“We have two seniors that have played since the seventh grade like I have,” Morvan said of Emmarie Atkins and Smith. “They want it as bad as the rest of us. They’ve been really good leaders, and I think with them we’re going to make a pretty good run.”
Morvan recently lost her solo grip on the nation’s home run lead when Woods hit her 22nd earlier this week, breaking a second-place tie with Lorelei Gamble of Dripping Springs, Texas.
Louisiana also has sluggers such as Kayleigh Beckley of Caldwell Parish with 18 and Lillian Virga of Ponchatoula with 17 that rank No. 11 and No. 12, respectively, from a national perspective.
Morvan’s RBI total is 14th best nationally, where Shelbi Stevens of Navarro High in Geronimo, Texas, leads the way with 77. Calvary Baptist sophomore Baylor Bockhaus ranks 11th with 63, just ahead of Morvan’s 62.
Morvan, a career .576 hitter, has 122 extra-base hits among her 160 career hits. That’s 62 homers with 41 doubles, 19 triples, 188 RBIs, 182 runs scored, and 55 stolen bases.
“I try not to look at that a whole lot,” said Morvan, who has scored 55 runs and stolen 28 bases. “When you see it posted, it opens up your eyes that the work is paying off.
“I try to lead by example a lot,” Morvan said. “It could be at practice. I just try to lead by example to show the younger ones what it means. I’ve played since I was in seventh grade. I know what it means to be a part of this program.”
Creech said the topic of being among the nation’s top home run hitters is one he’s discussed with Morvan.
“She has big plans; it does matter to her,” he said. “You’re measured by numbers a lot. She’s talked about going to college. She’s aware of it. We talk about it.
“She has a tremendous work ethic,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve seen anybody work as hard as she does. She deserves all of the accolades. She’s just that kind of special player.”