North DeSoto, Calvary, Converse win LHSAA state softball titles
After pitching North DeSoto to a semifinal victory Friday night, Laney Johnson hit a two-out bomb in the bottom of the fifth to vault the Lady Griffins to a 7-4 victory over Albany in the LHSAA Non-Select Division II title game.
It was the third consecutive state championship by the rough-and-tumble group from Stonewall, which has won six titles since 2015 in its class or division. The Griffins won consecutive titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017 under former coach Lori McFerren, while current coach Tim Whitman won his eighth state title, with three coming at Pineville, two at Ouachita and three at North DeSoto.
"I'm proud of the girls for fighting back after the rough start and with the big wind blowing in," Whitman said. "I'm happy for all the girls, but especially for the two seniors (NSU signees Cameron Curtis and Aly Delafield), who have been a big part of this success and to walk away as champions every year."
The Lady Griffins (35-2) fell behind Albany (26-4) 2-0, then 4-2, thanks to a pair of home runs by McNeese State commitment Brilee Ford. But North DeSoto began finding its rhythm behind pitcher Delafield and with home runs from Peyton Miller, Curtis and Johnson.
North DeSoto trailed for 4 1/2 innings until Johnson came up with two outs and one aboard in the bottom of the fifth. Her bomb made it 5-4 and gave the Louisiana Tech commitment a home run in consecutive games.
Calvary wins third straight state title
The Calvary softball team made it 3-for-3 on Saturday afternoon by topping D’Arbonne Woods 13-3 in the run-ruled-shortened LHSAA Select Division III state championship game.
The Lady Cavaliers (26-10) jumped out to a 5-0 advantage in the third inning and never looked back at the Lady Timberwolves (21-15). Calvary won the 2021 Division IV title with a 1-0 win over Catholic-Point Coupee and the 2022 D-IV crown with an 8-4 win over Opelousas Catholic.
It was the fifth state title for coach Tiffany Wood, all at Calvary.
Junior DJ Lynch went 4-for-4 with four runs scored, while junior Ramsey Walker, an Arkansas commitment, was 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs. Tavia Leadon, Mary Grace Woodle, Carlie Guile and Elena Franks had two hits apiece.
Calvary is a young team with just one senior, third baseman Leadon, who led the team in hitting at .517 entering the championship weekend. She hit a home run in the title game. Pitcher Kynzee Anderson has been dominating throughout the season and is just a freshman.
Converse captures LHSAA Division V state title
The Converse softball team kept claiming throughout the postseason that its work wasn’t done. It lived by that mantra all the way through knocking off No. 2 seeded Quitman 2-1 in nine innings Saturday afternoon in the LHSAA Non-Select Division V championship game.
The Lady Cats (25-7) were the only team to score on Quitman (29-6) in the playoffs. In the last 20 years, Converse had advanced as far as the semifinals (2017) just once prior to this weekend.
Avery Prine pitched all nine innings, allowing just three hits and a single run with 17 strikeouts. She also collected two hits with Abby Friday and Maci Morgan posting RBI.
Jimmy Watson covers Shreveport-Bossier area sports. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: LHSAA softball: North DeSoto, Calvary, Converse win state titles
