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   Softball 2008

Article Index:
All-Parish Team State Runnerup Finals Semifinals Quarterfinals
Sulphur Zachary Starkey Raiders Bulls-eye
Starkey rout Bulls-eye Start off hot    

All-parish softball team
Pictured are (clockwise, from top left) MVP Kendra Harmon of Denham Springs,slugger Shelby Colkmire of Albany, Coach of the Year Michelle Morris of Live Oak and Golden Glove Kati Hayes of Denham Springs.

DENHAM SPRINGS - Live Oak head coach Michelle Morris was definitely an "all-parish" player back in her playing days with the Lady Eagles.  The only problem was that there weren't any Livingston Parish "All-Parish" teams selected back then.   Morris, who returned following her collegiate days to be an assistant coach for Live Oak before taking over the helm a few years ago, spearheaded the idea of giving the parish's softball and baseball players the same recognition the local basketball players have been receiving for the past 42 years.  Just prior to the start of the playoffs, the inaugural Livingston Parish Softball and Baseball "All-Parish" Selection Supper, sponsored by the Livingston Parish News, was held at Forrest Grove Plantation ... and Morris was one of the honorees.

While Morris was voted by her peers as the parish's "Coach of the Year," she would be the first to say that top billing needs to go to the players, beginning with Denham Springs senior centerfielder Kendra Harmon, who garnered the "Most Valuable Player" honors.  Another Lady Jacket, senior second-baseman Kati Hayes was named the "Golden Glove" winner, while Albany eighth-grader Shelby Colkmire took the "Slugger of the Year" award. Colkmire, who helped guide the Lady Hornets into the Class 3A playoffs, batted .595 with four home runs, 15 doubles, two triples and 42 runs batted in. Along with having a .964 slugging percentage, she collected 50 hits and scored 25 runs.

The "All-Parish" first team was headed up by a pair of pitchers, DSHS senior Courtney Kennedy and LOHS junior Brittany Gonzales, who both guided their respective teams to their district titles and the state tournament. Gonzales posted a 23-4-1 record on the year with 11 shutouts and an earned run average of just 0.52. She had 227 strikeouts and just 45 walks.  Another Albany eighth-grader, LaDonna Bigner, was named first-team catcher. She had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 191 put-outs, nine assists and no errors.

The first-team infield included Live Oak sophomore Natalie Fernandez, Denham Springs senior third-baseman Rachel Tripp, along with both Hayes and Colkmire.  Fernandez had a .400 batting average with two home runs and 10 RBI's. The shortstop also had .966 fielding percentage with 42 put-outs and 43 assists.  Along with Harmon, the first-team outfield included Maurepas junior Ariel Berthelot and Walker senior Catherine Hanson.  French Settlement senior Brooke Aydell, who played both pitcher and first base, garnered first-team "Utility Player" honors.

Morris, who guided her Lady Eagles all the way to the Class 4A state championship game for the second year in a row, was named "Coach of the Year."  "It's definitely an honor any time you are recognized by your peers," said Morris. "It's the biggest honor that you can receive. For other area coaches to evaluate such good teams in this parish and good solid softball playing, it's an honor to be in that group.  "Year-in and year-out, you try to teach the girls more than just the game of softball," said Morris. "The game of softball is there to help them prepare for life. You have to prepare for the ups and downs. And the strategy, not just the brute force of the sport, but the mental part of the game that they can take forth into their life.  "So every year, you're developing accurate throwing and hard hitting, but you also want to develop the mind of the girl.  "Times have definitely changed and that's why we're so thankful that we're able to recognize the sports of softball and baseball," said Morris. "How they have evolved and become a dominant sport in our area. We should be recognizing the athletes in softball and baseball. They are no longer the small minor sports of the area. It's a force by example of them not only going on to the post-season, but many of them going on to college."

The "All-Parish" second team included three pitchers, one of which helped guide her team to the Class 2A championship game.  Doyle junior Ashton Bennett, who finished the year with a 24-5 record and an earned run average of just over .2, was joined on the second team by Walker sophomore Kaylee Guidry and Albany freshman Hanna Gill. Gill posted a 18-10 record with 11 shutouts and an 1.29 ERA.  Springfield junior Ashley Gregoire as named second-team catcher.  The second-team infield included Live Oak senior Karmyn Sibley, DSHS senior Katelyn Sharp, Doyle junior Erin Stuckey, Maurepas junior Ashley Walker and French Settlement sophomore Jennifer Hull.  Selected to the second-team outfield were DSHS senior Kayla Stevens, LOHS senior Molly Copeland, Doyle freshman Morgan Swindle and Albany eighth-grader Karin Johnson.  Rounding out the second team were utility players Kristen Hanna, a senior pitcher/first-baseman from Maurepas and Walker senior Kasey Shubert.

Honorable Mention recognition was awarded to Holden's senior pitcher Nikki Reason, Live Oak junior catcher Lakin Lockhart, DSHS senior catcher Morgan Smith, Walker sophomore catcher Haley Westmoreland, Walker junior infielder Jennifer Erwin and four Maurepas players, senior outfielder Desirae Parent, junior second-baseman Aimee Barton, freshman catcher Allison Walker and eighth-grade third-baseman Gabrielle Felps.
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After heroics, Live Oak settles for second again
By Mike Dowty

Live Oak’s Lady Eagles accept their second consecutive state runner-up trophy Saturday night after a 1-0 extra innings loss to Vandebilt Catholic in the Class 4-A tournament played at Frasch Park in Sulphur. The game was scoreless until the 10th inning.

SULPHUR - Despite a continuous threat of thundershowers at the state high school Softball Tournament here, lightning refused to strike twice for Live Oak last weekend.  After a dramatic inside-the-park three-run home run Friday by Natalie Fernandez turned around what looked like a 2-0 loss to Benton, the Lady Eagles cruised in the semifinals Saturday afternoon, but weren't able to survive a gut-wrenching 1-0 loss in 10 innings in the finals that night to perennial power Vandebilt Catholic.

Live Oak dominated higher-seeded West Ouachita 3-0 in the semifinals Saturday afternoon, but for the second straight year, the Lady Eagles settled for the Class 4A runner-up trophy following an extra inning heartbreaker. Last year St. Thomas More rallied from behind to snatch victory away from the Livingston Parish fixture at the state tournament. Saturday, the spotlight fell on Vandebilt senior ace Lauren Crane, a Hurricane Katrina evacuee from New Orleans, who swept through the playoffs with five shutouts and doubled home the winning run in the finals to claim the title. She has signed to play for Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., after graduation.

Live Oak junior Brittany Gonzales held her own through nine innings, with the help of some clutch defensive plays by her teammates, but in the 10th she gave up a leadoff single to Chelsea Allen, who stole second with one out, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and came home on Crane's grounder into the outfield.  The Lady Eagles went down in order in the bottom of the frame to end the game.

"You can't expect any more from a championship game," Live Oak Coach Michelle Morris said after settling for her second consecutive runner-up trophy. "I'd like the score to be opposite, but this is the reason you play the game - for games like this one.Indeed, it was a battle between pitchers and defenses that made clutch plays time after time before Vandebilt of Houma emerged with the 13th state title in school history. Live Oak will have to wait at least one more season to claim its first title since 1995. 

"Their pitcher just did a fantastic job of keeping us off-balance," Vandebilt Coach Margaret Johnson said of Gonzales.   The Vandebilt coach credited the southpaw Crane's mental toughness for helping her team maintain its composure and keep battling when Live Oak threatened several times during the contest.  "I think our mental toughness was the best it's been all year," Johnson said. "We played with a lot of heart. We were all heart. There are a lot of pressure situations here and we held our composure."

The Lady Eagles return all but two starters next season, including Gonzales, so expectations will be high once again. Live Oak finished the year 31-4-1, while Vandebilt wound up 31-5-2.

Finals
Vandebilt Catholic 1
Live Oak 0 (10 innings)

Vandebilt entered the tournament as the top seed and made believers of the world with a dominating run that included a 33-0 playoff opener over Karr, followed by a 7-0 victory over Bastrop, 6-0 blanking of Neville in the state tournament and back-to-back 1-0 extra-inning wins over Belle Chasse, then Live Oak Saturday.  Against Belle Chasse, the winning run came in the eighth inning. Against Live Oak, however, it took 10 innings and some heart-stopping moments. In the battle between pitching aces, Live Oak's Brittany Gonzales scattered six hits before giving up the seventh and eighth in the 10th inning to clinch the win for the Lady Terriers. Vandebilt's Lauren Crane held Live Oak to five hits and came up with the clutch double that decided the game.  Along the way, both teams rode the waves of highs and battled back from lows.

Live Oak survived what appeared to be a more serious threat than the 10th inning jam in the 8th inning when a leadoff single, followed by a bobbled catch at first from a grounder to short left runners at the corners with one out. Live Oak Coach Michelle Morris huddled her defense at the pitcher's mound, instructed Gonzales to walk the next batter to load the bases, then watched her team escape unscathed.

A grounder to short came home from Natalie Fernandez to Lakin Lockhart in time to force the second out before lead runner Chelsea Allen could reach the plate. An infield popup by Kacey Clark allowed first basemen Tiffany Alello to make up for her earlier error by gloving the fly for the final out to keep the contest scoreless.

Live Oak had been in similar danger in the top of the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. A highlight reel diving catch of a fly ball by Karmyn Sibley helped Live Oak leave two runners stranded on base in the top of the fourth. In the sixth the Lady Eagles faced runners on first and second off of back-to-back hits by Lauren Martinez and Alaina Guidry. However, with two outs Live Oak leftfielder Sally Trammell made a sensational diving catch of a deep fly ball off the bat of Maddie Constant that saved two runs from scoring.

In the seventh inning Mindi Robichaux singled for the Lady Terriers with one out, was bunted to second on a sacrifice by Kelsey Coombs and stole third with two strikes to Heather Bergeron and two outs. On the very next pitch, Gonzales caught Bergeron looking to end the frame.

Live Oak had its chances on offense too. Leadoff hitter Fernandez opened the contest by getting down a troubling bunt and outrunning the high throw to first that slipped into the outfield for a base hit. The ball was quickly retrieved by right fielder Amanda Graham, so Fernandez held her ground at first. 
Molly Copeland successfully bunted Fernandez to second, but her sacrifice was for naught as Crane forced a ground out by Sibley, then struck out Gonzales.  In the bottom of the fourth, Sibley singled with one out, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gonzales and took third on an infield single by Trammell. A line-drive fly by Tori Bankston refused to drop for what could have been an RBI single as the leftfielder Bergeron came up with the catch to leave Sibley and Trammell stranded.  In the bottom of the sixth, Sibley tried once again as her dying quail dropped between the pitcher's mound and second base for a one-out single. She took second on a wild pitch, then found herself at third on a sacrifice bunt by Gonzales. Once more, however, the inning ended with the same result, a fly out to left field, this time by Trammell.

Bankston started off what would turn out to be Live Oak's last scoring opportunity with a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh. Sacrifice bunts by Kaylie Hansen and Sarah Anthony moved her to third, but Lockhart's ensuing grounder went straight to first base, allowing Robichaux to make the unassisted out to send the game into extra innings.  That set the stage for the storybook ending in the 10th inning for Crane, who may have been able to catch a glimpse shortly afterward at the field next door, where her old school - Mt. Carmel Academy - won the 5A state championship over Pineville 1-0 in 11 innings.

After two years of coming close, Live Oak will be working in the next year to write its own storybook ending.  "It's the same pressure for us every year," Morris said. "I'm very proud of the game we played this year. Vandebilt has been a high quality team for a long time. Even back when I played, they were our nemesis."

 Vandebilt 000 000 000 1 - 1 8 0
Live Oak 000 000 000 0 - 0 5 1
WP - Lauren Crane. LP - Brittany Gonzales.

Semifinals
Live Oak 3
West Ouachita 0

Brittany Gonzales dominated on the mound with a three-hit shutout and her teammates took advantage of three errors and a passed ball to score three unearned runs in the victory.  West Ouachita, which finished with a 26-4-1 record, entered the playoffs as the second seed overall, while Live Oak was seeded third.  Gonzales struck out seven batters in the game, while putting on only one base-runner via a walk. She went through the order one-two-three in five of the seven innings.

Live Oak garnered five hits and capitalized on the Lady Chiefs' mistakes to register the win. Quarterfinal hero Natalie Fernandez singled with one out in the third, then moved to second when a Molly Copeland gounder was mishandled at third base. With two outs, Gonzales singled them home.

Losing pitcher Sam Hamby had more tough luck in the top of the fifth when Fernandez reached base on her error, then stole second. Fernandez made it to third on a passed ball, then came home on a one-out sacrifice fly to right field by Karmyn Sibley.  Live Oak's best hitting performance didn't figure in the scoring as Kaylie Hansen had a single in the second inning and double in the fourth, both times with one out, but was left stranded both times. Sarah Anthony had Live Oak's other hit, a single with two outs in the 6th.

 W. Ouachita 000 000 0 - 0 3 3
Live Oak 002 010 x - 3 5 0
WP - Brittany Gonzales. LP - Sam Hamby.

Quarterfinals
Live Oak 3
Benton 2

Natalie Fernandez faced the ultimate fantasy and came through with a smash hit that turned into Benton's ultimate nightmare.  With two outs in the top of the final inning, facing ace pitcher Jeri Wilson with two strikes trailing 2-0 with the potential tying runs on base, Fernandez did something players dream of, but few ever accomplish. The star shortstop and leadoff hitter smashed an inside-the-park home run down the right field line that not only kept her team alive, but wound up punching Live Oak's ticket into the semifinal round, 3-2.  Benton's defense may have relaxed as the ball struck first base before rolling toward the corner in foul territory. However, it was already fair and so was the result that sent Benton packing for home with a 24-5 record.  Benton scored both its runs in the bottom of the first before winning pitcher Brittany Gonzales found a groove and retired 20 of the next 22 batters she faced, including 14 in a row.  An error allowing Tori Bankston to reach first in the top of the seventh started the rally for Live Oak. Tiffany Alello replaced her on a fielder's choice, then Lakin Lockhart, who went two for three on the day, singled to join her teammate. Live Oak executed a double steal to put the tying runs in scoring position before Fernandez clobbered the 2-2 pitch that made her the day's heroine.

 Live Oak 000 000 0 - 3 5 1
Benton 200 000 0 - 2 4 1
WP - Brittany Gonzales. LP - Jeri Wilson.
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Triple threat in Sulphur
By Mike Dowty

Live Oak pitcher Brittany Gonzales turns in a dominating performance on the mound against Eunice to lead her Lady Eagles back to the state softball tournament for a fifth straight year. Gonzales struck out 15 batters, including all nine in the starting lineup and two out of the three pinch-hitters she faced in a four-hit, 5-0 shutout Saturday.

WATSON - It will take more than a black eye to keep Brittany Gonzales from pitching at this year's state softball tournament.  The Live Oak junior, who dominated on the mound in a 5-0 second round playoff victory over Eunice Saturday, will lead her team back to its fifth straight appearance at Frasch Park in Sulphur. The Lady Eagles, who face Benton at noon Friday, will see a lot of familiar faces there as two other Livingston Parish teams, Denham Springs in Class 5A and Doyle in Class 2A, also made the cut in their classifications. Gonzales sat out almost all of last season after fracturing her left elbow in the first game, but she's had a banner campaign on the mound this year as a junior. Three days before her Lady Eagles faced Eunice, Gonzales suffered another accident in pitchign practice under her left eye.  "It motivated me," Gonzales said Saturday after striking out 15 batters. While she was shutting down the Lady Bobcats, scattering five hits, her Lady Eagle teammates got hot right out of the box, compiling 10 hits and scoring four runs through the first three innings. They were particularly effective in two-out clutch situations.

"We've been working on trying to be aggressive early in the game and we did that today," said Coach Michelle Morris of her typically slow-starting team. "We're trying to get an upper hand in the mental game."  That upper hand was gained quickly as number two batter Molly Copeland got hit with a pitch with one out in the first inning and was batted around with two outs on a single by Gonzales and double by Sally Trammell.   In the second inning, Kaylie Hansen led off with a double and was brought home on a one-out RBI single by Lakin Lockhart. Natalie Fernandez moved Lockhart into scoring position at third with a single, but then got called out for leaving the bag early and Copeland then popped up to the catcher to help Eunice escape with only one run scored.  It didn't help much because Live Oak doubled its 2-0 lead in the third. With one out, Gonzales singled, then her courtesy runner Courtney Bankston moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Trammell. A double by Tori Bankston brought her home. Bankston eventually scored too on a wild pitch.   Bankston added Live Oak's final run in the fifth after a two-out single was followed up by an RBI double by Hansen, her second extra base hit of the contest.

Meanwhile, Gonzales recorded at least one strikeout against every batter in the Eunice lineup, then added K's against two of the three pinch hitters in the sixth and seventh innings.  She gave up two hits in the final frame, but also added two more strikeouts to her total and snuffed out the rally with a game ending grounder by Eunice batter Brittany Chapman to third baseman Karmyn Sibley, who threw to Tiffany Alello at first to start the celebration.

Live Oak improved to 28-3-1 and appears to be gelling at the right time both offensively and defensively as the final eight tournament approaches. Eunice ended its season at 16-9-2.  "I am ready," Gonzales said. "It's going to be my first time there on the mound and I'm excited."

 Eunice 000 000 0 - 0 5 0
Live Oak 112 010 x - 5 10 1
WP - Brittany Gonzales (24-3-1). LP - Jori Lejeune.
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Live Oak subdues stubborn Zachary
By Mike Dowty

Sally Trammel comes home off a single by catcher Lakin Lockhart to break the ice in the fourth inning against Zachary. Live Oak went on to win, 2-0. (News photo by Mike Dowty)

WATSON - After coming within one out of winning a state championship last year, Live Oak's Lady Eagles have high expectations on the softball diamond in 2008.  It all starts with a 6-4A district crown, which Coach Michelle Morris and her squad wrapped up for the 17th straight year at home Tuesday in a more difficult than expected 2-0 win over Zachary.

Live Oak left five runners on base over the first three innings before finally pushing one across on Lakin Lockhart's RBI single with two outs in the fourth. Her floater past second base dropped just short of a charging fielder's glove, allowing Sally Tramill to come home.  Tramill led off the inning with a single, reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Tori Bankston and came around on Lockhart's hit that followed a strikeout to Sarah Anthony. 
The Lady Eagles added an insurance run on a double steal in the sixth inning with one out and Lockhart again standing at the plate trying to collect a third straight hit. With runners at the corners, Morris sent Anthony to second and then Bankston home from third. Both runners easily beat the throw.  It was a good call because Lockhart went on to erase Anthony on a fielder's choice and Natalie Fernandez then grounded out to end the inning.   Bankston had reached base on a fielder's choice that took leadoff batter Tramill off the basepaths after she starting things off with a walk. Anthony's infield grounder was then stabbed by losing pitcher Katelyn Whittington, who had the runner dead to rights at first but lofted the throw well over the first baseman's head instead. That left Anthony safe at first while Bankston was able to take two bags to third, setting up the score.

"We play every game as if it is our last," said rightfield Molly Copeland, the only senior who played in last year's championship game and believes the experience of coming so close has been a factor in the maturity of the 2008 squad. "I want to win it more than ever, but that's also more pressure on us because everyone expects so much."   Morris pointed out Live Oak has been to the state tournament four straight years, which can make it tough to keep the proper focus.  "I personally think it's harder for a team to try to repeat," she said. "Each year is a new year and you've got to live in the now."

While Live Oak has seven players who started on last year's squad, the Lady Eagles have been working in talented, but untested junior pitcher Brittany Gonzales to replace departed star Rachel Desselle.  Yet third baseman Karmyn Sibley, the only other senior on the young squad, said she is optimistic about the Lady Eagles' chances.  "We have a good defense and we back up Brittany and support her," Sibley said.

Live Oak also shows signs of life on offense at times, but Tuesday while the Lady Eagles garnered six hits on the day, they left eight runners on base. Winning pitcher Gonzales had her struggles at times too, frequently fighting from behind in the count, but she only walked one batter and gave up three hits, while striking out eight and retiring the side in order over the last four innings.  Her closest call came in the top of the third inning, which opened with back-to-back hits and runners on first and second and no outs. Following a fly out to the pitcher by Kirsten Ellzy, Rachelle Jones hit a hard grounder toward third that would have scored leadoff runner Brittany Watts had it squirted through the gap. Instead, it hit Watts on her way to third, eliminating the scoring threat while leaving Jones at first and Keely McDaniel at second. Gonzales then got Mary Phillips to hit a harmless grounder back to the mound for an easy throw to first for the third out.

Zachary fell to 10-18-2 overall and 2-2 in district play, while Live Oak is 25-3-1 and 3-0 in district with one league game remaining at Belaire Tuesday. The Lady Eagles will try to prepare for the playoffs with a season-ending non-district battle against the team that came from behind to beat the Lady Eagles for the 4A state championship last year, St. Thomas More.  Live Oak won't have to worry about another meeting after the Thursday season finale: St. Thomas More moved up to Class 5A this year.

 Zachary 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
Live Oak 000 101 x - 2 6 0
WP - Brittany Gonzales. LP - Katelyn Whittington

Live Oak 6
False River Academy 1

NEW ROADS - Live Oak scored five runs over the first two innings to give pitcher Brittany Gonzales all the cushion she would need, as the Lady Eagles took a breather from their district slate to score a 6-1 win over False River Academy.  Gonzales allowed just three hits, but the Lady Eagles lost their shutout bid when the FRA picked up its lone run in the bottom of the seventh.  Gonzales also helped out at the plate with an RBI double, while teammate Natalie Fernandez was 3-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases.  Elizabeth Perace led False River's effort with a triple.

 Live Oak 230 000 1 - 6 7 1
False River 000 000 1 - 1 3 1
W - Brittany Gonzales. L - Doren Welch.
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Live Oak 13
Starkey Academy 0

WATSON - Live Oak erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the fourth to put the finishing touches on Starkey Academy in non-district action Tuesday at the Live Oak Ballpark.  Sarah Anthony tossed a five-inning no-hitter in the 10-run-rule victory to improve her mound record on the year to 5-0. She finished the game with 11 strikeouts.  Live Oak, which improved to 23-1 on the year, collected 10 hits, led by Natalie Fernandez with three hits in four plate appearances, while Anthony helped her own cause with two hits, both doubles.

 Starkey 000 00 - 0 0 5
Live Oak 103 9x - 13 10 0
W - Sarah Anthony (5-0). L - Heather Bozeman.
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Live Oak shuts out Raiders, 7-0

By KEITH CLAVERIE Special to The Advocate

Live Oak pitcher Sarah Anthony was as close to perfection as you can get on Thursday night.  Behind Anthony’s no-hit, 11-strikeout performance, Live Oak shut out Runnels 7-0 in a nondistrict softball game played at Runnels’ Raider Park.  “She had the speed and the locations tonight,” Live Oak coach Michelle Morris said. “She stayed ahead of the batter every inning, pretty much.”

The game matched two teams, Class 4A LOHS and Class B Runnels, that were runners-up in their classes at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s State Softball Tournament last spring.  After both schools went down in order in the first inning, Live Oak (14-2) showed its support for Anthony, getting on the scoreboard first. From there, Anthony was in control.

“Our focus is always to score early and to score first,” Morris said. “It’s always just one here and one there and then we try to explode.”  Primarily playing small-ball, the Lady Eagles manufactured one run each in the second, third and fourth innings.

Then the explosion came.  With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, Live Oak left fielder Sally Trammel singled scoring two Lady Eagles. Capitalizing on Runnels’ errors, Live Oak plated two more runners in the inning taking a 7-0 advantage.  Trammel finished the game 3-for-3 with three RBIs. First baseman Brittany Gonzales added four hits and an RBI.

The seven-run lead, coupled with Anthony’s performance, were too much for youthful Runnels (9-3) to handle.  “We’re a very young team,” Runnels coach Robert Wheeler said. “We had two position players in the same spot (as this past season). They’re learning — they’re trying.  “(Anthony) threw well. We struggle against good pitching — again, because of experience. They’re young girls. They’re battling. They don’t quit.”  The only inning Anthony failed to stay ahead of the hitters was the sixth. She walked two Lady Raiders, ending her shot at a perfect game.  Both runners were left stranded as Anthony bounced back to strike out the side for the first and only time of the night.

Morris said neither she nor Anthony were upset by the walks. “That’s not the kind of player she is — she’s a team player,” Morris said. “A no-hitter is a no-hitter.” 
 
The Lady Raiders begin district play next week. Wheeler said competing against 4A Live Oak will prepare his team for what is to come.  “We fought to the end and I’m proud of them for that,” Wheeler said.  “I know they’re always going to battle us, so we schedule teams like that.”
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Live Oak routs Starkey, continues year on a tear

Live Oak pitcher Brittany Gonzales throwns to a Sharkey Academy batter during their game Tuesday afternoon in Watson. Gonzales pick up the win. (news photo by David Normand)

WATSON - Live Oak pitching allowed just one hit with nine strikeouts, while the Lady Eagles' offense did their part as well in cruising past Starkey Academy 12-2 in non-district action at Live Oak Ballpark.  The game was halted in the bottom of the sixth due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Live Oak jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening frame, highlighted by a two-run single to centerfield by Valarie Aucoin.  Sally Trammell also picked up a hit in the first, while five Lady Eagle batters drew walks. Both Emily Fernandez and Molly Copeland had two steals apiece in the inning.  After LOHS starter Brittany Gonzales pitched the first two innings, allowing no hits with five strikeouts, she turned the ball over to Tiffany Alello to start the third.  Alello went the rest of the way, allowing just one hit, with two walks and four strikeouts. After back-to-back walks to Kaycie Wolfanger and Courtney Bankston, Gonzales drove in both runs with a shot to left field.  Trammell then drove in two runs with a single to left-center to widen the lead to 8-0.

Starkey finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, thanks to a walk, a fielding error and their lone base-hit of the afternoon.  Live Oak answered with four runs in the bottom-half of the frame to bring the game to an end.

Catcher Tori Bankston got the inning off to a good start with a standup double to left-centerfield. That was followed by a walk to Bree Aillet, a single by Sarah Anthony, an error that allowed Danyelle Alello to reach and a final walk that scored Alello with the game-stopper.
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Live Oak turns back DS rally
By Sam Muffoletto

Live Oak's Sally Trammell slides safely into third base as Denham Springs shortshop Katie Roux waits for the ball. Trammell was able to advanced from second base on a sacifice fly by teammate, Natalie Fernandez. Live Oak beat Denham Springs 2-1 Thursday in Watson.

WATSON - A bulls-eye throw by Live Oak right-fielder Molly Copeland to catcher Lakin Lockhart slammed the door on a Denham Springs rally attempt in the top of the fifth, as the Lady Eagles held on for a 2-1 win over the Lady Jackets Thursday evening.  It was an early-season non-district battle between two of the parish's premier softball programs.

Along with applying the defensive exclamation point with the inning-inning double-play, Copeland also drove in what turned out to be the winning run in the bottom of the third inning with a one-out RBI single over the Denham Springs' first-baseman's head to give Live Oak a 2-0 lead.

Winning pitcher Brittany Gonzales, who had given up two hits in the third inning, but worked out the jam without allowing a run to score, found herself in another jam in the fifth.  After walking Denham's Kati Hayes with one out, Gonzales gave up a bloop single to Katie Roux and an ensuing infield single by Kendra Harmon that laid at the plate to load the bases.

Opposing pitcher Courtney Kennedy probably connected on Denham's hardest hit ball of the night, but her sharply hit one-hopper to shallow right field pushed across only one run, leaving the bases loaded with one out. Senior Jacket Rachel Tripp then connected on another shot to right field, but this one stayed in the air and Copeland was in perfect position to make the catch, then quickly throw to the plate to nail Roux, who had tagged up at third.

The junior Gonzales, who scattered seven hits, but also stranded seven Lady Jacket base-runners, allowed just one base-runner over the final two frames. That one lone Denham base-runner happened to be Gonzales' cousin Morgan Smith, who connected with a one-out bloop single in the top of the sixth. Smith also had a two-out double off of Gonzales in the top of the fourth, but was stranded. Gonzales, who walked two and struck out nine, retired Denham in order in the seventh on three pop-outs in the infield.

"The defense backed her (Gonzales) up," said Live Oak head coach Michelle Morris. "That's exactly what we told her the next inning (in the sixth) when they got someone on. 'Go ahead and give it to the defense. If you get behind in the count, go ahead and bring it back to them and make the batter put the ball in play and we'll make the play.'"  The Lady Eagles made all the plays behind Gonzales, not committing an error in the entire game.  Gonzales did help her own cause at the plate, as she drove in the game's first run in the bottom of the first inning.  Teammate Natalie Fernandez led off the inning by drawing a walk and Copeland moved her into scoring position with a ground-out back to the mound.  After Live Oak's Tori Bankston struck out, Gonzales jumped on a 1-2 pitch from Kennedy and slapped a two-out RBI single past the Denham Springs third baseman.  DSHS senior Kati Hayes picked up the Lady Jackets' first hit off Gonzales with one out in the third and fellow senior Kendra Harmon joined Hayes on the base-paths with a two-out infield single to deep short.  Gonzales got Kennedy to ground out to first to end the inning.

Live Oak sophomore Sally Trammell opened the bottom of the third with a stand-pup double over the DSHS left-fielder's head.  After Fernandez sacrifice bunted her over to third, Copeland stuck her bat out at a 0-1 pitch and slapped it over the DSHS first-baseman's head to drive in Trammell to make it 2-0.  An error by Kennedy on a pop-up in the infield put two Lady Eagles on with just one out, but she worked out of the jam by getting Gonzales to fly out and Kaylie Hansen to ground back to the mound to end the inning.  Kennedy allowed just three hits for the game, but both of her runs given up were earned. She walked one and struck out six.

"Two great teams playing one another," Morris said. "Putting the ball in play and able to make the good plays.  We just put them in a couple more holes than they did and that's why it ended up with a 2-1 score," Morris said.  "We're just concentrating right now on hitting the ball hard," said Morris, whose team improved to 11-1 on the year. "We're hitting the ball, but we've been having trouble the past couple of games of hitting the ball to them. Our goal right now is to direct the ball and hit it up the middle. That's our goal. We did see a couple of long shots tonight because of it. And this past Tuesday (in a win over Dutchtown), we saw a couple long shots go our way."

Class 4A Live Oak was the state runner-up last spring, while Denham Springs made it to the state semifinals in Class 5A.

"We're basically working out the kinks," said first-year head coach Amanda Ortego, a former Lady Jacket who was an assistant coach for 5A state champion Ruston last year. "We're in the process of becoming a team. I have confidence in them. When it comes down to the time for us to be serious, I think they're going to do it.  "It's more with mental mistakes right now," Ortego said. "The physical part is there. It's just the mental. Them not thinking ahead. But as far as us hitting, I think we're more than capable. It's just one of those kinks I'm talking about. Them being confident. Once they come out of that, we'll be fine. But that part is one of the huge parts of the game. And they're going to have to work that out."  DSHS fell to 5-4-1 on the year.

Denham 000 010 0 - 1 7 2
Live Oak 101 000 x - 2 3 0
W - Brittany Gonzales. L - Courtney Kennedy.
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Lady Eagles start off hot

State Class 4A runner-up Live Oak is off and running to start the 2008 high school softball season as the Lady Eagles have won their first five games.  Live Oak opened the year on Valentine's Day with a 2-1 win over 5A Ponchatoula, followed by four abbreviated-game wins at Denham Springs' "Early Bird Tournament." Head Coach Michelle Morris' Lady Eagles defeated Starkey Academy 4-0, 5A Central 1-0, 3A Parkview Baptist 3-1 and 4A St. Michael the Archangel, 10-0.

Coming off a 1-1-1 record at its own "Early Bird Tournament" last weekend at North Park, the Denham Springs Lady Jackets under new head coach Amanda Ortego avenged their lone early-season setback with a 5-3 win over Zachary in the first full-fledged seven-inning affair last Wednesday.

In the abbreviated contests in the Early Bird affair last Saturday, DSHS defeated Lafayette 2-0, tied West Feliciana and fell to Zachary 2-1.  French Settlement, which moves up to Class 2A competition this season from its familiar dominance in Class B, opened the season with an 8-0 win over district foe St. Thomas Aquinas. Head coach Richard Cherry's Lady Lions were scheduled to take on another league opponent, Springfield, this past Thursday, weather-permitting.  Springfield was off to a 1-2 start this season, sandwiching a 6-2 win over 5A Hammond in-between a pair of losses to Archbishop Hannan (5-3) and a league-opening setback to Pope John Paul (10-0).   oyle, another member of that District 9-2A, carried a 1-0 overall record into its Thursday league-opener against St. Thomas Aquinas. The Lady Tigers defeated Holden 10-5 last Monday.  Holden of District 9-B began the season 0-2, having also lost to Class 5A Slidell 9-0 in its season-opener.   lbany of District 10-3A dropped its first two games to start the season. The Lady Hornets fell to Class 3A opponent Brusly 4-3 and then to 5A Northshore by a 9-1 count.
 

A special thanks to Livingston Parish News for the sports articles