Let there be light! The first time that order was heard was at the beginning of time and brought light to a world of darkness. This past week that order was commanded again but this time when the brightness came forth it lit up an area that had been dark for around thirty years. Congratulations Quitman High Softball – YOU HAVE LIGHTS on your home field. To celebrate the occasion the team gathered on Wednesday to “flip the switch” and then take batting practice.
“It has been a long time coming and I am very happy that the day that our field is complete s finally here,” said QHS softball coach Justin Dodson. “I would like to thank all the people who have helped make this happen including the Jackson Parish School Board, Bannister Electrical Company, and all the parents, players, family, and friends who have been great supporters of our program.”
Junior High baseball secures winning season
Tucker Newton hit a double and scored a run to lead Weston past, Calvin, by a 2-1 margin for their third straight win. Andrew got on twice on free passes and scored Quitman’s other run that lifted the season record to 5-3-1, securing a winning season in the fall campaign with only a Monday tilt against Claiborne Christian left to be played. Hayden Seymore got the only other hit for the Wolverines and Conner Moak, Asher Rhodes and Dawson Griffin also reached base via walks. Quitman got brilliant pitching to limit Calvin to just one run as Tucker Goss struck out five in the first two innings and Zach Smudricks K’d seven over the final three.
Quitman 20 Simsboro 4: Quitman scored the maximum allowed five runs in each of the four innings to power past their Lincoln Parish neighbors. Most of the damage was done through 18 free passes as the Wolverines made only four outs the entire game and every player on the roster reached base at least once. The Wolverines added five hits led by Cail King with a pair of singles as Waylon Sullivan, Andrew Boyler and Tucker Goss got base hits as well.
Quitman 8 Simsboro 7: The first game was much tighter with Quitman winning the see-saw affair thanks to an Andrew Boyler double that scored Cail King and Hayden Seymore who had walked in the top of the fifth to break a 6-6 tie. The balance of the game was still in doubt in the bottom half of the final frame until a Simsboro runner was gunned down at the plate for the second out after one run had scored and Newton struck out the final batter with the potential tying run on third.
Tucker Newton ripped a triple, Cail King walked and both Hayden Seymore and Andrew Bolyer hit singles to give Quitman a 3-0 lead in the top of the first only to see Simsboro rally for a 4-3 lead after two innings. Newton hit a double and scored on King’s triple in the third to tie the score but Quitman fell behind by two in the bottom half when Simsboro scored a pair for the third straight inning. Walks to Seymore, Bolyer, Remi Upshaw, and Dawson Griffin helped the Wolverines knot the score at six leading to Quitman’s last-inning heroics.
Boys split, girls drop pair at Plainview Tourney
The road back and forth to Glenmora is a long one but even though the miles were the same on their trip Wednesday and Friday, the ride back the second time certainly seemed not to take as long for the Quitman boys. That was because of the 55-45 victory over Evans after falling 62-50 to Midland two nights before which left the Wolverines with a 4-2 record. Eight players scored in the victory led by Blake Carter and Logan Ponder who hit 16 and 13 points respectively. Riley Duck also came up big with a season-best 8 points followed by Nicholas Kliebert who made six points and pulled down a season-high 11 boards. Noah Leach scored four as did Gavin Caskey, who saw action for the first time this season at the tournament and set new scoring highs in each game. Brayden Smith and Grant Williams also scored two each.
Logan Ponder scored 18 and Blake Carter pulled down 11 rebounds but despite outscoring Midland 18-11 in the final frame the 13-point deficit at the half that ballooned to 18 by the end of the third quarter was too much to overcome. Eli Walker scored nine, Brayden Smith added eight, and Blake Carter finished with five. Riley Duck and Gavyn Caskey added two each.
Quitman 55 Evans 45: QHS Scoring: Blake Carter 16, Logan Ponder 13, Riley Duck 8, Nicholas Kliebert 6, Noah Leach 4, Gavyn Caskey 4, Brayden Smith 2, Grant Williams 2
Midland 62 Quitman 50: QHS Scoring: Ponder 18, Eli Walker 9, Smith 8, Leach 6, Carter 5, Duck 2, Caskey 2
Quitman head girls coach Kyle Leach could only wonder what might have been. The Lady Wolverines lost their first two games of the season falling to Midland 63-31 and then Elizabeth by a 51-46 margin but the long-time coach wasn’t too worried, only wishful.
While the Midland loss was hard to digest due to the Lady Wolverines managing to make only 25 % of their shots that included a 2 of 19 performance from behind the arc Leach knows that if he has another shot at the 4-1 team, things could be different.
“We were more competitive than the final score indicates,” said Leach. “We just couldn’t hit any shots and had way too many turnovers (20). If we played like we are capable we could play with that team”
The loss to Elizabeth was more painful, especially for senior guard Bethany Leach, who was lost for the game in the second quarter after turning her ankle. Already Quitman was playing without leading scorer and post presence, Cali Deal, who was forced to miss the contest due to being at a national softball showcase. A couple of bright spots were the play of Emma Carter who registered a season-high 12 points and Anna Leach who pulled down a season’s best 8 rebounds and the fact that every player on the roster scored.
“Cali is on the radar nationally in softball and needed to be at that event to bolster her recruiting ranks,” said Leach. “It really hurt when Bethany went down as she was really playing well. I am proud of the girls as everyone stepped up and picked up the slack.”
Midland 63 Quitman 31: QHS Scoring: Brayli Stewart 12, Bethany Leach 5, Ansley Folks 4, Cali Deal 4, AJ Gray 2, Summer Grillette 2, Anna Leach 2
Elizabeth 51 Quitman 46: QHS Scoring: Carter 12, Stewart 9, B. Leach 7, Folks 7, Gray 6, Grillette 3, A. Leach 1
2023 Softball Schedule Released
Last year when the schedule said a game was to be played at home it meant at the Jackson Parish Recreation Department Sports Complex. This year the seven dates that are designated as home games will truly mean at their home field on the QHS campus. Those seven,along with ten away games and five tournaments, comprise the 2023 softball schedule that shows the first regular season game slated to be played on February 21st and the last one being Senior Night on April 11th. See below for complete schedule including time of games.
