In a season of many firsts, the one that took place this past week was one that all three Jackson Parish schools would just as soon as not have taken place. For the first time all season, JHHS, Weston and Quitman all lost their last game of the week heading into the final week of regular season play.
D’Arbonne Woods 9 Quitman 7: Despite outhitting the second-ranked team in Division III among “select” schools by a 12-6 margin, Quitman dropped their fourth straight game as DWC scored four runs in the first and four more in the seventh. The Lady Wolverines now stand at 16-9 overall while D’Arbonne Woods improved to 20-7 overall.
It wasn’t the number of hits that did Quitman in but the power and timing of them. The first inning is a great example, as D’Arbonne Woods sandwiched a pair of doubles with around two walks to go up 4-0 before Quitman got their first at bat. Not to be deterred, Quitman scored three in their half of the frame when Maggie Guyotte reached on an error, Hallie Kate Pullig, Karly Huckaby and Kinsley Ponder all singled and Zoee Williamson got hit by a pitch.
Brenna Lamkin held D’Arbonne Woods in check to the tune of just a fifth inning home run over the next six innings that allowed Quitman to rally for a 5-5 tie heading into the final frame but the Lady Timberwolves went yard again after two Quitman errors in the top of the 7th inning to up the advantage to 9-5 heading into the Lady Wolverines final at bat.
Showing the heart of a champion, Quitman would not go quietly. Maggie Guyotte narrowed the deficit to 9-6 with her Jackson Parish leading 7th home run of the year, and then with two outs, Williams, Huckaby, and Ponder all hit singles and Briley Bowers reached on an error, bringing the score to 9-7 and putting runners on second and third. Unfortunately, that is where they would stand at game’s end.
Saline 21 JHHS 7: The Lady Bobcats proved their #4 ranking in Class C to be valid by exploding for 14 first inning runs, getting 13 extra base hits and plating over 20 runs in a game for the 7th time this season. Sierra Bond led JHHS with a pair of hits, including a double, while Brooklyn Thompson, Ma’Riyah Jones, Skyliah Dill, SaTavia Qualls and Makenley Ray all knocked in a run each. With the loss, JHHS fell to 2-12 on the year while Saline improved to 14-5 this season.
Captain Shreve 11 Weston 8: There are losses then there are “good” losses and for Weston, the contest against the Class 5A school counts in that category. While the Lady Wolves would have loved to duplicate their winning effort over the Shreveport based school earlier in the year, Weston gained a large amount of power points in the loss to the 17-13 Lady Gators to secure their #15 ranking in Class B and locking up a postseason berth despite with a 6-14 record and having the fewest wins of all Class B schools who will qualify.
Carly Jo Griffin continued her breakout season by blasting a home run and a pair of doubles that led to three runs, an RBI and a stolen base. Anslee Aldy also had a big day with three hits in three at bats, including a “two bagger”, scoring twice and knocking a run in while Carlyn Waters hit a double and scored a run. Davynee Bearden scored a run and both Hailey Chatham and Rachel Bandy had an RBI.
