There is no place like home – away from home! That is the sentiment that Quitman High School enjoys about playing at the Frasch Softball Complex in Sulphur, LA, site of the annual LHSAA state softball tournament, where the Lady Wolverines have won five straight games over the past three years, including the 5-2 semi-final victory over Hicks on Saturday. 

With their season-best 11th win in a row, Quitman, seeded #2 in the 20-team Class B bracket, improved to 24-9 on the year and into their fourth consecutive finals in search of their third straight Class B championship.

Class B State Finals 
Sunday, May 3
3:00 pm
#2 Quitman (24-9) vs #4 Anacoco (15-12) 

The Lady Wolverines will play Anacoco for the Class B championship at 3:00 pm on Sunday, May 3rd, who despite entering the playoffs with a pedestrian 12-12 record, beat #20 Choudrant 5-1, #5 Zwolle 7-1 and upset top-ranked Stanley 9-6 in the semi-finals to advance to the finals matchup. 

If you describe the Frasch Complex as Quitman’s home-away-from-home, then you must recognize Hallie Kate Pullig as “matron of the manor”. The sophomore sensation, who has earned the undeniable reputation of being at her best the bigger the game, once again showcased her uncanny ability by clubbing a triple and a double to knock in Quitman’s first three runs and crossed home plate for the fourth in what turned out to be the pivotal bottom of the fifth inning that saw the Lady Wolverines go up 5-0 by plating four runs in the frame. 

In five games at the state tournament, Pullig has 9 hits in 17 at-bats, for a gaudy .527 batting average. Six of the hits are for extra bases, made up three triples and three doubles, with the 2024 championship game MVP as an 8th grader accounting for 13 RBI and 3 runs scored. 

Another who has traditionally stepped up for the Lady Wolverines is Maggie Guyotte, who once again exhibited her incredible offensive prowess but on Saturday added another dimension to her already legendary resume. 

Recognized as the state’s all-time leader in base hits and RBI’s and second-best ever in home runs, Guyotte stroked a single and scored two runs, including the first tally of the game after getting hit by a pitch and scoring on Pullig’s triple to give Quitman a first inning 1-0 lead.

On Saturday, though, it was her prowess on the mound that was a catalyst for the victory.

To set the stage, starting and winning pitcher, Brenna Lamkin, had cruised through the first four innings, allowing only a first-inning double to Hick’s all-stater Courtlyn Dousay. In the top of the fifth inning, trouble set in as Hicks loaded the bases with no outs as two batters reached base after getting hit by a pitch, and Dousay was intentionally walked. 

Quitman head coach Justin Dodson then summoned Guyotte to the mound. A key member of the pitching staff, who has a tremendous 45-12 record over her six-year career, and is 7-1 this season, the relief appearance was the first time Guyotte had ever pitched in a state tournament game. 

Nursing the slim 1-0 lead, tension built to a fever pitch as the first three pitches were balls, but showing tremendous fortitude, Guyotte calmly threw three straight strikes to record the first out of the inning and then slammed the door shut on the rally attempt by striking out the next batter and coaxing a lineout to leave the bases loaded and leave Quitman unscathed. 

Buoyed by escaping the scary situation with the lead still intact, the Lady Wolverines put the game away in the bottom half of the inning when Anna Leach first reached on a one-out error, the 4th of the game committed by the Hicks infield. Guyotte followed with a single, and Pullig brought both in with a double to center field to increase Quitman’s lead to 3-0. Brenna Lamkin and Briley Bowers, back from a horrifying wreck earlier in the week that threatened to end her season, kept the inning going with a two-out single and double, respectively, that gave Quitman an insurmountable 5-0 lead. Hicks would score twice in the top of the seventh for the final margin.

To view the final out celebration by QHS, click here.