Started from the bottom, now we here! – Drake.
If there were a wish that could be granted for the Jackson Parish 12U All-Star softball team, it would be for their summer of All-Star play to continue. It is because, obviously, the twelve young ladies were getting better with every game of every tournament.
Under the guidance of manager Kirsten Savage and coaches Ronny Savage and Dustin Siddon, the Jackson Parish 12U All-Star softball team demonstrated impressive improvement this past weekend, finishing third at the Diamond Youth Softball State Tournament in Metairie, La, after beating Grant Parish and West Monroe and losing a pair to eventual state champion Jefferson Parish Recreation Department (JPRD) Westbank.
To understand how tremendous the achievement of finishing as the third-best team in the state in their age division was, you must go back to the start of the All-Star season. To say that JP12U had an auspicious start to All-Star play would not be correct. In their first outing as a team, at the pre-district tournament played in West Monroe on June 12-13, the locals finished 0-4 against Sterlington and West Monroe, being outscored 40-3.
Undaunted, the young ladies kept working hard in preparation for the District 4 tournament to be played June 25-27 on their home field at the Jackson Parish Recreation Department Sports Complex. The continued practice showed immediate dividends with their first victory of the All-Star season, beating Benton 10-6 in the first round of district play. A 14-7 loss to Sabine Parish followed, setting up a rematch with Benton, which resulted in another victory, this time by a 9-8 margin. Their district tournament experience then ended with a second loss to Sabine Parish, 11-8.
The third-place finish in district play earned the locals a spot in the Diamond Youth Softball State Tournament, held in Metairie, LA, which turned out to be a mini composite of their entire All-Star experience. JP12U opened the tourney by losing their first two games in pool play. The first was a 16-0 loss to Jefferson Parish East, followed by yet another loss to West Monroe. The team’s improvement was obvious, though: instead of the 3-1 and 11-2 losses absorbed in the pre-district tournament, JP12U fell by just a slim 7-6 margin this time.
Shaking off two pool-play losses, JP12U regrouped to defeat Grant Parish 8-6 in the opening round of the double-elimination bracket. A loss to JPRD Westbank dropped the locals into the elimination side of the bracket, setting up yet another contest against West Monroe. Despite having already been beaten three times by the team from the much more populous area, JP12U showed tremendous grit and determination and, more importantly, gave a much-improved effort to beat West Monroe soundly, 10-5. Even though another loss to JPRD Westbank followed, there was no doubt that Jackson Parish 12U had improved tremendously over the four weeks of All-Star play, coming within one game of playing for the state championship.
Knowing that the 12 players that represented Jackson Parish with such determination and tenacity and seeing the team get better every time out, JP12U manager Kirsten Savage expressed her pride in her team and how much she was looking forward to seeing what the future would bring for her players.
“Super proud of these girls for battling hard in the Louisiana State 12U tournament,” said Savage. “They put out some good teams this week and finished in 3rd place. It was a blast coaching them over the past weeks and watching them grow. Really looking forward to seeing the ballers that they become.”
Jackson Parish 12U Softball All-Stars
Manager: Kirsten Savage
Coaches: Ronny Savage and Dustin Siddon
Team Members: Ava Cutright, Emma Gray, Brelaina Hall, Delilah Hudson, Autumn Kohler, Charley Linton, Breezy Marker, Aubrie Maxwell, Ryleigh McCormick, Elliot Savage, Ella Siddon, and Lizzie Sullivan.|
State Tournament Summary: Lost to Jefferson Parish East, 16-0, and West Monroe, 7-6, in Pool Two play. Beat Grant Parish 8-6 in the opening round of bracket play. Lost to Pool One top seed JPRD Westbank, 15-3, in the second round. Beat West Monroe 10-5 in an elimination game. Lost to JPRD Westbank 10-2, finishing in third place.
Jefferson Parish East 16 JP12U 0 (Game One of Pool Play): Facing a stellar pitcher, JP12U had only 4 players reach base. Elliot Savage got the only hit for the locals, with Autumn Kohler, Ava Cutright, and Ryleigh McCormick, who also stole a base, all earning walks.
West Monroe 7 JP12U 6 (Game Two of Pool Play): Emma Gray slapped a clutch two-out double to score Ella Siddon and Ryleigh McCormick, both of whom had reached on free passes, in the top of the fifth and final inning, but Autumn Kohler, who had singled to load the bases, was left stranded at third base with the tying run to end the courageous rally attempt. JP12U opened the game with Kohler hitting a single and Gray walking, setting up an Elliot Savage double that scored a run. Gray then stole home, giving JP12U a 2-0 lead. Down 5-2 after three innings, JP12U narrowed the deficit to just one run in the top of the fourth inning on the strength of Brelaina Hall’s double and Ava Cutright’s triple. West Monroe would then score two in the bottom half of the inning to go up 7-4.
JP12U 8 Grant Parish 6 (Game One of Bracket Play): After spotting Grant Parish a 4-2 lead, JP12U stormed back to score 6 runs over the final four innings to win the opening-round game of bracket play. Lizzie Sullivan led the team’s tournament-best 15-hit attack by smashing a pair of doubles and a triple, while scoring two runs and knocking in two more. JP12U collected 8 extra-base hits in all, with Charley Linton and Elliot Savage each adding a triple, and Breezy Marker, Brelaina Hall, and Emma Gray each slapping doubles. Delilah Hudson contributed two hits, while Autumn Kohler, Ava Cutright, Ella Siddon, and Ryleigh McCormick each added a base hit, as every JP12U batter got a hit.
JPRD Westbank 15 JP12U 3 (Game Two of Bracket Play): A determined two-out rally in the bottom of the first inning put JP12U up 3-1, but the other team from New Orleans scored 7 runs in both the top of the second and third innings to send JP12U into the elimination side of the bracket in the “run rule’ shortened game. The scoring began in the big opening inning for JP12U when Elliot Savage and Brelaina Hall hit back-to-back two-out doubles for the locals’ first run. That was followed by Lizzie Sullivan drawing a walk, which led to Ava Cutright hitting the third double of the inning to score two.
JP12U 10 West Monroe 5 (Game Three of Bracket Play): It looked bleak with West Monroe holding a 4-run lead after three at-bats, but the locals stormed back with six runs in the bottom of the third and added four more in the fifth to beat West Monroe for the first time in four tries and stay alive in the double-elimination tournament . Charley Linton got the big rally started with a single but was thrown out at second on Ella Siddon’s fielder’s choice grounder. JP12U responded by getting the next six batters on base when Breezy Marker singled, Ryleigh McCormick was hit by a pitch, and Autumn Kohler and Emma Gray both walked, loading the bases and narrowing the gap to 4-2. Elliot Savage then hit a single and Brelaina Hall laced a double to give JP12U a 5-4 lead, setting up a sacrifice fly out by Lizzie Sullivan for the final run of the inning. JP12U put the game on ice in the bottom of the 5th, when after West Monroe had closed to within 6-5, McCormick coaxed a one-out walk, Kohler singled and both Gray and Savage doubled, setting up a Hall sacrifice ground out to give the locals a 10-5 lead that held up.
JPRD Westbank 10 JP12U 2 (Game Four of Bracket Play): Setting their sights on gaining another revenge victory, JP12U came out swinging in the top of the first inning as Emma Gray hit a one-out triple and Elliot Savage followed with a double, but no runs were scored. JPRD Westbank followed by scoring three in their half of the inning. Despite being disappointed by missing the golden opportunity to put runs on the board in the first inning, the locals showed tremendous grit and character in the second inning, when Lizzie Sullivan and Ava Cutright opened the inning with back-to-back singles to narrow the deficit to 3-1. Aubrie Maxwell followed with a groundout to close the gap to 3-2, and Charley Linton kept things going with a clutch two-out hit but ended up stranded on base. That was as close as JP12U would get as JPRD Westbank pitching knuckled down to allow only singles by Autumn Kohler and Aubrie Maxwell over the next three innings while scoring in every at-bat to eliminate the gutsy local twelve.