Matt Vines
The North DeSoto softball team captured three wins to extend its winning streak to four games, but one win had to be sweeter than the rest.
The Lady Griffins (23-3) avenged an earlier loss to Sterlington on Tuesday in a 7-1 win at home.
Payton Miller and Mia Norwood each had two RBIs while Laney Johnson allowed just four hits in win against Sterlington, the reigning Division III Non-Select runners-up.
The matchup featured a pair of NFCA nationally ranked squads as Sterlington entered No. 7 and North DeSoto No. 19 in the nation.
North DeSoto locked horns with Division III champion Kaplan on Thursday and will get Division III Select champion Calvary Baptist on Friday before diving into Airline (Tuesday), Minden (Wednesday) and West Monroe on Friday.
The Minden contest will determine the District 1-4A champion in this new tournament format.
The Lady Griffins have basically locked up the No. 1 seed in Division II Non-Select with a nearly five-point lead in the power rankings.
SOFTBALL
Logansport bounced back from three straight losses with a pair of wins this week heading into Thursday night’s contest against Parkway.
The Lady Tigers (18-4) dismantled Joaquin (16-2 score) and St. Mary’s (6-1) this past week.
After five scoreless innings with St. Mary’s, Logansport broke through in the late innings, which included an Ainsley Morvan home run.
Logansport’s most meaningful games in a four-game week coming up are Saturday hosting Natchitoches Central and Tuesday hosting Montgomery.
Logansport is No. 1 in Division IV Non-Select heading into the final two weeks of the season.
At Stanley, the Lady Panthers long streak of success screeched to a halt in the ultra-competitive Calvary Baptist Tournament.
Stanley (16-10), who had 12 of 13 games, dropped three straight to Calvary (12-4 score), Jena (11-6) and Ruston (14-1).
Stanley did find the win column again Tuesday with a 4-3 win against Zwolle to move to 2-0 in District 3-B. They are No. 6 in Division V Non-Select.
At Mansfield, the Lady Wolverines (5-14) weren’t able to play this week and are next scheduled to head to Logansport on Monday. Mansfield, sitting at No. 27, is fighting for one of 26 playoff spots.
BASEBALL
Fast starts were the key for North DeSoto baseball this week as the Griffins captured four wins.
North DeSoto scored two and three runs, respectively, against Winnfield and Captain Shreve in competitive wins.
Three different players contributed RBIs in support of winning pitcher Kaleb Carter in a 6-2 win against Winnfield.
Trysten Hopper and Bryant LaCour each had two RBIs in a 5-2 win against Captain Shreve.
The Griffins jumped out early in big wins against Cedar Creek (17-1) and Bossier (18-1).
North DeSoto is No. 7 in Division II Non-Select heading into Thursday’s matchup against Evangel Christian with Leesville, Huntington and Northwood on the slate next week.
In Logansport, the Tigers continued their turnaround with a 4-1 week to improve to 9-9 and the No. 17 slot in Division IV Non-Select.
The Tigers handled business against Negreet (14-4 score), Florien (10-5), North Caddo (9-6) and LaSalle (11-1) while falling to Northwood (13-1).
Logansport is 2-1 in District 3-1A heading into Thursday’s second matchup against LaSalle.
In Stanley, the Panthers got a win in their only matchup with an 8-1 victory over Negreet to move to 4-0 in District 3-B play.
The Panthers (14-4) are No. 7 in Division V Select.
In Mansfield, the Wolverines stopped a five-game slide with a 15-5 win against Pleasant Hill.
The Wolverines (4-5) will need a late-season surge from No. 32 in Division III Non-Select to make the 26-team playoffs.