STONEWALL – North DeSoto softball fans were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime slate of softball this past week in Stonewall.
North DeSoto, which began that week ranked No. 19 in the nation in the USA TODAY/NFCA high school softball poll, knocked off national No. 7 Sterlington, topped a reigning state champion in Kaplan and battled No. 4 nationally ranked Calvary Baptist in a tough loss.
North DeSoto avenged an earlier loss to Sterlington by winning 7-1 on Tuesday, squeaked by Kaplan in extra innings, 3-2, on Thursday before falling in a 6-4 tussle with Calvary Baptist on Friday.
The Lady Griffins played all three games at home, including in front of an estimated 650 fans Friday against Calvary Baptist.
For a NDHS team aiming for its fourth straight state championship, this past week of softball more than prepared the Lady Griffins for whatever Division II Non-Select softball can throw at them.
“We had a tough week playing those three good teams, and I probably put us in a bind by playing Kaplan and Calvary and having Laney go back-to-back,” North DeSoto coach Tim Whitman told The Shreveport Times on Friday after the Calvary loss. “That doesn’t take anything away from Calvary, and they got good pitching and took good swings.
“You have to recover as a team when you get down, and that’s why we scheduled like that. I’m proud of the kids for fighting back, and we had a chance their at the end with the top of the lineup. That’s what it’s about – we’re going to play the best teams to prepare our kids for the four games that matter (the playoffs).”
Pitcher Laney Johnson started all three games, picking up wins against Sterlington and Kaplan before taking the loss against Calvary.
Johnson allowed one unearned run on four hits against Sterlington, twirled an eight-inning gem with 11 strikeouts and three hits against Kaplan, and ended the week against Calvary with six runs on 10 hits. That’s 20 2/3 innings in four days against either nationally ranked teams or a Kaplan squad that is the reigning Division III Non-Select champion.
Calvary is also a reigning state champion (Division III Select) while Sterlington played for a state title this past season.
The majority of North DeSoto runs came via the home run, including a Raegan Henderson walk-off home run to knock off Kaplan in the eighth inning Thursday.
Johnson helped her own cause against Kaplan with a solo home run.
North DeSoto’s rally fell short against Calvary as three sixth-inning runs cut the Cavs lead to 6-4.
Home runs by Mia Norwood, Payton Miller and Carsyn Curtis fueled the comeback, but Calvary held off the late Lady Griffin charge.
North DeSoto is 24-4 heading into Tuesday evening’s contest against Airline before playing Minden to determine the District 1-4A tournament champion, a new format for the league this year.
The regular season ends April 9 with playoff pairings being announced April 10.
Because of North DeSoto’s strength of schedule, the Lady Griffins have locked up the No. 1 seed with a nearly five-point lead in the Division II Non-Select power rankings.