By LAMAR GAFFORD, Journal Sports
SULPHUR – There was no “four-peat” for North DeSoto.
Seeking to become one of 10 Louisiana softball programs to win four championships in a row, the Lady Griffins fell to Lutcher, 9-4, in the Division II non-select championship game Saturday.
“We just didn’t play well and (Lutcher) played really well,” North DeSoto coach Tim Whitman said. “Hats off to them, their pitcher threw it well. We didn’t make adjustments until later on in the game, but it is what it is. I’m not disappointed in their effort.”
Lady Griffin pitcher Laney Johnson and Lutcher’s Blair Clement dueled for the first three innings, but Clement broke the game open with a grand slam in the top of the fourth to break the scoreless tie.
Payton Miller put North DeSoto (30-5) on the board in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run and then a pair of Lutcher errors in the fourth and fifth innings pulled it to 5-3, but that would be the closest North DeSoto would get.
Clement smacked a solo home run in the sixth inning and Alexis Lyons added a two-run double in the seventh inning to keep it comfortably ahead.
Lutcher (24-7) won its first title since 2009.
As the No. 1 seed, North DeSoto had been on a dominant tear to get to the title game – outscoring its opponents 31-2 in the first three rounds.
The Lady Griffins made light work of North Vermillion (24-7) in the semifinals with an 11-1 win as Johnson hit a solo home run and tossed a one-hitter.
North DeSoto had six batters with extra base hits, as Johnson retired 14 of her last 15 batters she faced.
Despite closing their careers with a runner-up finish, the Lady Griffin senior class has accomplished a lot with three straight titles from 2021-2023 and 131 victories to their names.
On top of that, they have players that will play collegiate softball. Johnson signed with Louisiana Tech, while third baseman Mia Norwood is heading to UL Lafayette and second baseman Ciara Orgeron will go to LSU Eunice.
“This is a special group,” Whitman said. “The pressure that this group has been under – they’ve had a lot of it. Everybody thinks it’s easy and it’s expected. But this is a great senior class. We can’t take away what they’ve done. Their four-year careers amass anyone in any class or school.”