How the Monroe area excelled during the LHSAA softball championships

3 / 3

How the Monroe area excelled during the LHSAA softball championships

Class B champion Quitman.

The 2025-26 LHSAA softball postseason culminated Sunday with three Monroe-area teams winning state championships.

Here's how Sterlington, Oak Grove and Quitman came away with titles and how six more local LHSAA semifinalists fared at the North Frasch Softball Complex in Sulphur.

LHSAA baseball: Why West Monroe's Wade Simoneaux is retiring from coaching

How Sterlington came away with a second championship in three seasons

The Division III nonselect No. 5 Lady Panthers took a 2-0 first-inning lead in the championship against No. 2 Kaplan, but the Lady Pirates immediately countered and led 4-2 after the second inning. It was critical for Sterlington to keep things close against Kaplan and continue fighting back.

After three straight scoreless innings, Sterlington broke through again in the sixth with Neely Kilpatrick's three-run homer. On a 1-0 count, the freshman lifted the ball to center field, and the Lady Panthers didn't look back as they defeated the Lady Pirates 5-4.

"We talked about moving up closer to the plate and looking for the outside pitch, because (Kaplan pitcher Lexi Greene) had been throwing that to a lot of our girls," Sterlington coach Jeff Tannehill said. "(Kilpatrick) hit a long home run. Just her being coachable and having a good eye for the ball, she did a really good job of executing the plan."

Division III nonselect champion Sterlington.

Multiple freshmen have stood out for Sterlington this spring, including Ansley Johnson, who pitched a four-hit shutout in the semifinals against No. 1 Jena, and Bea Cerda, who recorded a hit in five of the Lady Panthers' final six games. Three of Sterlington's players, Jaleeyah Alford, Sullivan Cannon and Tori Kelley, will graduate this spring and have all greatly impacted the program.

Tannehill said it doesn't get better defensively than Alford (an LSU-Alexandria signee) at third base. She has been a major contributor in both girls basketball and softball at Sterlington, from leading the Lady Panthers to back-to-back LHSAA semifinal appearances in Hammond to driving in the only run of the game against Jena with a double.

"The state of Sterlington athletics is honestly not something that comes around every day," Cannon said earlier in the season. "These coaches and the staff and (Sterlington football coach Lee) Doty being the (athletics director) overall, it's a great community. Everyone supports everyone. I couldn't ask for a better administration behind us.

"It's unbelievable to have football win and basketball make it far. (Girls basketball's Caroline Oliphant is) a great coach; (boys basketball coach Paul) Glynn is also a great coach. Baseball has also done its job, just like softball, and I couldn't ask for these great coaches. It's a great experience (over) my last four years."

What it means for Oak Grove to win its first title since 2019

Less than a week after Oak Grove's loss to Westlake in the LHSAA girls basketball semifinals, the D-IV nonselect No. 2 Lady Tigers softball team won their season opener 5-4 against D-III select No. 4 D'Arbonne Woods Charter. Oak Grove then lost its next four games of the season, two of which came against eventual LHSAA champions.

The losses helped the Lady Tigers get to where they are now. They know what strong pitching looks like, especially in this spring's championship against reigning runner-up and No. 1 LaSalle. Sophomore Landry Long wasn't just one of the area's top aces but also one of its best leadoff hitters.

Oak Grove ended LaSalle's bid in winning back-to-back titles (which would have been a first in program history) with an 8-0 victory. Sophomore Kinley Cox, who missed time throughout the season, struck out 10 in the circle and went 3-for-4 with a double. Junior and LSU women's basketball commit Caroline Bradley, who smashed 13 home runs in her first year on varsity, went 4-for-5 with two doubles.

Division IV nonselect champion Oak Grove.

"It started off a little rough," Oak Grove coach Lacey Hill said regarding the championship season. "We weren't really seeing the ball well, weren't hitting it well. Then about halfway through (the season) we kind of figured some things out. That's all I asked them to do."

Sports at Oak Grove are thriving as baseball won LHSAA championships from 2021-25. The Lady Tigers aim on winning back-to-back titles next spring, a feat that was previously accomplished in 2018-19. The program will return much of its team as Ellie Ray is the lone player graduating.

"We've got great kids and great coaches for all sports that we have," Hill said. "Once they see other teams win, they're like, 'Hey, I want to do that.' Just being from where we are, a small town, people work around here. The kids are also instilled to work, and they put that into their athletics. It just shows at Oak Grove."

Quitman continues to ascend as one of Louisiana's top programs

The Lady Wolverines' first four LHSAA championship appearances ended with a loss to Anacoco in 2012, close defeats to Florien in 2014 and 2015 and a one-run loss to Converse in 2023. Quitman bounced back by winning state over the next three seasons.

It won its latest championship against Class B No. 4 Anacoco 7-5 as sophomore Brenna Lamkin and senior Maggie Guyotte had strong outings in the circle and sophomore Hallie Kate Pullig knocked in her sixth extra base hit of the postseason. Among the team's biggest contributors is sophomore Briley Bowers, who smacked two doubles in the championship.

For Quitman coach Justin Dodson, winning state once is an amazing feat. To win it three times in a row is a greater accomplishment.

Class B champion Quitman.

"Every year, they get stronger and better," Dodson said. "We play tougher competition to where the playoffs aren't so bad. This year, the girls just stepped up whenever I needed them to. My pitchers, if one of them was down, the other one stepped up. At the plate, we hit the ball hard. Sometimes my big hitters that normally hit would be off, and the bottom half of the lineup would have to bounce out."

The lone player the No. 2 Lady Wolverines graduate is one of the LHSAA's best softball players. Guyotte (a Louisiana Tech signee) holds state records in hits (305) and RBIs (275) and has 74 career home runs. One of her biggest moments this postseason was recording a three-inning save with five strikeouts in the semifinals against Hicks. Dodson said that was the biggest moment Guyotte ever had in the circle for Quitman.

Guyotte's last moment in a Lady Wolverine uniform was recording the final out to seal her team's third-straight title.

"I'm going to miss her leadership," Dodson said. "She wants to practice every day and wants to get after it. That can be contagious for the other kids. She'll be right down the road (at La. Tech), but she'll come back and see us."

More Monroe-area teams shined in Sulphur

Two more local teams were LHSAA runners-up in D-IV select No. 14 St. Frederick and Class C No. 2 Claiborne Christian.

Despite losing to No. 1 Riverside Academy 11-1, the Lady Warriors appeared in their first championship since 2000 and took down three top-six seeds this postseason to make the finals. The back-to-back runners-up Lady Crusaders, who fell to No. 1 Northside Christian 10-4 in the finals and last won state in 2023, look to continue building their program.

D-I nonselect No. 3 West Monroe and Woods' seasons ended in the semifinals against No. 10 Live Oak (4-2) and six-time reigning champion and No. 1 Calvary Baptist (12-2), respectively.

The Lady Rebels soared under first-year coach and 1999 West Monroe graduate Brian West. The team won its previous 12 contests heading into Sulphur, three of which came against state champions. While the Lady Wolves have not won a championship, this was the third time over four seasons they appeared in the semifinals. Woods were LHSAA runners-up in 2023 and 2025.

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: LHSAA softball | Three teams from Monroe area won state championships