An eighth-grader led French Settlement to an LHSAA softball title, see how she did it

SULPHUR — With just one senior and a talented roster of youngsters, fourth-seeded French Settlement might look like one of those teams that is a year away from greatness. But why wait, if you can win it all now?

The pitching eighth-grader Malloy Miles set the tone for the Lions in a 3-1 victory over second-seeded Montgomery in the Division IV nonselect final at the LHSAA state softball tournament.

“The changeup has always been one of my best pitches and I knew coming into this game they (Montgomery) had a tendency to struggle hitting a changeup,” said Miles. “I wanted to throw it a lot and I was able to locate most of them.

“I never want to show the other team weakness, so I always keep a smile on my face. In that last inning, I was able to throw them off with my spin just enough.”

Miles (15-9) was poised. She allowed four hits, struck out nine and walked just two to earn title-game MVP honors as French Settlement (24-10) won its first LHSAA softball title since 1999 on Saturday at Frasch Park.

Most importantly, Miles used her changeup effectively in the bottom of the seventh to induce two fly outs after Montgomery scored a run and brought the potential game-winning run to the plate.

“This is just a credit to how hard this team worked all year,” FSHS coach Blake West said. “After big wins and tough losses they showed up every day and continued to put in work. They believed we could be here, and they believed we could win a state championship. They earned it … they deserve it.

“We had a young pitcher who came into a tough environment, a state championship environment, two days in a row and she was lights out. That gave the offense a chance to work and allowed the defense to play behind her.”

The Lions took the lead by scoring two runs in the top of the third inning. Ava Acosta and Brooke Dupuy, the team’s lone senior, gave the Livingston Parish school an all-important lead with RBI hits.

FSHS got an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Laney Wilson singled, was sacrificed to second and scored on a single by Ramsie McMorris.

For Dupuy, the title-game win was a long-cherished prize.

“The last few years we’ve made deep playoff runs but never quite got there,” Dupuy said. “From the start of the season we said ‘This is it … this is the team and we can do this. And we did.”