The underdog role suits some players. St. Amant’s Addison “AJ” Jackson is not one of them.
“I like having that target on my back,” Jackson said. “That makes me even more motivated and it’s the same for our team.
“It’s part of being competitive. You want to be the best and always think you can be better. It takes work and that’s the challenge.”
During the last two seasons, Jackson has become the face of a tradition-rich Gator program that has won eight LHSAA softball titles, including the Class 5A crown a year ago.
Top-seeded St. Amant (30-2) plays No. 4 West Monroe (25-9) at 5 p.m. Friday in a Division I nonselect semifinals on the first day of the LHSAA state softball tournament at Sulphur’s Frasch Park. The Gators lead the Baton Rouge area’s seven-team contingent going into the two-day tourney.
And Jackson, a Boston College signee, enters the tourney with all the requisite numbers for a star player. She is 30-2 in the circle with 278 strikeouts in 176 2/3 innings. Jackson is hitting .519 and leads all Louisiana players with 27 home runs. She has 72 RBI despite being walked 40 times.
“The thing I stressed to her this year is to not try and repeat what you did last year,” St. Amant coach Amy Pitre said. “The most important thing for us is to have the best version of this year’s AJ every day. She has embraced that.
“AJ puts in work and she likes challenges. Some pitchers are cocky. She is confident in her ability and in her team.”
Pitre’s point about not trying to repeat last season is a solid case in point. The Gators beat West Monroe 10-0 in the title game with Jackson tossing a perfect game and hitting a two-run homer.
The move from freshman second baseman to top pitcher/player was a two-year process that began during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. St. Amant was also a defending champion that year and the Gators returned top pitcher Alyssa Romano.
SAHS was 13-0 before COVID and Jackson had six home runs. As a sophomore, she took over in the circle. But instead of another tourney berth, the Gators lost to Pineville in the quarterfinals.
“That loss hurt … it was the toughest hurt I had ever had,” Jackson explained. “When you play travel play like I have you learn the goal is not to win every game. You just move on to the next one.
“But there was no next one … not for that team. And that really hurt. I think that was what motivated me to come back stronger and better as a pitcher and a hitter last year. I knew I had to be better.”
Jackson said she tries not to ponder the end of her high school career, though it is now days away. Instead, she focuses on what Pitre always says, “Which game is most important? The next one.”
“I am excited about this week and ready to play,” Jackson said. “This is what we work for.”
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