Hackberry head and shoulders above the rest

Published 6:00 pm Friday, April 24, 2020

All Decade Southwest Louisiana Small Schools SoftballFrom left, Hitter of the Decade Haylee Brinlee of Rosepine, Coach of the Decade Angie Little of Hackberry and Hackberry’s Brianne Beard is the Pitcher of the Decade on the Southwest Louisiana Small Schools Softball All-Decade team for 2010-19.

American Press

Editor’s Note: Eighth in a series of high school all-decade teams.

The queens of the diamond are the queens of the decade.

While many schools came close to winning a state championship, only Hackberry hoisted a trophy in the last decade. The Mustangs claimed six of the 19 spots on the American Press All-Decade Small Schools softball team, including Pitcher of the Decade Brianne Beard and Coach of the Decade Angie Little.

Little led Hackberry to six consecutive Class C state championships, tying a state record set by Linville (1997-2002) and Vandebilt Catholic (1980-1985). Hackberry won 127 games during that span and outscored its opponents 224-28 in 20 playoffs games while earning the No. 1 seed five times.

Beard (2016) was twice named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class C MVP and American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Small Schools MVP in 2015 and 2016, plus three first-team all-state awards.

As a senior in 2016, Beard struck out 123 batters and maintained a 1.71 earned run average over 86 innings. She struck out 12 and scored twice in a 10-4 win over Plainview in the title game. She went 16-2 with a 0.60 ERA and a .370 batting average in 2015.

Rosepine’s Haylee Brinlee (2017) is the Hitter of the Decade. She hit 26 career home runs and led the Eagles to the Class 2A semifinals in 2017 and 2018, earning All-Southwest Louisiana MVP honors in 2018 while batting .465 with eight doubles, 12 home runs, 50 RBIs and 35 runs scored. In the 2018 quarterfinals, her two-run home run helped lead the Eagles to an upset of No. 1 Kinder.

Brinlee is joined on the team by a pair of teammates in pitcher Morghan LaTour (2017) and utility player Lauryn McMahon (2017). LaTour was a five-year starter in the circle for Rosepine, winning 38 games and striking out more than 400 batters over her final two seasons while earning a pair of first-team all-state awards. McMahon swung a big bat for the Eagles with a .516 average in 2016 and four home runs and 21 RBIs in 2017 while taking home three first-team all-state awards in her career.

Joining Beard on the team from Hackberry is pitcher Jolie Trahan (2014), catcher Sami Little (2013), infielder Mattie Stine (2014) and Sydney Broussard (2015) and utility player Blanche Beard (2018). Little, Broussard and Trahan combined to win three consecutive Class C MVP and All-Southwest Louisiana MVP awards in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. The trio, along with Stine, earned three all-state first-team awards each.

Trahan struck out 38 in three games at the state tournament in 2014, including a perfect game in the quarterfinals and a one-hitter in the semifinals, and finished the season with a 0.34 ERA. Broussard had a big junior year with 12 doubles, nine triples, 20 steals and a .476 batting average while Little hit .423 with 25 RBIs in 2013. Stine and Blanche Beard batted over .400 in three consecutive seasons.

The only other small school to reach the final in the last decade was Kinder, which is represented by utility players Christian Arceneaux (2012) and Megan Trahan (2015) and outfielder Brooklyn Fontenot (2020), who also played shortstop.sprh.0426.kinder.vs.many-1.1.jpgKinder’s Brooklyn Fontenot leads off the game with a single during their semifinal round game of the LHSAA Softball Championships at Frasch Park in Sulphur, La., Friday, April 26, 2019. (Rick Hickman/Lake Charles American Press)

Rick Hickman

Arceneaux, a two-time first-team all-state shortstop, played for the Yellow Jackets’ 2011 Class 2A runner-up team and batted over .400 in her final two seasons. Trahan was a two-time first-team all-state third baseman and batted over .500 three consecutive seasons. Fontenot, the 2019 All-Southwest Small Schools MVP, led the Yellow Jackets back to the final for the first time since 2011 last season while batting .620 with six doubles, two home runs, 40 runs scored.

Rounding out the pitching staff is Starks’ Wendy Gillet (2015), a four-time first-team all-stater who led the Panther to the semifinals three times, and Grand Lake’s Rebecca Monceaux (2013), a three-time all-state first-team member who batted .393 with six home runs and 35 RBIs in 2013 to lead the Hornets to the Class B semifinals.

Pickering’s Summer Atkins (2017), the all-time Vernon Parish leader in home runs (49), made the team as an infielder. The three-time all-state first-teamer led the Red Devils to their first home playoff win in school history.

Outfielders are Oberlin’s Haley Reeves (2013), a two-time all-state first-team member and South Cameron’s Lexi Jo DeBarge (2018), the 2018 All-Southwest Louisiana MVP.

At the utility spot is DeQuincy’s Amanda Feith (2014) and Fairview’s Olivia Grace Williams (2018). Feith led DeQuincy to the quarterfinals in 2014 with 36 RBIs and 36 runs scored and twice made the all-state first team while Williams had three all-state first-team nominations and batted .609 in 2018.All Decade softball small schoolsAll Decade softball small schools