DeQuincy’s Reese Ashworth and Vinton’s Jaycie O’Connor’s dedication helped lead their teams to breakout seasons and sweep the top awards on the American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Small Schools baseball and softball teams.

O’Connor is the softball MVP, while Garrett Coppels is the Coach of the Year for the first-time semifinalists.

Ashworth is the baseball MVP, adding to his Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 2A MVP award, while Brady Carlson is the Coach of the Year for the nonselect Division IV state runner-up Tigers.

Ashworth, a LSU-Eunice signee, dominated on the mound and at the plate. As the Tigers’ leadoff batter, Ashworth hit .435 with eight doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 38 RBIs and 39 runs. He led off three of four playoff games with hits, including a pair of home runs.

“At the plate, he was a tone setter because he batted leadoff,” Carlson said. “I don’t know how many games he actually led off with a home run.

“He had two grand slams on the season. He would practice hard. He was the first one there and one of the last ones to leave. He is a great teammate and always positive. He never thought he was better than anybody else.”

On the mound, Ashworth was just as lethal with 134 strikeouts and 26 walks in 87 innings. He went 10-2 with a 0.96 earned run average.

“He was huge,” Carlson said. “I think we were 19-12 on the season, and he was 10-2 on the mound.

“For the most part, he pitched the big games for us. The only two losses he had was his first game of the year against state champion Iowa, and the only other loss he had was against state champion Oak Grove.”

O’Connor improved her accuracy from the circle to strike out 247 batters in 184 innings. She went 21-11 with a 3.17 ERA.

She also made great improvements at the plate, batting .567 with 12 doubles, four triples, 24 RBIs, 48 runs scored and stole 19 bases.

“You can tell that she put in a ton of work in the offseason (in the circle),” Coppels said. “Last year, she struggled with control and had way too many walks.

“This year, you could tell that she really put an emphasis on control. She really dialed it in. She went up 3 or 4 mph, so she got stronger in the weight room. She was going to pitching lessons once, sometimes twice a week. She was putting in a ton of work.

“At the plate, we had big expectations for her, but she surpassed those. She hit almost .600.”

In Coppels’ sixth year as head coach, the Lions won their first playoff game in program history and reached the state tournament for the first time before losing to French Settlement in the semifinals.

After several close calls in the quarterfinals, Carlson took the Tigers to the final for the first time since 1981. DeQuincy started the season 7-10 and went on to win 12 of 13 games to reach the final.

Small Schools

Baseball

Pos. Player, School Cl. Statistics

P Reese Ashworth, DeQuincy Sr. 10-2, 0.964 ERA, 134K/.435 avg., 10 HR, 38 RBIs

P Landon Strother, Fairview Sr. 6-3, 0.438 ERA, 61 K/.405 avg., 21 RBIs, 21 runs

P Garrett Walker, Grand Lake Sr. 7-2, 1.89 ERA, 95k, 62.2ip

P Brody Campbell, E. Beauregard Jr. 12-1, 1.80 ERA, 60k, 70ip

C Graydon Smith, Bell City Sr. .371 avg. (district)

INF Jake Smith, Rosepine Sr. .406 avg., 3 HR, 23 RBI, 44 runs, 12 doubles

INF Grant Ducote, Rosepine Sr. .436 avg., 42 RBI, 34 runs, 21 sb, 10 doubles

INF Sammy Maddox, DeQuincy Sr. .364 avg., 8 doubles, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 33 runs

INF Caleb Johnson, E. Beauregard Jr. .545 avg., 6 HR, 16 triples, 14 doubles/7-2, 1.95 ERA

OF Aden Cline, Rosepine Sr. .424 avg., 47 runs, 21 sb

OF Logan Taylor, Oakdale Sr. .379 avg. (district)

OF Gabe Caillier, Bell City Sr. 6-B MVP

UT Seth Bourgeois, Lacassine Sr. 11 runs, 10 sb (district)

UT Cohen Cormier, Welsh So. 1.90 ERA (district)

UT Kane Broussard, Lacassine So. .333

UT Dylan Conner, Singer Sr. .368

UT Hadley Warner, Vinton Sr. .542 avg. (district)

MVP — Reese Ashworth, DeQuincy

COACH OF THE YEAR — Brady Carlson, DeQuincy

Softball

Pos. Player, School Cl. Statistics

P Jaycie O’Conner, Vinton Jr. 21-11, 3.17 ERA, 247 K/.567 avg., 24 RBI, 48 runs

P Gabby Lafferty, DeQuincy Sr. 16-9 2.25 ERA, 146 K/.385 avg., 2 HR, 28 RBIs

P Sienna Stinley, Rosepine Jr. 15-10, 157 IP, 142 K

P Camryn Reeves, E. Beauregard Jr. .467 avg.

C Jenna Marler, Rosepine Sr. .340 avg., 34 runs, 4 HR, 22 RBIs, 4-2A MVP

INF Baileigh Kellogg, DeQuincy Sr. .402 avg., 13 doubles, 2 triples, 35 RBIs, 12 SB

INF Jolie Gary, Vinton So. .486 avg., 3 HR, 33 RBIs, 40 runs, 13 SB

INF Mary Wicke, Bell City Sr. .540 avg., 6-B MVP

INF Marli Jones, Rosepine 8th .425 avg., 6 HR (district)

OF Shelby Deason, Rosepine Sr. .490 avg., 31 RBIs, 35 runs, 20 SB

OF Ryleigh English, Vinton So. .290 avg., 4 triples, 26 RBIs, 24 runs, 12 SB

OF Zoiee Dugas, Grand Lake Jr. .312 avg. (district)

UT Emma Johnson, Oberlin Sr. .543 avg.

UT Madelyn Nolen, Starks So. .435, 4-C MVP

UT Adah Doucet. DeQuincy Sr. .472 avg., 2 doubles, 8 triples, 15 SB, 21 RBIs

UT Hailie Daigle, E. Beauregard Sr. .556 avg., 33 RBIs, 5-1A MVP

UT Ainslie Willis, Oakdale Fr. 5-3, 1.75 ERA, 46 K (district)

MVP — Jaycie O’Conner, Vinton

COACH OF THE YEAR — Garrett Coppels, Vinton