Barbe’s Donovan LaSalle and Sam Houston’s Lexi Dibbley made sure their senior seasons were not just run of the mill.

Both led their teams to the state finals and are this year’s American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Big Schools MVPs.

LaSalle, an Oklahoma State signee, adds to his growing list of awards that includes the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Mr. Baseball and Class 5A MVP.

LaSalle’s defining moment came in the nonselect Division I state championship game. The Bucs trailed West Monroe by three runs in the seventh inning until LaSalle’s grand slam sent the stadium into a frenzy. The Bucs won 10-4.

“Every time he came up, you knew something special was going to happen,” Barbe head coach Glenn Cecchini said. “If he didn’t get a hit, a double or a home run, he was making a loud out.

“He hit a little over .300 his junior year. We hit .360 as a team last year and he hit below the team average. This year, it was one of the three best years in school history. More than anything it was a mind-set. His mom told him to have fun, no matter if it was a bad game, a good game, a great game or an average game. I think he really embraced that.”

LaSalle batted .510 with 10 home runs, 43 RBIs, 57 runs scored and 33 stolen bases.

“He is an amazing young man,” Cecchini said. “He is very driven. His great-uncle, Dusty Baker, (manages) the Astros. He gets it. His dad played for me at Barbe. He understood that, as good as you are, and the scholarship that you sign is going to get you in the door, then you have to keep getting better and improve.”

Dibbley, a McNeese State signee, led the Broncos as a two-way star to the state final for the first time since 2015.

In the circle, she went 25-3 with 172 strikeouts in 138 innings and a 1.80 earned run average.

“I feel like she grew into a good leader this season,” Sam Houston head coach Beth Domingue said. “She is not the vocal leader that some of my other seniors are.

“She is always doing the right things. I don’t even know if she felt like she was a leader, but she definitely was. I feel like she grew into her own. She was fun to watch and fun to coach.”

She was one of the most feared hitters in the state with 18 home runs, 59 RBIs and a .553 batting average.

“I feel like she always had it in her,” Domingue said. “I felt like she hadn’t reached her peak yet.

“To see her excel so much this year was not a shocker. It was something that I knew she was capable was.”

The Coach of the Year awards went to Iowa’s Daniel Hennigan and Domingue.

Under Hennigan, Iowa won its first state championship since 2007 and shutout Lakeshore 4-0 in the nonselect Division II final. Iowa started the season 6-8 then went 14-4 over its final 18 games, including a 6-0 run through the postseason.

Domingue guided the Broncos to a 31-3 record, including a 21-game win streak. They reached the final for the sixth time under Domingue. Sam Houston lost 4-0 to St. Amant in the nonselect Division I final.

Big Schools

Baseball

Pos. Player, School Cl. Statistics

P Landon Victorian, Barbe Jr. 8-0, 0.98 ERA, 80 K, 6 BB, 50 IP

P Jake Brown, Sulphur Sr. 10-2, 1.71 ERA, 118 K, 74 IP/.336 avg., 7 HR, 26 RBI

P Jace Duhon, S. Beauregard Jr. 9-2, save, 1.04 ERA, 103 K, 12 BB, 66 IP

P James Reina, St. Louis Catholic Sr. 7-1, 1.17 ERA, 68 K, 27 BB

C Jake LaRocca, St. Louis Catholic Sr. .412 avg., 5 HR, 31 RBIs, 33 runs, 3-3A MVP

INF Lucas Alexander, Iowa So. .355 avg., 8 doubles, 20 RBIs, 33 runs

INF Sam Ardoin, Sam Houston Sr. .391 avg., 7 HR, 34 RBIs, 41 runs, 9 doubles, 12 SB

INF Kash Martin, Westlake So. .481 avg., 9 doubles, 29 RBIs, 40 runs, 25 SB

INF Kasen Bellard, Barbe Jr. .417 avg., 11 doubles, 28 RBIs, 32 runs, 19 SB

OF Griffin Cooley, Kinder Sr. .462 avg., 9 doubles, 9 triples, 4 HR

OF Donovan LaSalle, Barbe Sr. .510, 10 HR, 43 RBIs, 57 runs, 33 SB, 14 doubles

OF KeMonni Pullard, St. Louis Jr. .400 avg., 9 doubles, 33 RBIs/7-1, 1.18 ERA, 56 K

UT Landon Schmitz, Kinder Sr. 7-1, 1.97 ERA, 59 K, 51 IP/ .385 avg., 8 doubles

UT Reed Dupre, Iowa So. 7-5, 2.39 ERA, 59 K, 79 IP

UT Luke Benoit, Sulphur Sr. 8-0, 552/3 IP, 43 K, 10bb/.405 avg., 43 RBIs

UT Carter Caraway, S. Beauregard Sr. 8-1, 1.61 ERA, 55k, 48ip/.405 avg., 26 RBi, 22 runs

UT Carson Devillier, Sam Houston Sr. .351 avg., 12 doubles, 31 RBI, 32 runs, 12 sb

MVP — Donovan LaSalle, Barbe

COACH OF THE YEAR — Daniel Hennigan, Iowa

Softball

Pos. Player, School Cl. Statistics

P Bri Fontenot, Kinder So. 17-6, 2.06 ERA, 120 K/.517 avg., 8 HR, 37 RBIs

P Ayla Stollsteimer, Iowa So. 16-9, 4.26 ERA, 1461/3 IP, 57 K

P Lexi Dibbley, Sam Houston Sr. 25-3, 1.80 ERA, 172k/.553 avg., 18 HR, 59 RBIs

P Jenna Morvant, Jennings So. 18-4, 1302/3 IP, 107 K, 14 BB, 2.41 ERA

C Kamryn Howard, Iowa Sr. .361 avg., 7 HR, 28 RBIs, 10 doubles

INF Brylie Fontenot, Sam Houston Sr. .393 avg., 10 HR, 32 RBIs

INF Anna Alexander, Iowa Sr. .436 avg., 40 runs, 19 RBIs, 12 SB

INF Carolina Eidson, Sam Houston So. .453 avg., 27 RBIs, 10 SB

INF Emma Thomson, Sulphur Sr. .420 avg., 37 RBIs, 10 HR

OF Payton Prince, Sulphur Jr. .366 avg., 19 RBIs, 6 HR

OF Kamryn Broussard, Iowa Sr. .505 avg., 20 HR, 56 RBIs, 14 doubles, 11 SB

OF Emma Huber, S. Beauregard Jr. .430 avg., 7 triples, 20 RBIs, 45 runs, 14 SB

UT Baleigh Scott, Barbe Fr. .324 avg., 14 doubles, 7 HR, 42 RBIs, 21 runs

UT Claire Mellard, St. Louis So. 2.74 ERA (district)

UT Emorie Fontenot, S. Beauregard Jr. .394 avg., 7 doubles, 7 HR, 30 RBIs

UT Samantha Hayes, Kinder So. .495 avg., 4 HR, 42 RBIs

UT Aubrey Hobbs, Sam Houston So. .408 avg., 11 HR, 42 RBIs

MVP — Lexi Dibbley, Sam Houston

COACH OF THE YEAR — Beth Domingue, Sam Houston