Momentum swing: Laney Johnson's fifth-inning homer allows North DeSoto to add another softball title

By Buck Ringgold 

SULPHUR, La. - North DeSoto fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning of Saturday’s Division II non-select softball championship game. 

With a prolific offense like the Lady Griffins have, though, it wasn’t as if they had an endless uphill climb. Rather, they stayed patient and eventually pecked away at their deficit.

Then in the bottom of the fifth, momentum swing for good in their favor.

Laney Johnson’s towering opposite-field home run down the right-field line with two outs in the fifth put North DeSoto ahead to stay. The Lady Griffins added insurance in the sixth and went on to repeat as state champs after defeating Albany, 7-4, at Frasch Park.

“I wasn’t worried about the 3-0 (deficit) the first inning; we’ve got seven (innings) and my lineup’s pretty tough all the way through,” North DeSoto coach Tim Whitman said.

“I just started telling them to calm down a little bit, you’re still there, you’ll have more at-bats and we had some big at-bats by some kids in different parts of the lineup, which we’ve had all year.”

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The biggest at-bat, though, belonged to Johnson, a junior who was hitting sixth in Whitman’s order. Trailing 4-3 with two outs and Raegan Henderson on base, Johnson faced a 1-1 count from Albany pitcher Brilee Ford.

Then, the right-handed Johnson made contact and sent a soaring drive the other way. It just cleared the right-field corner, sending North DeSoto players and fans into unbridled frenzy.

“In that at-bat, I knew (Ford) was going to start throwing outside because that’s what she had done the whole time, so I was prepared for it,” said Johnson, named the game’s Most Outstanding Player. “Then I hit it, and when I hit it off the bat, I pretty much knew it was a good hit; it was unbelievable.

“I was running around the bases, and it was an amazing feeling and to see my teammates who I love so much be there for me and supporting me, it was amazing.”

One of Johnson’s teammates who was equally overjoyed by the home run was the team’s pitcher, senior Aly Delafield.

“I was yelling, ‘Go ball, go ball, go ball,’” Delafield said. “I was screaming my head off. I gave her a huge hug, I told her I was proud of her.

“She’s one of my best friends; we always stay in the hotel together when we’re down here. We’re like sisters, we have a bond like no other. I was just so proud of her, I got a little teary-eyed. … I love that girl and she gives it her all with everything she does and she’s just a great teammate to have and a great friend.”

Armed with the advantage, Delafield promptly returned to the circle and retired the last six batters she faced in order. She had four strikeouts in that span, including striking out the side in the top of the sixth.

“We played a few games this year when we’ve been down and I was pitching, and I just knew that I had to stay focused and give it my all,” said Delafield, who gave up three hits and struck out 10. “Pitch strikes, stay focused, and I knew that my teammates could hit the ball, so I just trusted them and I wasn’t going to worry and put pressure on myself, and I just had so much faith in them.”

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Delafield also got some extra breathing room in the last of the sixth.

In her final at-bat as a Lady Griffin, senior Cameron Curtis led off that inning by smashing a solo homer to left-center.

“It meant a lot, and to do it one more time. … It couldn’t be any better,” Curtis said.

“With my teammates and my coaches, I knew that we had it. We just had to get in the right groove.”

North DeSoto (35-2) didn’t stop there. Mia Norwood tripled with one out and eventually scored on Delafield’s groundout to second base.

“That’s the one thing this lineup does is (it’s) deep; when you’ve got (Curtis) in the eight hole that hit the home run there,” Whitman said. “They’ve answered from different places and the schedule we’ve played, I knew we wasn’t going to be freaked out being down 3-0.”

The Lady Griffins accumulated 12 hits. Sophomore catcher Payton Miller went 3-for-4 and answered Albany’s three-run top of the first with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first.

Norwood, the team’s leadoff hitter, went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two runs scored. She also drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fourth, getting North DeSoto within a run, 4-3.

Johnson was 2-for-3.

Ford accounted for all four of Albany’s runs by hitting two homers. She had a three-run shot in the top of the first and then added a solo homer in the top of the third, giving the Lady Hornets (26-4) a 4-2 lead.

North DeSoto graduates two seniors in Curtis and Delafield, but both will be playing at the next level, and remain as teammates as they each signed with Northwestern State.

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“The leadership from those two is just amazing,” Whitman said. “It’s not about what’s on the field, even though they do bring some pretty good stuff on the field, with what Aly brings to the pitching aspect plus playing defense and then Camo’s just been a rock in left field since she’s been here, swinging the bat really well towards the end of the year.

“It’s two (seniors) but it’s two big ones.”

However, it may be unwise to bet against North DeSoto returning to Sulphur at this time a year from now. The Lady Griffins have won state six of the past seven seasons, with the only thing keeping North DeSoto from a run of seven straight championships was COVID-19 three years ago.

Johnson, for one, knows the Lady Griffin way.

“Just keep doing what we’re doing,” she said. “Obviously, it’s working.”

Division III select championship

Calvary Baptist 13, D’Arbonne Woods 3

Another Northwest Louisiana softball dynasty which kept rolling was the Lady Cavaliers, who captured their third straight title with Saturday’s run-rule win.

Calvary (26-10) scored a run in the bottom of the first and added four more in the second for a 5-0 advantage. Though the Lady Timberwolves (21-15) cut it to 5-3 with a three-spot in the third, it didn’t deter the Lady Cavs.

They scored four runs in the fourth and four more an inning later to walk it off via the run rule.

Danni Lynch, a junior and the team’s leadoff hitter, went a perfect 4-for-4 and came around to score all four times while driving in a run. She doubled and scored in each of the first two innings and also had a fifth-inning double.

The top four hitters in Calvary’s order (Lynch, Ramsey Walker, Tavia Leadon and Mary Woodle) combined to go 11-of-15 with 10 runs scored and nine RBIs.

Walker went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored, while Leadon and Woodle had two hits apiece. Leadon, one of the team’s two seniors, also had a two-run homer during the four-run second.

Calvary also got two-hit games from Carlie Guile and Elana Franks. Franks had three RBIs, including ending the game with a walk-off RBI single in the fifth.

Freshman pitcher Kynzee Anderson allowed three hits and struck out six.

Laynie Jones had one of the Lady Timberwolves’ hits, driving in two runs with her third-inning single.

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