Lady Patriots, Lady Pirates to meet in state quarterfinals

The North Vermilion Lady Patriots squared off against Parkview Baptist earlier this season and it took 11 innings for the Lady Patriots to get the win.
This time around it didn’t take 11 innings, but they Lady Patriots did have to come from behind, and thankfully the bats came alive and saved North Vermilion’s season with a 9-4 victory over Parkview Baptist.
“It feels great, this was a special win,” North Vermilion head coach Richard Prejean said. “We hung in early, it could have been much worse, but we were able to battle through it. We just kept swinging and finally the bats woke up and we were able to get the lead. Once we did we never looked back, and the insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth were really big for us.
“They (Parkview Baptist) is a good softball squad. We were just able to play good solid defense all day long. We got the timely hits, and that’s what you need to do to win ball games.”
The Lady Patriots found themselves down early in the game.
Parkview Baptist scored two runs in the top of the second, and one run in the top of the third to take the early 3-0 lead.
It wouldn’t take the Lady Patriots long to mount a comeback.
In the bottom of the third inning, Demi Boudreaux drew a walk, and then Hannah Vidallier and Morgan Harrington had back-to-back singles to load the bases.
Adele Vincent grounded out to the shortstop to score Boudreax, and then with runners on second and third Claire Meyers stepped up to the plate and hit a double to left center field that scored both Harrington and Vidallier, to tie the game up at three runs apiece.
Vidallier sat the Parkview batters down in order in the top of the fourth inning.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth inning Brooke Dupuy drew a walk, and then stole second base.
Miranda Martin came up to bat with one out and a runner on second base, and with one swing she gave the Lady Patriots crowd something to cheer for, as she hit a two-run home run to give North Vermilion the 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Vidallier settled down on the mound and only allowed two base runners combined in the top of the fifth and sixth innings.
The Lady Patriots would add some insurance runs, in the bottom of the sixth inning, in the form of a Hannah Vidallier and Claire Meyers two RBI singles.
The four runs were more than enough insurance for Vidallier on the mound.
She only allowed one more run to make the game its final score of 9-4.
Meyers was 2-for-4 with a single, a double and four RBIs in the game.
Miranda Martin went 3-for-4 with two singles and a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. She also had two RBIs and score twice.
This was a bittersweet game for coach Prejean.
Since he is taking over as head football coach next season he will no longer be the softball coach, and since the quarterfinals are being held in Sulphur, this was his last home game as head coach of the North Vermilion Lady Patriots.
“I don’t know what to say,” Prejean said. “I thought about it yesterday, and I’m a little speechless. I’m glad we could get the win, but I know I’m going to miss it.”
The Lady Patriots will square off against district rival Kaplan this coming Friday in Sulphur.
The exact game time was not known at press time.

Andy Bullard
Sports Editor