District 6-3A Champions!!

A recent trend of a three-way tie for the District 6-3A softball title was broken Thursday after Kaplan blanked Notre Dame 3-0 at home to capture the district championship.
Hits were scarce for both teams, with the Lady Pirates earning four and Notre Dame held to three, but Kaplan (18-3, 9-1) earned timely hits and drew walks to squeeze out the win and claim the crown of the district.
“That’s always a great accomplishment for us and our kids, but if we don’t do anything in the playoffs, it means nothing to us,” said Kaplan head coach Shay Herpin. “I think this team really worked hard for this accomplishment. We’ve been battling through a lot of things. It shows how persistent they are.”
Kaplan pitcher delivered a shut out on the mound for her squad, but she also did some damage at the plate.
Trahan put the first points on the board in the bottom of the third with an RBI single. Notre Dame pitcher Marcella Gossen walked in two runs with the bases loaded in the third before getting out of the inning.
The three runs earned was more than enough for Trahan to close the door on any threat of a Lady Pios’ comeback. After a leadoff single by University of Houston signee Elise Lebouf in the seventh inning, Trahan forced three straight pop-fly outs to clinch the victory.
“Abby’s been doing a real good job and her confidence level is very good because we are playing good defense behind her,” Herpin said. “She’s not afraid to challenge hitters because I think our defense is really playing well.”
Trahan earned two of the Lady Pirates’ four hits in the game and she struck out three and walked one hitter on the mound.
Lebouf finished the game with two hits followed by Mary Kate Bourgeois who had the other.
Kaplan entered the game ranked No. 2 in the Class 3A power rankings behind John Curtis. District play is over for Kaplan, but the team still has work to do with three games left versus formidable opponents, according to Herpin.
“Our district is real tough and we set up our schedule to play good people,” Herpin said. “That’s the only way we’re going to get better. We got three good teams left to play and I think that’s going to be a challenge to us; how do we react after winning big games like this and what’s our next step.
“Every game after next week is big. We have to be able to respond after a big game. I thought after the North Vermilion win we didn’t respond well the next time we played them, so hopefully we respond better this time.”
Kaplan will travel to play Cecilia Tuesday.