Remarkable season ends short of goal

After taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Kaplan Lady Pirates fell one win short of their first state softball championship since 2006 with a 4-3 loss to top-seeded John Curtis in the Class 3A title game at Frasch Park.
Costly errors in the sixth inning aided in Kaplan’s (24-5) downfall, as John Curtis (26-3) captured its fourth consecutive state championship.
“It’s very difficult for our kids right now,” said Kaplan head coach Shay Herpin. When you’re up by three runs, We just have to learn simple things; it’s tough. When you shut them down all game long and all of a sudden you make a couple of errors here and there, a walk and things like that; it comes back to bite you. You can’t do things like that to win a state championship. I thought we made some plays and had some big hits; it just didn’t work out for us.”
In a game that saw the momentum swing back and forth like a pendulum, the Lady Patriots' four-run sixth inning propelled the team to the victory, after Kaplan’s Abby Trahan had shut John Curtis down up to that point, allowing only two hits with six strikeouts in the five previous scoreless innings.
The Lady Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning after Kaplan pitcher Abby Trahan smoked a two-run home run over the center field fence. Kaplan tacked on another run in the sixth thanks to a two-out double by Lexi Breaux.
Toni Hebert walked to get on base for John Curtis to start the sixth. The Lady Patriots then scored four runs, which can be attributed to three Kaplan infield errors as well as two John Curtis singles, which resulted in four unearned runs for the Lady Patriots.
Kaplan was unable to put points on the board and in one inning, they’re lead was erased and their hopes of hoisting up another championship trophy were dashed.
“I’ve been on both sides of games like this, but it’s like I told my girls, I never prepare a losing speech,” John Curtis coach Jerry Godfrey said. “It doesn’t exist for me as a coach. We’re going to talk about fighting and winning until the game is over.”
Despite scoring three runs, with two coming from one hit, the Lady Pirates finished the game with two hits off of Lady Patriots’ pitcher Peyton Pigniolo who struck out 14 batters en route to most outstanding player honors.
One positive taken from the experience, according to Herpin was that his team could learn from it.
“Our kids played hard,” he said. “I love that team; they fought all year for me. I can’t even express the amount of stuff we have gone through as a team. It’s overwhelming to be in this position after the year that we’ve had. They’re fighters.”
“The games going to teach them that life doesn’t always give you roses and everything,” Herpin said. “Sometimes you have to go through the (...) to get to the good stuff. If this is the worst thing that happens in their life, then they’re going to be very successful.”