A star is born on the diamond

PINE PRAIRIE -- There’s a certain excitement in Pine Prairie softball coach Alycia Hebert’s voice when she talks about Maycie Hardy.
There’s talk of her passion, her versatility and her selflessness on the diamond.
These were the virtues Hebert pushed when vouching for Hardy to get selected for the annual softball All-Star Game put on by the LHSCA.
She got her wish, and Hardy will represent the West squad and play third base in the game.
“It’s such an honor,” Hardy said. “When I found out I made it, I was ecstatic and immediately called my mom. The best part, though, will be playing against many of my past, present and future teammates.”
Hebert pushed hard for Hardy’s spot on the team.
“She’s a great team player and she’s willing and capable of doing everything we ask her to,” Hebert said. “That was one of my selling points (in the nomination process). I told them I coached a lot of kids, and this one practices all the time. You don’t have to tell her. She just loves the game and she will give maximum effort.”
Hardy has been a standout the past four years for the Lady Panther softball program, to the point that she’s accepted a scholarship to play college softball at Northwest Florida State University.
Northwest Florida State is a National Junior College Athletic Association Division I program coached by Andy Lee, the former head coach at LSUE who led the program to six national championships in a nine-year span.
She’s done a little bit of everything on the diamond. While she’s a third baseman at heart, she’s played second, third and even played catcher this season for Pine Prairie. In travel ball, she’s even grabbed the ball and ventured into the circle as a pitcher.
“I coached her as an assistant freshman year,” Hebert said. “ I watched her bloom at second base, and all her travel ball games were third base. She can even pitch. When I say she can play anywhere, she can.
“Her defensive knowledge is the best at third,” she added. “For example, bunt coverage, getting people in run downs and protecting the line like no one I’ve ever seen before. She’s a beast. She loves softball and gives everything she has.”
Hardy loves third for different reasons.
“The position gives me a chance to make the special play. But there’s also an added sense of competition,” she said. “You have to constantly be reading your opponents and trying to outthink them in terms of whether they will bunt or slap the ball. That’s what fuels my love for the position.”
Playing in the all-star game will give Hardy another opportunity to make memories at the high school level. She was part of a team that had a state runner-up finish when she was a freshman, and she and fellow seniors Asia George, Brianna Wall and Ally Arnaud all hit homers in the same game this year.
“I’ve attended every state tournament since my seventh grade year and always dreamt of one day competing in Sulphur myself,” she said. “That experience and atmosphere is something a player can never forget.”