State Runners-up!!

SULPHUR -- It was not the outcome that the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers wanted.
However, despite their 9-1 loss to Caldwell Parish in the state championship game here Saturday night, the Lady Panthers are not feeling sorry for themselves in any way, shape or form.
With the loss Pine Prairie finishes the season with an overall record of 33-5 and a District 5-3A championship.
“Naturally, the players were disappointed in the outcome of the game,” stated Pine Prairie head coach Woody Harvey. “But, once reality had set in, they came to understand that they had worked so hard to get the opportunity to play for the state championship. Our goal at the start of the season was to get to Sulphur and contend with the big dogs. So, I think we have really accomplished a bunch this season.”
Up until the title game, the Lady Panthers had dominated their opponents throughout the playoffs, out scoring all teams they faced 35-1 and getting superb pitching and defense behind their stellar offense.
But, against Caldwell, it seemed as if things went south in every aspect of the game, especially on defense. In the championship, Pine Prairie committed four uncharacteristic costly errors that allowed five unearned runs to cross the plate. On top of that the Lady Panthers were out hit 12-3.
Putting the final score aside, the game actually started as a pitcher’s duel between Pine Prairie’s Karli Ortego and Caldwell’s Victoria Abrams. Both hurlers commanded the strike zone early in the game, with the only run coming from the Lady Panthers in the bottom of the first.
After sending the Lady Spartans down in order in the top of the first, Pine Prairie’s Jacie McFarlain led off the bottom half of the inning with a single. McFarlain moved all the way to third when Maycie Hardy laid down the sacrifice bunt and no one from Caldwell covered third base. Tori Johnson drove a ball deep enough into left field to score McFarlain and give the Lady Panthers the early 1-0 lead.
Ortego was spot on in the top of the second, getting every Lady Spartan batter she faced out on strikes.
Pine Prairie threatened in the bottom of the second when Asia George singled to lead things off and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Kailey Soileau as once again Caldwell did not cover the bag. Unfortunately, the Lady Panthers could not capitalize on the opportunity and left George stranded at third base.
Neither team could find any offensive rhythm in the third inning, keeping the score 1-0 in favor of Pine Prairie.
Finding no way to solve Ortego by simply swinging away, Caldwell head coach Robbie Tate switched gears and decided to begin playing small ball. That strategy paid off for the Lady Spartans, as it forced the Lady Panther defense to make plays. Regrettably, Pine Prairie was unable to make the routine plays. The Lady Panthers committed two errors in the inning and, along with two base hits, allowed five runs in the at bat.
“In the top of the fourth, it was just a matter of a young team getting excited and rushing themselves to make plays,” said Harvey. “I think that and the overall team speed of Caldwell just made for a bad inning.’
Pine Prairie tried to get back into the game in the bottom of the fourth when Abby Fontenot blasted a ball to right-center field for a one out double. But, once again, the Lady Panthers could not push any runs across and trailed 5-1 after four innings of play.
Caldwell picked up three more runs in the top of the sixth, including a two-run home run off of the bat of Abrams. The Lady Spartans capped off the game with a single run in the top of the seventh.
The Lady Panthers were able to reach the state championship game after taking out Jena in the semi-finals earlier that day. Pine Prairie got two hits from Abby Fontenot and RBIs from Brianna Wall and Kaitlin Robinson to advance to the title game.
The future looks bright for the Lady Panthers as they lose only two seniors from this year’s squad. However, according to Harvey, those two seniors will be sorely missed.
“Both Karli and Tori (Johnson) brought so much leadership to this team,” commented Harvey. “No matter what happened on the field, they were always telling the other players to keep their head up and have fun. The underclassmen definitely looked up to them and it will be so hard to replace what they meant to this team on and off the field.”
One thing that Harvey was thrilled about was the support that was given by the fans and the community.
“It was amazing to see the people at the games this weekend,” said Harvey. “This community gets behind these girls every year and every step of the way. I just want the fans to know how much their support meant to us all.”