Only two high school softball teams hailing from the 337 area code are still standing in the 2025 LHSAA State Softball Tournament.
St. Thomas More and Opelousas Catholic punched their tickets for the state championship game in their respective division Saturday, May 3, in Sulphur, just one more win away from hoisting the hardware.
“It’s a blessing to have an opportunity to play another day,” STM coach Andria Waguespack said. “Anytime you get to play on the last day of a season, it’s special. And this year, I have eight seniors, so to have them play on the last day possible day of their high school careers is just a special day.”
The Cougars and Vikings will play their state championship matchups at 3 p.m. on Sunday, with STM taking on John Curtis Christian and Opelousas Catholic facing Holy Savior Menard. Before that, here are key takeaways from their semifinal victories.
Striving for back-to-back
For five straight innings, Opelousas Catholic and St. John were scoreless in the LHSAA Select Division IV semifinals. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth that the Vikings would take their first big punch, and it proved to be a knockout, winning the game 1-0. This win gives them the opportunity to go back-to-back after winning the state championship last year.
“I’ve been around a great group of girls so all credit goes to them,” Opelousas Catholic coach Cullen Matherne said. “I tell them I haven’t got one hit or one strikeout or anything in these two years, so definitely a lot of credit goes to them, especially with the crew we have this year, who’s replacing five starters from last year.”
Two standout players from the Vikings’ one-run victory were senior pitcher Ashley Little and junior Madison Ludeau. Defensively, Little had pressure on her shoulder all game long, going toe to toe in a pitcher’s duel with St. John’s pitcher. She kept the Eagles off balance, racking up the strikeouts, finishing with 17.
Offensively, Ludeau kick-started the Vikings’ lineup with a lead-off double that would be a key hit in pushing across the winning run. Freshman Remi Bihm finished the job with the key RBI to secure the win.
“Maddison Ludeau, she went two-for-two today and had a great game,” Matherne said. “We were able to get her to third base, and we practice this situation all the time of doing what it takes to score a girl at third base when you have less than two outs. Remi crowded the plate like we told her to and put a barrel out in front, and she was able to hit a little bloop shot over the shortstop’s head.”
Playing all seven innings
The Cougars took on Mt. Carmel in the LHSAA Select Division I semifinals and fell behind by a run to start the game. Playing from behind ignited a fire in their dugout, leading them to a 6-1 victory over the Cubs.
“We said this all year ‘The game is seven innings long, you got 21 outs,’” Waguespack said. “Teams at this point of the season, everybody’s gonna get their hits and going to score runs but you can’t panic. Just go to the next play.”
That “next play” mentality led to a Cougar comeback with seniors Kennedy Stutes and Logan Raupp leading the charge offensively. The duo came through in clutch moments, taking advantage of walks by the Mt. Carmel pitcher.
Defensively, third baseman Ava Segura, second basemen Remi Guins and Stutes at shortstop were the standout players. With junior pitcher Margaret Oge not getting a ton of strikeouts, STM’s defense was put to work and got the outs when needed.
“I was really proud of our pitcher,” Waguespack said. “ She battled and really did a good job of sticking to a pitching plan and trusting our defense and not trying to do it on her own. Just allowing them to play behind her, and they did, and they stepped up in a big way.”
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.