SULPHUR – Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script for Pineville’s Ava Moore.
The senior first baseman came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Lady Rebels leading 8-1. She turned on a pitch and sent it over the right-field wall for a walk-off grand slam to give Pineville a 12-1 win over John Curtis in the Division I Select softball championship game on Sunday.
The grand slam capped an incredible weekend at the plate for the Lady Rebels (29-9), as they scored 25 runs on 27 hits and outscored their two opponents at the LHSAA State Softball Tournament 25-2, winning the school’s first softball state title since 1998.
As Moore neared first base, she had to stop because right fielder Jadin Basco was at the bag to tag up in case the ball was caught. Once it cleared the wall, Moore erupted in celebration as she rounded the bases.
“I was screaming at Jadin to go because I wanted to high-five (first-base) coach Kayla (Busby),” Moore said. “As she got close to the wall, I thought, oh, she’s gonna catch it. Then I literally saw it bounce on the ground, and I think I blacked out. I don’t even know what happened.”
Pineville softball coach Allison Frye high-fives senior Ava Moore as she rounds third base after Moore’s walk-off grand slam gave the Lady Rebels a 12-1 win in the Division I Select softball state championship game on Sunday. (Photo: Bret H. McCormick, One T Photography)
Pineville coach Allison Frye said she knew Moore, who tied for the team lead in home runs on the season with 10, was capable of delivering a championship moment.
“It entered the realm of possibility when I saw the bases loaded and her up to bat,” Frye said. “She’s been killing the ball. I think she had a little chip on her shoulder from earlier in the game from them walking Jadin to get to her”
Just like they did in their semifinal win over Archbishop Chapelle, the Lady Rebels started hot and never looked back. They got two runs in the first inning on a two-run double by Moore, who drove in six runs in the game, and pushed their lead to 5-0 in the third inning on Basco’s three-run home run.
It was Basco’s third three-run homer of the weekend, and she finished the state tournament going 4-for-6 with three homers, a double, 10 RBIs and five runs scored.
Briley Byrnes, who went 7-for-7 with four doubles and seven runs scored in Sulphur, hit an RBI double in the fourth and later scored on Analiese Holmes’ single to give the Lady Rebels an 8-0 lead.
John Curtis (21-12) scored its lone run off Pineville starting pitcher Chelsie Simpson in the top of the sixth, but that just set up Moore’s walk-off heroics in the bottom half of the inning.
Byrnes led off the inning with a double and scored on a single by her younger sister, Berkley Byrnes, who went 5-for-8 and scored four runs in Sulphur. Three batters later, Moore ended the game with her homer.
Pineville senior first baseman Ava Moore celebrates as she rounds the bases following a walk-off grand slam that gave the Lady Rebels a 12-1 win in the Division I Select softball state championship game on Sunday. (Photo: Bret H. McCormick, One T Photography)
Pineville run-ruled all four of its playoff opponents, outscoring them 52-5.
“I couldn’t think of a better way for this entire weekend to go,” Frye said. “We got momentum and gained control at the beginning of every game in the playoffs and through the tournament, and really never looked back.”
Moore said the most important trait the Lady Rebels’ lineup had was trusting and believing in one another.
“If I made a mistake, I knew that Abby (Daniels) was right there behind me to pick me up,” Moore said. “I think that’s how it is throughout our whole lineup. We’re all confident in each other.”
Lost in Pineville’s offensive onslaught was the steady performance of Simpson, the junior who stepped into Pineville’s No. 1 pitcher role this season. Simpson gave up just six hits and one unearned run against Curtis on Sunday. Over four playoff games, she had a 1.33 ERA with 16 strikeouts and only four walks in 21 innings pitched.
Simpson said the team’s fast starts in Sulphur allowed her to relax and focus on throwing strikes and letting the Lady Rebels’ excellent defense work.
“I just know if I give up a hit, my defense has got my back,” Simpson said. “It’s all good.”
Pineville senior Ava Moore stops to watch her walk-off grand slam clear the wall to end the Lady Rebels’ 12-1 win over John Curtis in Sunday’s Division I Select state softball title game. (Photo: Bret H. McCormick, One T Photography)
“They really bought in,” Frye said of her team. “They’re a great group to coach. I come at them with a plan every day. They listen. They execute. They make adjustments as needed. I’m blessed to have a group that just buys in like they do.”
The state championship is the eighth in Pineville’s history, but the first since a three-peat from 1996-98. The Lady Rebels had not played in a state title game since losing the Class 5A title game in 2008.
Frye played in the state softball tournament as a freshman in 2003 and a senior in 2006, but she was never able to win a championship. Now that’s something she can share with not only her players but everyone who has helped build the program into a championship one.
“I went to Pineville,” Frye said. “I played for Pineville. I never got to experience this. This is so much bigger than just us right here. There are so many fans and past players that have put so much into this program.”
