By the time Ava Kate Phillips‘ teammates serenaded her with a celebratory “happy birthday” Friday, they had already provided her a slew of memorable gifts with their gloves and efficient bat-handling and base-running.
Live Oak’s senior pitcher allowed just one run and struck out a pair in the complete seven innings as she and the highlight-reel defense behind her managed to navigate even several hard-hit balls by host Central and a couple jams to lead start to finish in a 4-1 road win.
“As a team, we were all DAWGS,” Phillips laughed. “I couldn’t do it without my teammates ultimately, so I’m so glad that they were out there for me and played behind me as a team. That’s all that matters… It’s very energizing, because me, I’m not really the one to really yell — only in the dugout when we’re hitting. On the field, I’m very laid-back because I have to stay locked in, but when they make those plays, I’m just so proud of them and so thankful they’re behind me.”
Central (17-9) loaded the bases in the bottom of the second with a lead-off walk and back-to-back hits, then put two of its first three batters on safely in the fourth.
But the Lady Eagles (18-13) had answers each time to extinguish the potential rallies with sophomore right fielder Harley Rowland‘s speed and arm providing a spark each time as she chased down outfield shots and fired back into the end zone to hold the runners.
Phillips followed up in the second with a nicely fielded ball and quick throw to senior catcher Jeanne Janise for the force-out at home, then senior Molly Latham shut the door on the threat with a nice catch in center.
And junior third baseman Kylee Seals rifled to junior second baseman Abby Guerin at second to end the fourth and strand another pair of runners, either of which the Lady Wildcats left on base by night’s end.
“We actually out-hit ’em, 8=4, and we just couldn’t get that timely hit to push the runs across the board,” Central coach Michelle Efferson said. “They made some great plays in the field, though.”
Guerin and Rowland each recorded a pair of outs in the fifth and sixth innings, including a particularly eye-catching diving play by each that even the home crowd couldn’t help but appreciate.
Meanwhile, the speedy and opportunistic Lady Eagles managed to convert half as many hits — including none until the fourth inning — into a 4-0 lead by continuing to apply pressure on the infield.
Phillips and senior first baseman Bailey Spencer opened the second inning with a hit-by-pitch and walk, respectively.
Guerin bunted the runners over, and Rowland, running for Phillips, came home on a ball drilled to third by sophomore designated player Kenslee Carter.
“Everything comes back to the team. We do everything for each other,” Guerin said. “HBPs, we work on that. It’s about toughness, so getting hit by a pitch is a privilege. It’s just a free bag. And being able to bunt a runner around and just being able to help the team in general, being able to contribute, is an opportunity I wouldn’t want to take for granted.”
Guerin took a pitch off the elbow one out into the fourth to help spark the biggest inning of the contest in similar fashion.
She advanced on a Carter ground-ball, then scored on a Seals single through the left side.
Sophomore left fielder Taylor Mattingly reached on an error, and Live Oak scratched another pair of runs across the plate on singles by Latham just through the infield and sophomore shortstop Halle Maxwell in the infield.
“That is their game — they can run bases with the best of ’em, and they’re very aggressive on the bases,” Efferson said. “And they had a real good approach at the plate. We lived outside last game. We tried to come in on ’em a little bit more in this game.”
The Lady Eagles’ ability to capitalize on nearly every chance provided spoiled a solid effort overall by junior pitcher Natalie Breedlove and the Lady Wildcats.
Central finally started to build some momentum in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of outfield singles by sophomore catcher Ava Schlatre and senior designated player Shelby Lewis.
Guerin and Rowland plays recorded a pair of outs, though.
And though freshman courtesy runner Breleigh Etue managed to break the shutout on a blooping Breedlove single into shallow left, Maxwell secured a pop-up to short two pitches later.
And Seals smoothly fielded three grounders in the bottom of the seventh and threw over to Spencer to seal the victory.
Live Oak won, 4-1, at Central on Friday, April 10, 2026. (Photo: Jerit Roser, Louisiana vs. All Y’all)
“Pretty confident,” Phillips said with the playoffs fast approaching. “We’ll figure it out. If there’s one bad inning, we’ll come back and lock back in. Other than that, I think we’ve got it.”
The Lady Eagles have had an up-and-down regular season — without yet a three-game winning streak and just one three-game losing streak — against a tough schedule of many of the state’s best opponents and appear poised to host a first-round game in the Division-I Non-Select bracket.
Live Oak hosts Barbe (22-8) on Monday and visit Riverside Academy (18-7) on Tuesday to close out their résumé.
Central meanwhile worked through some early ups and downs, including a 10-0 loss to the Lady Eagles in February, to have won 11 of their past 12 before Friday’s rematch.
The Lady Wildcats host Ascension Catholic (15-10) on Monday and are currently just shy in the power ratings of potentially hosting a first-round playoff game.
“I think we’re in a great space. I think they beat us 15-0 last time we played ’em. And so we play clean and get some timely hits, that may be a different ball game. I think we’re peaking at the right time. We were on an eight-game winning streak and, you know, we had to play Live Oak.”