SULPHUR – Rylee Villasenor carried Hahnville to the precipice of a state softball championship on Sunday.
It was only fitting she was the one who brought it home for the Lady Tigers.
Villasenor, Hahnville’s sophomore third baseman, homered twice in Sunday’s Division I Non-Select championship game at North Frasch Park. Both homers pushed the Lady Tigers ahead after Live Oak had either taken a lead or tied the game.
“Rylee can hit it out at any time,” Hahnville coach Jeremy Duplantis said. “In this game, she had one robbed. The girl actually went over the fence to get it. She probably would have had three in the game if the girl hadn’t done it.”
When Villasenor came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh and the game tied at 5, it made sense that Live Oak elected to pitch around her and put her on first base.
After drawing a walk, Villasenor scored the game-winning run from first base when junior second baseman Jordyn Chaix’s single to left field was bobbled, allowing Villasenor to slide into home ahead of the throw and sending the No. 8-seeded Lady Tigers (24-12) into a jubilant celebration.
Facing a 3-2 count, Chaix said she knew she just had to put the ball in play and give Villasenor a chance to score.
“I knew with (Rylee’s) speed and my ability to put that ball in play, and the girl bobbled it, I knew that was our chance to win a state championship,” Chaix said.
Villasenor said she never had any hesitation. Her plan was to score as soon as the ball left Chaix’s bat.
“I knew if that girl was getting it in the gap, I was going home,” Villasenor said. “I had that mindset, even if Duplantis was telling me not to. I was going home to score that run.”
Hahnville junior Jordyn Chaix celebrates after knocking in the game-winning run in Sunday’s Division I Non-Select state softball title game. Chaix and the Lady Tigers defeated Live Oak 6-5.
Duplantis said he never thought about telling Villasenor to stop at third base.
“What helped on that is we had a full count, so we were going on the pitch already,” Duplantis said. “She’s already got a jump on that to be able to score from first.”
Villasenor was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after going 2-for-3 with two homers, five RBIs and a run scored. She accounted for all six of Hahnville’s runs in the 6-5 victory.
“Rylee has the best attitude and the work ethic that goes with it,” Duplantis said. “When you put that together, you get a dynamic ballplayer.”
Sunday’s victory was Hahnville’s second state championship, and first since winning the Class 5A title in 2011.
The victory didn’t come without the Lady Tigers having to work for it, though.
Live Oak (23-15) jumped on top with two runs in the top of the first inning on back-to-back singles by Jeane Jeanise and Ava Kate Phillips, but that lead was short-lived as Villasenor smashed a three-run homer in the bottom half of the inning.
The Lady Eagles tied the game at 3 in the fifth on Jeanise’s two-out RBI double, but Villasenor answered the call once again with a two-run homer for a 5-3 Hahnville lead.
Live Oak refused to quit, though, rallying for two runs in the sixth inning, taking advantage of two walks and a Taylor Mattingly two-run single.
However, the Lady Eagles’ resiliency only set the stage for Villasenor’s and Chaix’s last-inning theatrics and the dramatic walk-off victory.
When Duplantis arrived at Hahnville two years ago after winning a state title at Vandebilt Catholic, he told his players they would win a state title sooner than later. All he needed them to do was work hard and believe.
He said the Lady Tigers played with “relentless effort” and “gave everything we had” in Sulphur in order to win the state championship.
“All the girls refused to stay down when we were losing some games at the beginning of the year,” Duplantis said. “They all wanted to come back up and to get better and to give ourselves a chance to be able to make a run at state.”