University Lab received a quick wake-up call Thursday as rival Dunham capitalized on an immediate error to strike right out the gate.
But the No. 13 Cubs (16-7) buckled down behind junior pitcher Gabby Fontenot‘s nine strikeouts and a strong defensive showing overall, began chipped past and eventually exploded past rival No. 20 Dunham (12-11) and into the second round of the Division-III Select playoffs with an 11-1 run-rule win in six innings.
“I feel like the last several games we’ve been really locked in on defense, and for them to kinda punch us in the mouth right there, I was kinda waiting sitting back in the dugout to see how we would react to it,” U-High coach Adam Barrett said. “And we kind of have a motto between every inning: We talk about ‘win the inning.’ And so when they came back, we said, ‘Hey guys, let’s win the inning.’ And we come back the next inning and score a run and tie it up and just kind of keep chipping away and were able to finally put it away at the end.
“But overcoming that very beginning is kind of a tone-setter — hopefully for the whole playoffs.”
Speedy junior sophomore Lynsey Washington put Dunham on the board just four pitches into the contest, burning all the way around the bases and home on a misplayed ball in the outfield.
But the Cubs retired the next three batters, including a strikeout and then diving catch by Fontenot back toward first base to end the inning.
“Honestly, that dive, I would just say is true luck, just reflex,” Fontenot smiled, seeming almost still surprised herself an hour and a half later.
But the bulk of her success came with a well-executed plan of outside pitches with a contract of screwballs to jam up the Tigers inside.
“She’s our tone-setter,” Barrett said. “When she’s on, we’re on. Even that first play out to center the first play of the game could’ve been an out, either way, but then she comes in gets a groundout, strikeout and the dive play that she made that kind of just brought our team back to center. And she was just on fire today. I mean she was awesome. I couldn’t ask better.”
Fontenot struck out the next five batters she faced on her way to nine total and allowed just two hits and a single walk.
Dunham managed just one base-runner the next three innings and never more than one at a time the entire contest.
“She’s a great pitcher,” Dunham coach Jeff Hand said. “We faced her four years ago when she was an eighth-grader, and we knew then for the next four or five years we were gonna have our hands full when we were gonna face her. So she’s a great competitor, and she’s been a great softball player for years, so we knew coming in it was gonna be tough.
“Our girls went out there and competed. And hats off to their pitcher. She was outstanding. She didn’t give up a lot of walks or free passes or anything like that. And any time we seemed to maybe be able to get a little bit of momentum, they were able to get a big play and get ’em out the inning.”
The Cubs meanwhile began chipping away with a run in each of the second, third and fourth innings before the dam finally broke in the fifth.
Clutch two-out hitting helped provide the early spark.
Freshman left fielder Mary Whit Gammon pushed a well-placed hit into and over third base for a double, advanced on a pitch in the dirt and then came home as sophomore second baeman Harper Langlois softly rolled a ball toward third and out-ran the throw to tie the game.
“That was really stressful,” Langlois smiled. “Especially being my first at-bat. I’d say taking a breath after every pitch and focusing. We have a motto, ‘control what you can control,’ and that’s something I saw before every pitch and before every pitch that Gabby throws: Control what you can control and take a breath and settle in and do what you can do to win the game or keep pushing.”
U-High capitalized on a leadoff walk in the third as senior shortstop London Harvey battled her way onto base and stole second, and Fontenot put a pitch into center to claim the team’s first lead.
And Langlois came up big again in the third, grounding a ball to first that allowed Gammon to come home, extend the lead and help the Cubs continue getting more comfortable and more confident.
“Much more comfortable,” Langlois said. “Especially once you’ve seen the pitching style and how you can control her pitches — if that makes sense — that really helps.”
Dunham senior righty Presleigh Hand had a solid start overall against a challenging opposing lineup with an emphatic early strikeout among the highlights.
But the Cubs managed to apply more and more pressure later into the game and pulled away in the fifth with a combination of of hits and miscues.
Harvey bunted safely aboard and stole second, and eighth-grade center fielder Morgan Singleton followed with a single past short to score her teammate.
Fontenot then lined a tough-to-play ball into left that found its way to the fence, and she followed Singleton all the way home to extend the lead to 6-1.
Senior first baseman Hallie Shearer reached on a single past third and eventually scored on a single up the middle by Gammon, who later came home on a wild pitch.
Dunham shortstop Lynsey Washington was among the Tigers’ bright spots in a playoff loss April 16, 2026, with her speed on the base paths. (Photo: Jerit Roser, Louisiana vs. All Y’all)
“They’re a great hitting team one through nine,” Jeff Hand said. “And they’ve got girls are fast, and they can play small-ball, and they’ve got girls that can hit with power, so it’s tough trying to play defense against that and then pitch according to their strengths and try to get ’em out. I was really proud of our pitcher. Presleigh battled really well. She gave us our best — and that’s what we ask of our team is to give us your absolute best.
“We don’t look at the scoreboard. It’s all about the process of what it takes to be good. And we’re gonna play as tough as we can to the best of our ability. And I’m really proud of our girls for how they competed. But, I mean, hats off to U-High and coach Adam Barrett. I mean, they’re a really well-coached team, and they just put a lot of pressure you. One little mistake can turn into a bunch of runs, and they were able to kind of expose that late in the game.”
Dunham made a pitching change heading into the sixth, but U-High’s bats remained red-hot.
Singleton, Fontenot and junior catcher Charlotte Lowe loaded the bases.
Senior third baseman Katelynn Gilly was hit by a pitch to score the first run, and Gammon launched a double to punctuate the win.
The Cubs advance to face No. 4 D’Arbonne Woods Charter (19-11) in Farmerville.
“You could kind of feel the nerves of the players at the beginning of the game,” Barrett said. “I was a little worried at the beginning that we were feeling a little tight. And it took a couple of innings to kind of take a breath because we haven’t really won many playoff games.
“We’ve been in the playoffs every year, but really since we started the program this is only our third playoff win, and so to get that off our backs is kind of refreshing, and it will allow our younger players to build on that from year to year. You go so long without getting a playoff win, people forget how to win in the postseason. You have to learn how to win in the postseason, and so hopefully today was that first step to continuing to learn how to do that.”
