Hanson Lady Tigers blank Haynesville

Led by Sarah Sonnier and Ashley Meyerholtz’s no-hitter, the No. 3 Hanson Memorial Lady Tigers proved too much for the Haynesville Lady Tors Monday in the opening round of the LHSAA softball Class A playoffs.
Sonnier and Meyerholtz combined on the no-hit shutout victory as the Lady Tigers blanked the Lady Tors 15-0 in an abbreviated contest.
Hanson’s pitchers and defense caught the eye of Coach Paige Cuviller.
“I thought we could have hit a little better, but I’m still proud of my team, especially the pitchers and our defense,” she said. “The pitchers worked good spots and got ground balls which is something I’ve been preaching all season. Overall it was a good first round win.”
Sonnier ignited the Lady Tigers as she came out firing early, keeping the No. 30 Lady Tors at bay over two complete innings. Sonnier faced six batters, striking out five of them while not yielding a run nor a hit with no walks over two complete frames.
Meyerholtz picked up where Sonnier left off, shutting down the Lady Tors over two innings. Meyerholtz dominated all seven batters she faced while not surrendering a run nor a hit nor a free pass with one strikeout.
Hanson’s Lady Tigers struck early and often on the way to the 15-0 victory.
In the first frame, Hanson built up a 5-0 lead. The Lady Tigers struck for eight runs in the bottom half of the second frame for a 13-0 advantage. Hanson added one run apiece in the third and fourth frames on its way to a 15-0 mercy-rule victory over No. 30 Haynesville.
Hanson took advantage of Haynesvilles’ pitchers issuing many walks to secure an insurmountable 13-0 lead in the second inning. While Hanson’s biggest offensive outburst came in the second inning, the Lady Tigers quickly added runs in the third and fourth frames to salt away the first-round victory.
While leading 14-0 after three innings, Hanson’s Allyssa Young manufactured a run to give the Lady Tigers the victory.
Young walked to first base before Kaylee Broussard was hit by a pitch, putting runners in scoring position. When Paige Diamond flied out, Young moved up to third base. A short time later, Young scored on a passed ball, giving the Hanson Lady Tigers the 15-0 triumph in the first-round of the State Class 1-A playoffs.
Paige Diamond went 3 for 4 with a single, double, and triple and 4 RBIs. Kaylee Broussard was 2 for 2 with an RBI and 3 runs scored while Lunden Verdin was 1 for 1 with a double and 2 runs. Allyssa Young, Baylee Young and Casey Fitzgerald scored 2 runs each. Allyssa Young also recorded three stolen bases on the day.
Hanson will host No. 14 St. Edmund in the second round on Friday at 6 p.m. St. Edmund defeated Lafayette Christian 7-3 on Monday in the opening round of the State Class 1A playoffs.