SULPHUR โ Live Oak waited 18 years to make it back to a state title game. The Eagles trailed by two runs in the sixth to West Monroe, but Live Oak wasn't ready to wait another year.
Before the inning began, Live Oak coach Katie Prescott got onto her team.
"If you want it," she said, "you've got to go take it."
No. 10 Live Oak (20-14) rattled off three runs in the sixth to take the lead and held on to knock off No. 3 West Monroe 4-2 on Saturday at Frasch Park in the Division I nonselect semifinal.
"The girls responded because our girls are tough," Prescott said. "They want to play hard for each other. They want to play hard for our city."
The win marks the Eagles' first appearance since 2008. A state title win would be the team's first since 1995. After making the semifinals in 2023 and 2024, the Eagles finally got over the hump.
"Just getting over this semifinal hump, it's a lot harder than people think," Prescott said. "For us, the journey's not over, but this was definitely a step in the right direction."
West Monroe (24-9) scored in the third and fifth innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Eagles managed just four hits across the first five innings.
Live Oak then led off the top of the sixth with a walk. After a flyout, the Eagles scored a run after a pair of singles. Another walk loaded the bases when Kylee Seals came to the plate.
She knocked a double to left field to score two runs and put Live Oak up 3-2.
"We came to fight, and we showed up," Seals said. "We knew we had to do a job, and I know when my teammates got on, it was my turn to do the job in the box."
Seals was a freshman when the team lost in the semifinals in 2024. She wasn't ready to experience that feeling of defeat again.
"I know the feeling of going home on this note," Seals said. "Nobody wants it again, and I didn't want it for these seniors."
She said she was excited to experience a new feeling of getting to play in a state title game.
Live Oak added a fourth run in the seventh for insurance. Eagles pitcher Ava Kate Phillips shut down the Rebels in the seventh to seal the win.
The 10th-seeded Eagles now sit one game away from softball glory. Prescott credited the team's difficult schedule for preparing them for their playoff run, which included two road games against higher seeds.
"March beats us up pretty good," she said. "I believe if you can be confident through those losses and still learn, then it prepares you for this moment when the game is really challenging."
St. Amant's rally falls short
St. Amant fell in the other Division I nonselect semifinal to Hahnville 6-4.
Hahnville (20-12) struck first with four runs in the third inning. After Kyndall Landry struck out the first batter she faced, the Tigers hit three straight singles that scored one run.
An error and a sacrifice fly scored two more runs. Hahnville managed another single to go up 4-0.
The Gators (23-9) trimmed into the deficit in the fourth. With one out, Devin Tanner singled to center field. Landry then doubled on a line drive to left field. Tanner scored St. Amant's first run on a passed ball.
Kaydi Landry then hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.
In the sixth, Kyndall Landry singled with one out. Her sister, Kaydi, doubled to left field to put two runners in scoring position. Kinly Triche hit a sacrifice fly to score one run. Madeline Stevens tied it with a line drive to center field.
Baylee Ducote hit a pop fly to end the inning.
The tie didn't last long. Hahnville's Addison Walton led off the seventh with a single. She reached third after a steal and an error on the play. Emma Jackson laid down a bunt to score Walton and reached base safely.
Hahnville loaded the bases after a walk and a hit-by-pitch. St. Amant pitcher Brently Bourque got two outs, but then walked in another run to make it 6-4.
St. Amant went down quietly with two strikeouts and a fly out.