2025 has already proven to be a milestone year for Destrehan softball.
After a 17-0 win over East St. John, the Wildcats finished District 8-5A play with a mark of 4-1, tied with Hahnville atop the standings – and due to Destrehan’s 10-0 head-to-head victory over the Tigers, the Wildcats earned the first outright district championship in the history of the program. Destrehan’s last district softball title of any kind came in 2016 when it split the crown.
“That was a goal our team set out for before the season started, and we’re reaching some of those goals. It’s just reassuring that we’re heading in the right direction,” said Destrehan head coach Craig Perrier. “As a coach, you don’t always take the time to enjoy it much until it’s all said and done because you’re looking at the next game … we put them to the test, we really try to harp on the little things. They buy in and it’s been a whole lot of fun to coach this group.”
Callie Bordelon proved the hero on Tuesday as Destrehan earned a 4-2 home victory over Fisher, her two-run home run in the fifth inning breaking what was a 2-2 tie.
Burkett started the scoring off with a towering solo home run, while Wildcats’ teammate Jolie Lozano’s RBI single in the third made it a 2-0 lead.
It was a case of Lozano helping her own cause – the left-hander earned the win on the mound, going the complete game and striking out four. She allowed two unearned runs on two hits and two walks.
Burkett reached base in all four of her at-bats, drawing three walks after her early home run. Gracie Bourgeois and Rylie Staton each earned a hit and scored a run. Bourgeois and Lozano each doubled in the game.
It was the latest result after what was a loaded stretch of action for the Ladycats. While Tuesday’s game came on the heels of a few off days, prior to that Destrehan played 18 games from March 6 to March 27, several of those matchups against some of the state’s best competition – Sam Houston, Airline, Hahnville and St. Amant are all ranked in the Top 10 of Division I non-select power points, while Haughton is No. 18. Pine Prairie is No. 1 in Division III non-select. Mount Carmel is No. 5 in Division I select, Central Catholic is 14th in Division IV select. Fisher is 16th in Division III select.
Destrehan (16-8 overall) went 5-4 in those matchups, with wins over Central Catholic, Airline, Hahnville, Haughton and Fisher.
“Last year, we knew we’d have a bunch of freshmen out here … we knew we’d be able to compete, but we didn’t know exactly how good we were going to be,” said Perrier. “These girls just fight so hard, they bring that to the table. When we ran into Live Oak last year, that was a polished team in the second round of the playoffs. We weren’t ready for that atmosphere or a team of that caliber. So when I went into making the schedule for this year, ‘That’s not going to happen again.’ We were going to be battle tested. We were going to see how we compete against those teams, see what we need to improve on and how we plan on getting there.”
The 3-1 win at Central Catholic saw Victoria Morrow get DHS started with an early RBI double to make it 1-0 after an inning. Burkett followed up later with a solo home run, with Staton going 2-for-4 with an RBI to supply the day’s third run.
Jolie Lozano went the complete game and allowed one unearned run on eight hits and a walk. She struck out five in the win.
Burkett, Lozano and Staton each had three hits in Destrehan’s 11-3 win over Haughton, with Ava Breazeale adding two. Burkett doubled twice and drove in three runs. Lozano and Leanna Vicknair each drove in two. Lozano earned the win, allowing three runs and striking out two.
Burkett’s season has been, in a word, spectacular.
Her home run Tuesday was her 19th of the season. With eight games remaining this season, she has already broken the St. Charles Parish single season home run record, previously 16 held by Hahnville’s Kat Smith. Burkett is tied atop the state for the home run lead this year.
But beyond home runs, Burkett is batting a staggering .611 with a .683 on-base percentage. She’s driven in 56 RBIs. She has 20 walks and has struck out just twice, and averages a home run every 4.25 at bats. And with runners in scoring position, she hits .719.
“I thought before the season she should be able to hit 15 home runs this year,” Perrier said. “It’s gonna be hard because we’re facing a lot of good teams … I mean, she’s at 19 with eight games left. What makes me proudest, she’s waiting for her pitch and she understands she can hit with two strikes. If it’s not a pitch she feels she can really drive, she lays off. She has a really good eye for the strike zone.”
That approach arguably makes that strikeout total about as impressive as the home run count – she’s willing to take at-bats deep into the count but has been almost impossible to strike out so far.
“In all my years of coaching and playing, being around baseball and softball, I’ve never been around anything like this,” Perrier said.
