The win meant plenty to Ava Burkett.
Destrehan had not captured a victory against Hahnville in softball since 2016, a near-decade long run of Tiger dominance in the rivalry. But on Thursday, Burkett celebrated with her teammates on a day she powered one of three Destrehan home runs out of the Wildcats’ home park as Destrehan earned a 10-0 shutout over the Tigers in District 8-5A competition.
“It means everything,” said Burkett, a senior. “I love this team so much.”
For Burkett and her fellow senior Destrehan players, the win was worth the wait.
Hahnville entered the game ranked No. 5 in Division I non-select power points and the Tigers have flexed plenty of muscle all season – HHS (14-4, 1-1) averaged nearly 12 runs a game prior to the rivalry battle.
But in addition to Destrehan’s power surge at the plate, sophomore pitcher Jolie Lozano put together one of the best performances of her young career, going five complete innings to record the shutout. Lozano allowed six hits and walked two while striking out three to move to 7-1 on the season.
“My approach was to stay locked in … I know they’re good hitters. We play with those girls, we’re familiar with them. So, we know what they like and don’t like … it’s just about focusing and locking in.
“(The win) is huge … it means being the leader in the pack (in district play). The seniors are so excited and that just makes me feel good.”
Destrehan head coach Craig Perrier called his players “a special group.”
“They are fun to be around all the time … and when it’s time to have fun, it’s time to have fun, but when it’s time to work, it’s time to work – and this team does it. They come to practice, take the coaching and focus on the little things. All we worry about is those little things, taking the first step right, having the right approach at the plate and it all came together today,” said Perrier, who also earned his first win over the Tigers as head coach since taking the program’s helm in the 2023 season.
Perrier gave a nod to assistant coach Paul Waguespack for his pitch-calling on the day, and said Lozano was ready for the moment.
“She just executed on every pitch,” said Perrier. “It’s Jolie. She’s not scared of competition. We throw to contact, too, because we trust our defense … when you know you have eight people behind you who are going to give everything, it helps,” Perrier said.
Burkett went 2-for-2 with three runs scored and three RBIs for DHS (13-4, 3-0) . Victoria Morrow and Callie Bordelon joined her in hitting home runs on the day, driving in three and two runs, respectively. Rylie Staton also drove in two runs for DHS. Lozano and Burkett each had doubles and Staton tripled in the game.
That triple by Staton put Destrehan ahead in the bottom of the first inning, pushing Burkett and Isabel Fontaine across the plate to make it 2-0. Bordelon followed up with a two-run home run that made it a 4-0 game.
“Callie Bordelon was in her mind a little bit this week, struggling a little bit, then she comes up and gives us a four-run cushion,” said Perrier.
Hahnville threatened in the second inning after Theriot singled and Baudoin drew a walk with two outs. But Lozano registered a strikeout to end the inning.
Destrehan added to its lead in the second inning after Leanna Vicknair and Londyn Lee drew walks to lead off the inning.
HHS pitcher Jenna Cancienne got a flyout, but then Burkett – who entered the game with 10 home runs in 12 games played – came up to bat. Moments later, she drove the ball out of the park and Destrehan led 7-0.
“I did that for my team … I was battling for them, not for me, not for anyone else but for them,” said Burkett. “We talked about it coming in, to just have fun, just play. Win or lose, we’re still doing this together.”
That was all of the scoring until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Morrow came up with two on and went yard, making it a 10-0 lead – and, importantly, giving her team a chance to seal the win in the next inning by the 10-run rule.
Lozano and the DHS defense did just that, retiring three of four batters faced.
“It’s this or nothing,” Lozano said she told herself going into that last inning. “I had to keep them there.”
“It’s amazing. After four years of just wanting to beat Hahnville, we finally beat Hahnville,” Burkett said.
Amberly Dempster and Rylee Villasanor each recorded two hits for HHS, with Dempster doubling.
“They scored first inning, we didn’t … we hit a lot of hard balls at people, but we couldn’t get anything going. They hit the ball, we didn’t hit it enough,” said HHS head coach Jeremy Duplantis. “(Lozano) did a good job. She stayed on the outside … we couldn’t adjust. I told them to let it hurt tonight but we’ve got to get back to work tomorrow.”
