Northside Christian’s Allen earns Class C MVP honors

Austin Acree of Claiborne Christian and Northside Christian’s Angel Allen help lead the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class C All-State baseball and softball teams.
The versatile duo led their respective teams to Division V select LHSAA titles this spring and were selected for the top honors by a panel of sportswriters from across the state.
Harrisonburg’s Clayton McGuffee (baseball) and Elliott West of Plainview (softball) received the LSWA’s Class C Coach of the Year honors.
Allen was a driving force behind Crowley-based Northside title run with nine home runs, 55 runs batted in a .500 average. As a pitcher, Allen won five games and had a 3.91 earned run average.
Claiborne Christian’s Acree batted .379 and drove in 25 runs and struck out only nine times. He struck out 91 in 63.1 innings and posted a 2.98 ERA along with four wins for the Crusaders.
McGuffee coached Harrisonburg to its first LHSAA title in baseball. Harrisonburg, the No. 2 seed, beat top-seeded Georgetown 4-3 in the title game.
West led Plainview to its second consecutive Class C softball title. Fourth-seeded Plainview outscored its opponents 31-1 at the LHSAA tourney, including a 6-1 victory over Harrisonburg in the Class C final.
Joining Allen on the All-State softball squad are teammates Rory Thibodeaux and Kelsey Gaspard.
Thibodeaux, an eighth grader, was one of four pitchers selected to the team after logging a 2.581 earned run average in league play. She also hit .533 against district foes.
Thibodeaux fired a four-hit shutout in the finals and struck out two in a 15-0 victory over Family Christian that gave the Lady Warriors their first state title in the school’s history.
Gaspard, a freshman, hit for a .565 clip on the season with 11 doubles, six home runs and 29 RBI.
In the Lady Warriors’ two postseason games, Gaspard went 5-for-6 at the plate with a home run and four RBI.
Northside Christian’s Zera Hanagriff, the District 7-C Most Valuable Player, made the team as an honorable mention after hitting .356 during her senior season with five doubles, six home runs and 22 RBI.
Family Christian, the Division V runnerup, logged one selection in junior Caitlin Jones, who hit .439 on the season.
Class C champion Plainview also grabbed a pair of selections in freshman Abigail Pippin and junior Madison Pippin.
Evans and Simpson also had two selections each.
Northside Christian locked down three spots on the All-State baseball team after advancing to the state tournament as the No. 2 seed.
The Warriors fell just short of reaching the Division V title game with a 13-2 loss to eventual state champion Claiborne Christian in the semifinals.
Leading the way is pitcher Keegan Foreman, who hit .465. Also making the team are third baseman Koye Credeur (.352) and second baseman Dustin Hernandez (.337).
Acree is joined on the team by fellow Claiborne Christian standout Abram Tarantino (.370) and Tripp Martin (.387).
Class C state runner-up Simpson collected three selections in Colton Parker (.473), Landon Meyers (.398) and Tanner Yates (.302) while champion Harrisonburg snagged two spots in Avery Smith (.356) and Christian Carter (.417).
Reeves also had multiple selections in James Ford (.500) and Bryce Dunnehoo (.467).