By Brad Greer
North Delta School’s quest for its first ever softball state championship came up short after the Lady Wave was eliminated from the Academy AA State tournament Monday at Shiloh Park in Brandon.

North Delta advanced to the winners’ bracket final with a pair of wins over Simpson 3-0 and Bayou 4-3 Saturday before losing to Leake, 4-1, Monday followed by a 3-0 loss to eventual state champion Tri-County to capture a third-place finish.

  North Delta- 3 Simpson-0

Caroline Dickins stuck out 12 batters while scattering three hits over six innings as the Lady Waves blanked the South runner-up Cougars. Dickins also paced North Delta at the plate with two singles and a pair of runs scored. Haley Lamm also chipped in with two singles including a RBI single in the first inning.

Myles Durham broke open a tight 1-0 contest in the sixth with a two-run single that scored Dickins and Maribeth Johns, who reached on an error to lead off the frame. Johns also registered a single in the fourth inning.

 North Delta- 4 Bayou-3
After three close losses during the season, the Lady Waves finally defeated the defending state champions in the second game of the day. North Delta grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on Janie Brasell’s two-run single that scored Dickins and Durham.

Bayou answered with a single run in the bottom half of the frame before North Delta increased its cushion to 4-1 in the second. Taylor Barton led off with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Durham. Dickins followed Barton with a single and later scored what turned out to be the wining run after the Colts closed the margin to 4-3 with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
  Sarah Johnson picked up the pitching win by tossing two innings before Dickins finished off the Colts with three innings of scoreless relief.

Leake- 4 North Delta-1
North Delta was sent into the losers bracket Monday with a loss to Leake. Lamm and Johnson recorded the only hits for North Delta with back-to-back singles in the fourth. Dickins accounted for the lone run in the first by scoring on a sacrifice fly by Durham.

Dickins took the loss in the circle despite giving up only one earned run in five innings. The junior surrendered six hits and struck out six while walking three.

Tri-County- 3 North Delta-0
The Lady Rebels got all the runs they would need in the first inning but added two more in the second to advance into the championship game where the downed Leake 6-5.

  North Delta (16-10-1) managed only one hit over five innings and Durham led off the fourth with a single. Barton and Dickins were the only two Lady Waves to reach base in the game.