Dupont commits to UL softball

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Parkview Baptist's Jessica Dupont began her high school softball career at catcher before pitching the Eagles to the Class 3A state championship in May.

Once Dupont arrives in college in the fall of 2006, there may be some debate as to her future position, but no dispute about her place in a lineup.

That's because Dupont has created quite a reputation for herself as a power hitter, a quality she plans to take to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette after committing to the Ragin' Cajuns.

"(UL-Lafayette co-head) Coach (Michael Lotief) told me to keep my options open," Dupont said. "They definitely want me to come in as a hitter and I know most pitchers don't hit in college. I'm definitely going to be a hitter. He told me to just be ready to play."

Dupont, who also received interest from Baylor, has played both catcher at Parkview Baptist and first base with the Louisiana Crushers summer travel team.

She was named to the Class 3A All-State team as a utility player when she batted .322 as a sophomore.

Dupont moved to the circle as a junior and promptly helped Parkview to a 27-8-3 record and its first state championship since 2002. She went 23-8 as a pitcher, but was equally impressive with a .375 average, 15 doubles, one homer and a team-high 34 RBIs.

"She has an outstanding bat," Parkview softball coach Nancy Ensminger said. "She's a very strong hitter and I think that's what they were looking at."

Dupont was named both the Class 3A most outstanding player and the District 8-3A most valuable player.

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By WILLIAM WEATHERS
wweathers@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter

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BATON ROUGE - Jessica Dupont was impressed with Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball program.

They thought enough of her to recruit her.

So, it just made sense for the Parkview Baptist standout to issue a verbal commitment to UL last week.

"I've been kind of stressing out over the summer, kind of nervous," Dupont said. "I knew they were watching me, and I wanted to go there so bad. But whenever they came, I usually performed well."

The Cajuns kept in touch with Dupont while she played summer ball with the Louisiana Crushers 18-under team.

Exposure to that heightened level of competition, in which teams routinely play seven games a weekend, will serve Dupont well as a Parkview senior and beyond.

"It's definitely more valuable than high school softball, because you play against a lot of college players," said Dupont, who has experience as both a pitcher and catcher. "It definitely helps."

Dupont got her first up-close look at UL last spring and knew quickly where she wanted to play college ball.

"Last year - my junior year - me, some friends and my dad went to a UL game," Dupont recalled. "And there were so many people there. It looked like the whole city was there. And it's such a great program. I could see myself going there.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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The Parkview Baptist softball team is off to another fast start in District 8-3A play, dominating West Feliciana, 11-0, on Thursday at Parkview. Parkview, the two-time defending Class 3A champions, improves to 12-2-1 overall and 4-0 in district. It was the third district shutout for the Lady Eagles, who have allowed just two runs in league action. “Parkview played very well,” West Feliciana coach Shelly Genre said. “I wasn’t expecting to get beat by this margin. We didn’t come out with our best game and that hurt us.” Senior pitcher Jessica Dupont (8-1-1) tossed a five-inning, no-hitter with nine strikeouts and just one walk. It was the second no-hitter of the season for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette softball signee. The rest of the story By CHRIS CHAPPLE Special to The Advocate