Mount Carmel's softball team has had its share of obstacles this season, but they overcame that adversity during the playoffs and reached the LHSAA softball tournament in Sulphur.

Mount Carmel was 14-4 before a season-ending knee injury to top pitcher Paige Reuther, which led to a nine-game losing streak. The Cubs have since gone to a pitcher-by-committee approach, and their lineup has snapped out a late-season slump to reach the state semifinals for the first time since 2021.

“The entire team believes,” Mount Carmel coach Curtis Matthews said. “I haven’t seen this team as close as they are right now than in the past few years. They’re truly coming together as a team and acting like a family.

"We were tested during that nine-game losing streak. We told them that it was going to prepare us for the playoffs, and it has.”

The bats have provided plenty of run support for Mount Carmel having scored double digits in their Division I select playoff wins, which included an 11-9 quarterfinals road victory over No. 3 Alexandria on Friday.

“The girls came in the last two innings (against Alexandria) and said we’re going to do it, let’s punch our ticket,” Matthews said. “I told them you’ve got to leave it on the field. You could see that when our right fielder Claire Murphy came in screaming and dove for a ball that ended Alexandria’s season.”

The No. 6 seed Mount Carmel had 13 hits in the quarterfinal win. Senior Chloe Krey had two doubles and three RBIs to lead the Cubs with three hits and junior Hayden Traub scored a team-high three runs.

Junior Avery Killian also had three RBIs. Killian, a Florida commitment, is a home run threat as Mount Carmel’s cleanup hitter and has been the Cubs starting catcher since she was an eighth grader.

“I just have a clear mind (at the plate) and think of three words, hit the ball,” Killian said. “Focus on nothing else but hitting the ball. I’ve thrown out most of the runners that have (attempted to) steal.”

Batting behind Killian are more talented Mount Carmel hitters in sophomores Emri Roussel and Saige Vichot. Roussel has delivered clutch hits this season, and her two-run triple in the top of the sixth inning against Alexandria broke an 8-8 tie.

“I just knew I had to come in and be clutch,” Roussel said. “I usually just think no pressure, take a deep breath and do my thing.”

Natalie Johnson pitched a team-high four innings in the quarterfinals, with Krey, Traub and Vichot also seeing time in the circle.

Krey has the most pitching experience of the group but was called for multiple illegal pitches in the regional round. Krey hadn’t been called for illegal pitches before this postseason, and the plan is for her to be Mount Carmel’s starting pitcher in Sulphur.

“I’m going to just pitch how I usually pitch,” Krey said. “Being a senior right now is fun, especially being only one of two. I’m the only senior that hasn’t been to state before, so I think it’s a really big accomplishment.”

Krey and Brooklyn Butler are the two seniors for a Mount Carmel team that’s looking to win their first state championship since 2017. A semifinals matchup awaits the Cubs (16-13) at 5 p.m. Friday against the No. 2 seed St. Thomas More (24-7) at Frasch Park’s Field 14.

"We tell our team (records) don't matter," Matthews said. "Everything's reset. We're just going to put our best foot forward."

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