State’s top softball player has ties to LSUE

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It will come as a surprise to few that Emma Callie Delafield, known around the state’s softball diamonds as EC, hails from a hardy stock when it comes to athletic prowess.
Her father, Will, was a standout baseball player at Northwestern State where her mother, Rachel, was a former Demon Dazzlers Pom line member. Her older sister Elizabeth was a solid pitcher at LSU-Eunice and Arkansas-Monticello.
It’s taking that pedigree to another level that earned Delafield the Farm Bureau Insurance/Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Miss Softball award, presented annually to the top player in the state.
“She is a special kid, which I have said for a long time,” North DeSoto coach Lori McFerren said. “What else can you say about a three-time state champion, who never takes a pitch off?”
A public school from northwest Louisiana winning a state title is a rarity (it hadn’t happened since 1994 with Stanley), but with Delafield at the helm, the Griffins were able to pull off the improbable three times.
When she pitched a pair of 1-0 shutouts on championship Saturday in 2015, she had a mouthful of braces and probably wasn’t prepared to understand what she had done.
It was a mature young woman, an honor student, involved locally in community service events that pitched and hit North DeSoto to a 10-0 victory over West Ouachita a month ago in the 2017 championship tilt.
Delafield was 23-3 this past season with 225 strikeouts in 150 innings and a .653 ERA. Incredibly, she hit .519 with 49 RBIs and 7 homers against one of the toughest slates in the state, including Ouachita, Alexandria, West Ouachita, Cedar Creek and St. Amant during the regular season.
“Emma Callie stands out as one of the best athletes, male or female, I have personally been associated with on a professional or personal level,” McFerren said. “She excels as a pitcher, switch hitter, fielder, and her exceptional speed make her one of the best at all aspects of the game.”
The accolades keep rolling in for Delafield, who maintained a 3.68 GPA during her prep career. She was recently selected the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, and was the outstanding player on the LSWA Class 4A All-State team. Prior to that, she was The Shreveport Times All-Area Player of the Year.
NSU coach Donald Pickett knows he got a steal when he signed Delafield last fall.
“She’s a great player and person who loves the game and her teammates,” Pickett said. “We are excited about getting her in our program and seeing all the things she can accomplish.”
Delafield’s community service work includes working the annual Gladiator for Maximus 5K Walk/Run to raise money for diabetes research. Max Abernathy, the son of NDHS athletic director Scott Abernathy, suffers from juvenile diabetes. The $1,000 stipend Delafield will receive from the Gatorade award will be designated for a Louisiana organization to fight the disease.
“Emma Callie has proven she has the uniqueness that makes her an elite athlete,” McFerren said. “It was an honor to be in the position to coach such a outstanding young woman.”

Farm Bureau Insurance/LSWA Miss Softball
1996: Ashley Lewis, Central
1997: Ashleigh Ivey, Barbe
1998: Micah Barbato, Lafayette
1999: Mandy Mullins, Sacred Heart-VP
2000: Sarah Meadors, Denham Springs
2001: Beth Provost, Teurlings Catholic
2002: Beth Provost, Teurlings Catholic
2003: Britni Bowen, Sterlington
2004: Leah Heintze, St. Amant
2005: Kellie Eubanks, St. Amant
2006: Ashley Brignac, John Curtis
2007: Ashley Brignac, John Curtis
2008: Lauren Crane, Vandebilt Catholic
2009: Lauren Wilson, Belle Chasse
2010: Christina Hamilton, Rosepine
2011: Courtney Ivey, Oak Hill
2012: Baylee Corbello, Sam Houston
2013: Baylee Corbello, Sam Houston
2014: Katie Brignac, John Curtis
2015: Tanner Wright, Sam Houston
2016: Bailey Hemphill, St. Thomas More
2017: Emma Callie Delafield, North DeSoto