On April 26, the Pope John Paul II Lady Jaguars softball team found out what it felt like to be state champions.

On Friday, principal Richard Berkowitz presented the team with their title rings at the conclusion of a school mass.

“This is incredible to win state,” said now junior pitcher Laura Ricciardone, who went 19-1-3 with a microscopic earned run average of 0.34 and earned first-team all-district honors.

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Lonna Winslow, who guided the team to a 27-1-3 record in her first year, said it was an exciting season for the girls and her team was looking forward to getting their rings with great anticipation.

“The girls have been calling me and asking me when they were going to get their rings for months,” Winslow said. “When I told them the rings came in, I didn’t know if they were going to be able to stand it.”

Winslow said she was confident, but added that she was never fully certain until the championship game against Doyle was over.

Ironically, the 4-0 title-game victory ended when a batted ball hit the runner on first with two outs in Doyle’s half of the seventh.

The team’s only senior Brittany McGowan led the Lady Jaguars with 30 runs batted in and a homer, was scheduled to leave to attend the University of Louisiana in Lafayette the day after the ring ceremony.

“I always thought it was possible to win a championship, but it wasn’t something you really think about until it’s happening to you,” McGowan said.

She added that there was a lot of team unity on the squad.

“I loved everyday we practiced with the girls,” she said. “We’re as close as a team can get.”

Now the Lady Jaguars will turn their attention to attempting a repeat. Coach Winslow said this is a new year and made sure her team understood that.

“I made the girls scrape their helmets because I told them last year’s over. Nobody’s done anything sticker worthy this year,” Winslow said. “We were all working to get off that high, so that way when we go back, we’ll have our feet on the ground.”

The school and team parents each paid for a portion of the rings.

Before the team was presented with its rings, Senator A.G. Crowe presented Winslow with a proclamation recognizing the Lady Jaguars’ title.

It featured the team members’ names and recognized first-team all-district players Ricciardone, Meghan Collins, Jeanne Delaup and Shelly Pontiff.

Despite being a dominating pitcher, Ricciardone showed her versatility at the plate as well. She tallied a .416 batting average and a .573 on base percentage. She and Pontiff each drove in 29 runs, good for the second best on the squad.

Collins led PJP with four homers, a .420 batting average and a .622 on base percentage. She recorded 24 runs batted in and tallied three doubles and three triples.

Delaup, Lady Jag’s catcher, batted .282 and reached base at a .484 clip, while hitting two home runs and driving in 12. She also posted three doubles and three triples.

Pontiff belted three home runs, while hitting .274 and having a .262 on base percentage.

Pope John Paul II, the No. 2 seeded playoff team, began its postseason run with a 10-0 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas in a game called after five innings.

The Lady Jaguars followed up with a 6-3 victory over French Settlement in the regional round as Ricciardone retired the final 16 batters to capture the victory.

The quarterfinal game in Sulphur was tough for PJP, but the Lady Jaguars pulled off a 2-1 win over Rosepine.

The game was tied at 1-1 with two outs in the seventh when Michelle Diaz hit a walk-off double, scoring Rachelle Ammond, sending the Lady Jaguars to the semifinals against Pine Prairie.

Being just one game away from the finals, Collins stepped up in a big way by getting her first two-home-run game in a 7-2 victory.

Collins finished the semifinals with four RBIs.

Later that day, the Lady Jaguars captured the championship run with a 4-0 victory over District 9-2A foe Doyle.

PJP should be in good shape for the upcoming season as the squad will bring back four seniors and seven juniors.