Every week we’re spotlighting a program from around Pike County for our Team of the Week, presented by Casey Carter, Farm Bureau Insurance.

Eight wins separate Parklane Academy softball and the Pioneers goal of winning a MAIS 4A State Championship. The postseason begins for Parklane on Saturday with a 10 a.m. matchup against Silliman Institute.

Parklane comes into the 4A South State Tournament this weekend as defending champs. The Pioneers made the 4A State Championship Series last season but were defeated by their rivals from Brookhaven Academy.

In 2025, Parklane has been a juggernaut, running through their competition on the way to a 23-1 record.

These girls can flat out hit. There isn’t an easy out in the lineup, as the Pioneers showed on Monday in a 15-5 win at Brookhaven Academy.

On Monday, senior infielder Halle Bennett hit two balls out of the park for the Pioneers in the win. Her first came in the opening inning and was an absolute screamer that jumped off the bat with a pronounced crack.

Bennett is committed to next play at the University of Southern Mississippi next season. She’ll be joined in Hattiesburg at Southern Miss by her teammate, senior first baseman Anna Sawyer.

Sawyer helped PA put a bow on the regular season with a 13-3 win on Thursday at Columbia Academy.

On Monday the Pioneers had 17 hits against BA and they topped that with 18 hits on Thursday against CA.

Sawyer went 5-for-5 on Thursday with two RBIs. She’s the daughter of the late Justin Sawyer, one of the all-time MAIS football greats at Centreville Academy who later started on the offensive line at Ole Miss.

Senior infielder Macy Simmons nearly matched Sawyer at the dish on Thursday, as she finished 4-of-5 with four RBIs. Simmons is committed to next play for the two-time NJCAA National Champions at Copiah-Lincoln CC in Wesson.

Macy Simmons plays for her father, PA head coach Daniel Simmons.

“We’ve got a special group and we hope we stay hot, but it’s anybody’s game in the playoffs,” said Daniel Simmons after wrapping up the regular season.

Another standout senior for the Pioneers is senior pitcher Phiffer Crawford. Crawford, a Jones College commit, pitched the win over Columbia and struck out four while giving up one earned run on four hits.

Against BA, the Pioneers used eighth grade pitcher Kenna Morgan in the circle. Morgan was sensational, striking out 12 batters in the win.

Another young Pioneer underclassman, sophomore catcher Camryn Poole, blasted a grand slam in the win at BA.

The PA infield also boasts senior Zoe Alford, who was named MAIS 5A Player of the Year in hoops after helping lead her team to the MAIS Overall State Championship as a junior.

Brooklyn Wagner starts in left field, Laney Simmons starts in center field, and Anna Bryan Hemphill is the starting right fielder.

If PA gets past Silliman and Brookhaven Academy defeats Jackson Prep, the two teams will meet on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The first meeting between the teams was won 3-2 by Parklane on Sept. 2 in McComb. Crawford struck out seven that night and also had the go-ahead RBI at the plate.

The lone loss of the season for the Pioneers was a tournament defeat on Aug. 16 to East Rankin Academy by a 6-1 score.

After the 4A South State Tournament concludes, teams will be subdivided into the new MAIS championship divisions.

The top two teams from the south bracket along with the top two teams from the north bracket will paly for the MAIS 4A-Division I championship.

There will also be 4A-Division II and 4A-Division III titles handed out.