Northwood started late but finished strong in a 7-5, nine-inning win over St. Louis in the opening round of the Class 4A state softball playoffs.

Falcons second baseman Kelsye Baker drilled a single to left field in the top of the ninth inning, scoring Kendal Smith and Aubrey Moron to break a 5-all tie.

Smith retired the Saints in order in the bottom of the inning to give No. 22 seed Northwood the upset win. The Falcons (12-13) will host No. 6 Neville in the regional round.

St. Louis (16-8) took a three-run lead in the second inning which featured an RBI double by Morgan Rosteet and RBI singles by Morgan Davis and Sydney Witherwax.

Northwood answered with three runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Jenna Blythe. The Falcons took the lead in the next inning on an RBI single by Kaitlyn Williams.

The Saints scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 5-4 lead, with Mary Guillory singling to score Davis in the fifth and Shannon Dalton and Rosteet hitting back-to-back triples in the bottom of the sixth.

Northwood rallied again to tie the score in the top of the seventh, when two St. Louis outfielders collided while chasing down a Williams drive into the left-center field gap. Smith scored the tying run on the play, then held the Saints in check over the final three innings.

“We have had a lot of games this year we have gotten down two or three runs and we never could battle back,” said Northwood head coach Greg Swearingen. “Tonight, they never gave up. We kept battling. They did a great job. It was a heck of a ballgame.”

Dalton did not give up a hit through the first three innings.

“Their pitcher is good, she does a good job and moves the ball around,” Swearingen said. “The kids made their adjustments and we looked for balls over the plate to hit.”

“I don’t think I could have asked more,” said St. Louis head coach Selina Holland. “They did great and it came down to who could get the last hoorah at the end. They fought, we fought. It was a battle the whole time. I had the best senior (Davis) you could ask for; I could not have asked to come into a program with a better leader. We are going to be missing her.”

Bi-district Results

Class 5A

Hahnville 7, Dominican 0

Destrehan 5, Byrd 3

Mount Carmel 5, Alexandria 3

Sulphur 8, East Ascension 3

Fontainebleau 11, St. Scholastica 1

Northshore 12, Haughton 2

Pineville 12, John Ehret 2

No. 29 Covington at No. 4 Live Oak

West Monroe 9, Chapelle 0

Sam Houston 9, Natchitoches Central 0

H.L. Bourgeois 2, Ouachita 1

Dutchtown 11, Ponchatoula 1

Walker 16, Comeaux 5

Parkway 7, Central-Baton Rouge 1

No. 18 Airline at No. 15 Denham Springs

No. 31 Lafayette at No. 2 St. Amant

Class 4A

Vandebilt Catholic 10, Bolton 0

Assumption 3, Morgan City 1

Lutcher 10, Tioga 5

St. Thomas More 16, Beau Chene 0

DeRidder 2, Franklinton 1

No. 21 Ben Franklin at 12 Academy of Our Lady

Cabrini 1, Cecilia 0

Belle Chasse 10, Pearl River 0

West Ouachita 16, Franklin Parish 0

Bastrop 14, Benton 4

Northwood-Shreveport 7, St. Louis 5

Neville 10, Lakeshore 0

Teurlings Catholic 16, St. Michael 0

Ursuline 4, Ellender 3

Grant 3, Plaquemine 0

Alexandria 15, Riverdale 0

Class 3A

Brusly 10, Avoyelles 0

South Beauregard 5, Port Barre 4

Berwick 3, Jewel Sumner 1

No. 25 Livonia at No. 8 Crowley

Jena 5, Westlake 0

Rayne 5, North DeSoto 4

E.D. White 12, Church Point 7

North Vermilion 12, De La Salle 0

Kaplan 10, West Feliciana 0

Loyola Prep 9, St. Mary’s 2

Parkview Baptist, 4, Vidalia 0

Notre Dame 8, Erath 0

St. Charles 15, Farmerville 0

Patterson 3, Loranger 0

Caldwell Parish 4, Albany 3

Buckeye 10, Rayville 0

Class 2A

John Curtis 20, McGehee 0

No. 17 Mamou at No. 16 Thomas Jefferson

Winnfield 4, Delcambre 3

Calvary Baptist 15, Runnels 3

Rosepine 7, Lakeside 2

Pine Prairie 3, Sterlington 2

No. 20 Fisher at No. 13 Haynes Academy

North Webster 6, Pickering 0

Evangel Christian 7, Iota 5

Catholic-New Iberia 12, Northlake Christian 2

Many 4, Pope John Paul II 3

No. 27 Welsh at No. 6 Menard

DeQuincy 10, Vinton 2

Springfield 7, Doyle 6

No. 18 Kinder at No. 15 North Caddo

Riverside Academy 10, East Beauregard 0

Class 1A

Cedar Creek 12, Northwood-Lena 1

Westminster 6, Houma Christian 2

Sacred Heart-Ville Platte 9, Block 4

St. John 4, Christian Life 0

Hannan 10, Vermilion Catholic 0

Opelousas Catholic 3, St. Mary 2

Ouachita Christian 11, St. Martin’s 3

Central Catholic 2, St. Edmund 1

Catholic-Pointe Coupee 17, Country Day 0

South Cameron 15, Ascension Christian 5

Oberlin 12, Hanson Memorial 6

Oak Grove 6, Logansport 3

Ascension Catholic 8, Delhi Charter 2

Merryville 8, Gueydan 0

False River 14, Montgomery 1

Mangham 3, LaSalle 0

Class B

Florien 19, Singer 0

Weston 4, Castor 3

Converse 16, Simsboro 0

Oak Hill 11, Centerville 0

Zwolle 13, Summerfield 0

Negreet 4, Choudrant 1

Glenmora 3, Holden 2

Grace Christian 7, Dodson 0

Grand Lake 10, Hornbeck 2

Pitkin 1, Simpson 0

Quitman 1, Avoyelles Public Charter 0

No. 27 Lafayette Christian at No. 6 Monterey

Fairview 10, Evans 0

Anacoco 11, Bell City 1

Forest 10, Downsville 0

Stanley 16, Doyline 1

Regional Round Results

Class C

Hackberry 17, Phoenix 0

No. 9 Elizabeth at No. 8 Maurepas

No. 12 Reeves at No. 5 Northside Christian, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 13 Ebarb at No. 4 St. Joseph’s, 5 p.m. Thursday

Georgetown 18, Claiborne Christian 2

No. 11 Harrisonburg at No. 6 Kilbourne

No. 10 Plainview at No. 7 Starks, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 15 Family Christian at No. 2 Calvin

Regional Round Pairings

Class 5A

No. 16 Destrehan at No. 1 Hahnville, 4 p.m. Friday

No. 9 Mount Carmel at No. 25 Sulphur, 2 p.m. Saturday

No. 12 Northshore at No. 5 Fountainblue, 5 p.m. Thursday

No. 13 Pineville vs. No. 29 Covington/No. 4 Live Oak winner

No. 3 West Monroe at No. 19 Sam Houston, noon Saturday

No. 6 Dutchtown at No. 22 Bourgeois

No. 26 Comeaux at No. 10 Parkway at No. 7 Walker, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 18 Airline vs. No. 31 Lafayette/No. 2 St. Amant winner

Class 4A

No. 1 Vandebilt Catholic at No. 17 Assumption

No. 9 Lutcher at No. 8 St. Thomas More

No. 5 DeRidder vs. No. 21 Ben Franklin/12 Academy of Our Lady winner

No. 13 Cabrini at No. 4 Belle Chasse

No. 14 Bastrop at No. 3 West Ouachita, 5 p.m. Thursday

No. 6 Neville at No. 22 Northwood-Shreveport

10 Ursuline Academy at No. 7 Teurlings Catholic

No. 18 Grant at No. 2 Alexandria, 6 p.m. Saturday

Class 3A

No. 1 Brusly at No. 17 South Beauregard, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 9 Berwick vs. No. 25 Livonia/No. 8 Crowley winner

No. 5 Jena at No. 21 Rayne, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 4 North Vermilion at No. 20 E.D. White

No. 14 Loyola Prep at No. 3 Kaplan, 4 p.m. Saturday

No. 11 Parkview Baptist at No. 6 Notre Dame, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 7 St. Charles at No. 23 Patterson, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 2 Buckeye at No. 18 Caldwell Parish

Class 2A

No. 1 John Curtis at No. 17 Mamou

No. 8 Calvary Baptist at No. 24 Winnfield, 3 p.m. Saturday

No. 12 Pine Prairie at No. 5 Rosepine

No. 13 Haynes Academy at No. 4 North Webster

14 Catholic-New Iberia at No. 3 Evangel Christian, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 22 Many vs. No. 27 Welsh/No. 6 Menard winner

No. 10 Springfield at No. 7 DeQuincy

No. 2 Riverside Academy vs. No. 18 Kinder /No. 15 North Caddo winner

Class 1A

No. 16 Westminster at No. 1 Cedar Creek, 2 p.m. Saturday

No. 9 Sacred Heart-Ville Platte at No. 8 St. John, 4:30 p.m. Saturday

No. 12 Opelousas Catholic at No. 5 Archbishop Hannan

No. 13 Ouachita Christian at No. 4 Central Catholic

No. 14 South Cameron at No. 3 Catholic-Pointe Coupee, 4:30 p.m. Thursday

No. 6 Oak Grove at No. 22 Oberlin, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 10 Merryville at No. 7 Ascension Catholic, 5 p.m. Friday

No. 2 Mangham at No. 18 False River, 4:30 p.m. Friday

Class B

No. 17 Weston at No. 1 Florien, 4:30 p.m. Friday

No. 9 Converse at No. 8 Oak Hill, 5 pm. Friday

No. 12 Negreet at No. 5 Zwolle, 5 p.m. Thursday

No. 13 Glenmora at No. 4 Grace Christian, 4 p.m. Friday

No. 14 Pitkin at No. 3 Grand Lake

No. 11 Quitman vs. No. 27 Lafayette Christian/No. 6 Monterey

No. 10 Anacoco at No. 7 Fairview, 6 p.m. Friday

No. 15 Forest at No. 2 Stanley

A Northwood player slides in safely at home as the St. Louis catcher makes the stop during the fourth inning Tuesday. (Rick Hickman / American Press).