Diamond Sparkles Episode 3 : Joley Bennett ~ D’Arbonne Woods Charter School
It was the ultimate show of respect.
D’Arbonne Woods infielder Joley Bennett stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and her team trailing Notre Dame 8-3 with no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Division III select semifinals earlier this month in Sulphur.
Instead of risking an 18th home run of the season from Bennett – which would have brought the Timberwolves within one run of the Pioneers – Notre Dame coach Dale Serie opted to intentionally walk her.
Bennett had been intentionally walked many times in her career, but never with the bases loaded. The gravity of the moment didn’t initially register.
“I didn’t realize it at first until I looked around and everybody was screaming,” she said.
The intentional walk to Bennett – though it thwarted a potential grand slam -eventually finished the same way, as the Timberwolves scored four runs in the inning and went on to win, 13-11.
There is an added plot twist: Notre Dame coach Dale Serie is Bennett’s travel ball coach with the Texas Bombers 16-U team. He knows her better than any opposing high school coach.
“The funny thing is, (Dale and I) had talked about it,” D’Arbonne Woods coach David DeMoss said. “They had a girl, too (Malayna Daigle). If it came up in the same situation with her, I might’ve done the same thing. I’m not going to let (one player) beat me.”
According to the official Major League baseball site, 18 intentional walks with the bases loaded have been issued since the 1800s – or about one per decade.
Bennett has that once in a decade or once in a lifetime-type talent. Since her seventh-grade season, Bennett has batted around .500 with nearly 50 home runs, approximately 180 RBIs and only 10 strikeouts with 42 walks (21 last season). After a single in her first at-bat, she collected four walks and scored four runs in the semifinals.
“Joley has a lot of growing still to do,” DeMoss said. “She was only a freshman this past season. She’s played highly competitive softball for years. Since I’ve known her, she’s been around elite level people. Her dad (James Bennett) was a baseball player. She puts in a lot of work you don’t see.
“Joley has the work ethic to be ‘that player.’ While others are out eating, sleeping or on the couch, I know she’s putting in work. She understands what it takes. There is no pressure from her family. They leave it up to their kids. If she wants to do it, her parents are going to do whatever is needed to put her in position to succeed.”
Bennett is also a two-time Class 2A state champion in the javelin. If LHSAA rules would have allowed it, she would’ve played softball for the Timberwolves in the sixth grade.
.”When I was in seventh grade, we had a really good group of seniors who showed me the way,” Bennett said.
She had terrorized Notre Dame before, registering four hits with a triple and four RBIs as the Timberwolves beat the Pioneers in the 2023 semifinals. D’Arbonne Woods rallied from a substantial deficit in that game, also
“We got down pretty early,” she said of the game two years ago. “I was really nervous, although I trying to act like I wasn’t.”
It’s a family affair for the Bennett group. Father James was drafted to play Major League Baseball. Cousin Laynie Jones was a senior in Joley’s freshman season. Cousin Lylah Lones had D’Arbonne Woods’ top batting average this past season. Younger sister Jentry will be a seventh grader.
“Joley has worked hard her whole life,” said Kassidy Bennett, her mom. “It was ‘balls, not dolls,’ growing up. She’s very self-motivated. Her dad is very into it.”
Joley was the starting catcher as a seventh grader. She’s moved around the infield since then, playing second and third base. She’s always level-headed, DeMoss said.
“She doesn’t let (success) go to her head,” he said. “She’s the same person, no matter what. She loves playing ball and being around the other girls. And she has a good situation at home. If ever needed, her family members would calm her down.”
D’Arbonne Woods, which is located near Farmerville in northeast Louisiana, will be looking for its first state championship next season. The Timberwolves have finished as runner-up to Calvary Baptist twice in the past three years.
The Cavaliers will return most of their team. D’Arbonne Woods’ only seniors were Brett Towns, Cadence Wallace and all-state outfielder Chloe Edwards.
“Two years ago, we went down to Houma Christian and got beat in the semifinals,” DeMoss said. “I asked the team, ‘What is your goal?’
“They wanted to get back to Sulphur. We put in the work to do it. Now the goal is to get over that last hump, work on winning that last game. The emphasis is on the weight room.”
For Bennett, who has been all-district in basketball (and all-state in softball) since the seventh grade, there is a busy summer ahead which starts with a tournament in College Station, Texas, this weekend.
“Last summer, coach Serie told me to leave my bat at house at the next state tournament,” she recalled. “He said, ‘I’m not going to pitch to you.'”
Diamond Sparkles is a year-round column that tells the stories behind the stories of the Pelican State’s softball players. If you have someone that would make a great story, send us an email to info@446sports.com
