VIDALIA, La. &045; Let the record show Miranda Doughty’s arm was a little sore when she woke up Sunday morning.

But hey &045; a little pain never felt so good.

Doughty’s three complete-game shutouts over the weekend helped lift the Vidalia Lady Vikings to their first state title Saturday at Frasch Park in Sulphur. Doughty’s effort was one of many from the Lady Vikings, who picked it up a notch when the time came the most.

&uot;It was well worth it,&uot; said Doughty, a senior who allowed nine hits and struck out 28 batters in 27 innings. &uot;When I started the first game, I just felt (being in the zone). I kind of got in and rolled with it. I felt good against LaSalle (earlier in the season), but it felt good during the state tournament. It’s awesome to win. You can’t describe it. We came in with a bang, and we had to leave with a bang.&uot;

Doughty’s effort weren’t the only one that came through in the clutch to land the Lady Vikings the championship. The big plays came from the hitters and the defense as well as a number of plays went their way the entire weekend.

Not bad for a team that wasn’t the guess of many people down at Sulphur to walk away with trophy. The favorite might have been Riverside, the defending state champion, but Vidalia’s 1-0 win Friday night over the Lady Rebels may have put the bracket on its ear.

&uot;You could have asked anybody down there, and nobody would have put the Vidalia Vikings there,&uot; said head coach Gary Paul Parnham, who threw out the first pitch of Monday’s Vidalia-St. Thomas Aquinas baseball game. &uot;We definitely felt like the underdogs coming it. The whole team believed we could do it, but it wasn’t something we just talked about doing. They played at a different level. I don’t have the words to tell you how proud I am.&uot;

And after a season of waiting and hoping for the bats to come around, the Lady Vikings produced. Their three runs in the top of the first against South Beauregard in the championship game put the Lady K’s in a sizeable hole against Doughty.

&uot;This was the first time we actually hit well,&uot; said third baseman Jenny Watson, who singled and scored in that first inning. &uot;It kind of fell in place. When we got there, we felt it. We just wanted it so bad. Everybody got it in their minds they were going to swing the bats no matter what.&uot;

Jaci Deweese had a big double to score Watson and Heather Miller, and in the semifinal win over Vermilion Catholic Deweese and Miller each had two hits in the 2-0 win.

All the worries Parnham had over the team’s lack of timely hits seemed to finally waiver.

&uot;It was like, ‘Come on, coach, have a little faith,’&uot; Miller said. &uot;We had it in us. All we had to do was believe in ourselves. Every single practice of every single day we focused on hitting. The main thing was we were relaxed.&uot;

The hitting was a welcomed addition with the defense making big plays to keep VC and South Beauregard from mounting a rally. Miller caught a fly ball in short left and threw a bullet to first for a double play against VC, and a fly hit to short center fell in before Lauren Clayton scooped it up and stepped on second for a force out.

In the championship game Clayton and Kelsey Leake collided on a fly to left center, but Clayton got up and threw the ball to third so fast Watson was waiting on the runner to apply the tag.

&uot;The main thing I know that was different was in during the season batters came up and we were thinking, ‘Don’t hit me the ball,’&uot; Watson said. &uot;It seemed like up at state everybody was saying, ‘Please hit me the ball. I want the ball.’ Everybody was hoping for the ball. Our defense was the best it’s ever been the four years I’ve been here.&uot;