Story byNortheast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

In first year, Norwood cultivated resilience for Lafayette

JAMES MURPHY, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, TupeloSat, June 6, 2026 at 12:33 PM UTC·2 min read

A first-year head coach had questions to answer heading into this season. She and her team did so, and they produced a historic result.

In year one, Emily Norwood led Lafayette to its first ever state softball championship. Her efforts towards that make her the Daily Journal’s 2026 Softball Coach of the Year.

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“I'm surrounded by a great group of people to help us be successful,” Norwood said. “From my family to the athletic department here. I’m truly blessed by the girls and the people that I'm surrounded with.”

Lafayette lost a handful of key pieces from last year’s state runner-up team, including 5A Miss Softball winner Mabry Eason. However, there were enough players with experience from that run that Norwood felt could help them finish business.

“I think we had a lot of people doubting us, that we lost a big group of kids, and that we weren't going to be as good as we were in the years past,” she said. “I tried to tell the kids from last fall how we were better, and we just had to do those small things correctly, and here we are, and we're in the big moments, and we look like we've been there before.

“I think the maturity came and we got the things done when we needed to the most.”

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Lafayette was in a tough spot after the regular season. The Commodores finished third in their region and were struggling to find the type of energy they had earlier in the year. Norwood and the coaching staff reminded the girls that every season is a roller coaster.

“Your ups and your downs, they’ve got to come and you’ve got to figure them out, and you’ve got to get them figured out by the time postseason comes, and that's when you start figuring this stuff out,” she said. “And you get the things done right, and then you're successful from there on.”

The Commodores answered the call, going 6-1 in the playoffs en route to their second consecutive state championship series. In that time, they showed a valuable resolve, being able to overcome several deficits in games – and a nine-run loss – to come through in the end.

The punctuation mark came on the last play of Game 2 of the 5A championship series.

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Lafayette trailed Sumrall in each game of the series, but the Commodores rallied and held on each time. Sumrall appeared to tie Game 2 in the top of the seventh on a bloop single. Avery Lewis ran from short to left, took the ball and gunned down the tying run at home, securing Lafayette’s title.

“It was just perfect,” Norwood said of the throw. “You couldn't have asked for anything better.”