THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: A Lake City classic — Senior Layla Gugino has been a four-year hit for the Timberwolves — much like the song for which she was named

"Layla” by Derek and the Dominos was the first song Lake City High senior softball star Layla Gugino ever heard, as her parents jumped in the car and played the tune as they drove her home from the hospital in Oklahoma after she was born in May 2007. 

Or so she’s been told. Remember, she had just been born. 

Her parents, Morgan and Danin, named her after the song, written and sung by Eric Clapton and released in 1970. 

“My dad was a big Eric Clapton fan,” said Layla, who heard the song occasionally playing around the house growing up. 

Fast-forward to just before her freshman season at Lake City, where Layla Gugino would become a four-year varsity starter. She was sitting at the dinner table with her dad, trying to pick a walk-up song for the upcoming season. 

“You should do ‘Layla,’” her dad suggested. 

“I was like, this is perfect,” Layla said. “I knew I wanted to do an older-type song; my dad’s big on older rock." 

So for the last four years, Layla Gugino has stepped up to bat at  Lake City home games to “Layla” and the signature opening riff,  composed by Duane Allman. 

“When I heard it growing up, I thought it was a really good song,” Layla said of ‘Layla.’ My dad has high praises for Eric Clapton. 

There were a few Kendrick Lamar songs I thought of doing, but at the end of the day I was like, ‘I have to do this.’ It’s kind of my song now. It has a cool little story behind it.” 

Those of us of a certain age rocked out to “Layla” by spinning an album, or a 45, or popping in an eight-track, or a cassette, or, more recently, a CD. 

Now? 

“It’s on my phone, on my Spotify app,” Layla says of the song she was named after. 

“LAYLA” HAS blared from the loudspeakers at Lake City roughly 200 times over the past four years. 

Nearly half the time, the tune has been followed by a base hit. 

Gugino is a .454 career hitter at Lake City (150 for 330), with 33 homers and 158 RBIs. 

This season, she’s batting .525 (42 for 80), with 14 homers and 52 runs batted in.  

Gugino was the league’s Newcomer of the Year as a freshman, and all-league the past two years. 

“It has been such an incredible opportunity to coach Layla here at Lake City,” said Jordyn Hensley, a former Lake City softball player in her third season as head coach at her alma mater. “She always gives her all, whether it’s in practice or games. She’s a competitor … and seems to focus more when the pressure is on. She will do everything and anything she can to win.” 

A starter at shortstop since her freshman year, Gugino also had to pitch some early — a total of 113 innings her first two years. The past two years, with a little more depth in the circle, Gugino has thrown just 10 innings total the past two seasons. 

This year, Gugino hopes to lead the Timberwolves (14-7-1) to state for the first time since 2019. 

After a rough year her freshman season at Lake City, the Timberwolves have been on the verge of a state berth the past two years, only to fall short.  

This year, only one team in 6A District 1 advances to state. Lake City, the second seed, plays host to second-seeded Post Falls on Saturday in a loser-out game. The winner plays top-seeded Coeur d’Alene in a best-of-3 series starting next Tuesday for the lone berth to state. 

She says it’s been “frustrating” not getting to state by now. 

However ... 

“I can’t complain,” Gugino said of her time at Lake City. “I’ve had fun all four years. I love playing softball, getting to play for my school, play with my friends, have all my friends and classmates and teachers come out and watch me. It’s been super fun to play and represent the school.”

GUGINO HOPES to keep playing shortstop next year when she joins the team at the University of Montana, where she has signed a letter of intent, though she knows she could end up elsewhere in the infield, or in the outfield. 

She picked Montana because she wanted to play Division I softball, and play close to home. 

“When I visited, the people were awesome, the culture was awesome ... it seemed to have everything I wanted,” Gugino said. 

Gugino said she also had scholarship offers from North Idaho College and the University of Illinois Chicago, as well as interest from several area Division III and NAIA schools. 

Then she visited the campus in Missoula. 

“I love the mountains, I love the trees, I love the greenery,” Gugino said. “I love Coeur d’Alene so much because we have all four seasons here, and you have mountains and you can go hiking. Walking around the campus, it was so beautiful. There was the mountain, the scenery ... I could see myself living here.” 

Softball has been a big part of Gugino’s life since age 7, when the family moved to North Idaho from Oklahoma, and Layla started playing on a 10U team, Dry Ice. 

“I’ve always played up,” she said. “I wanted to try to compete with the older kids, make myself better.” 

Layla’s mom played softball growing up. Morgan lived in North Idaho growing up. He played football at Lakeland High, graduating in 2006. 

GUGINO PLANS to study business finance at Montana, and see where that takes her after college. 

She plans to take her walk-up music with her to Missoula. 

“God’s really led me through this softball journey,” Gugino said.  

“Our program has benefited so much from the way she leads through example,” Hensley said. “Although I am sad to see her go after this season, I’m proud because she’s going to leave Lake City softball better than she found it.” 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports. 

    Layla Gugino