Panthers ‘Rohr’ Past Lady Leps 2-0 in District Semifinals

Softball:

Perry 2, Louisville 0

In the regular season, Louisville had nothing to lose when they swept the Panthers, but in the District Semifinals the top-seeded Lady Leopards had everything to lose.  Shelbi Tilton hit a solo home run and Casi Rohr shutout the Lady Leopards for the first time all season as Perry defeated Louisville 2-0 in the District Semifinals at Massillon Community Park Saturday afternoon.

Tilton led off the game with a hit that rolled all the way to the wall landing her with a double.  Back-to-back groundouts by the Panthers put Tilton across the plate and gave Perry a lead they would never relinquish.

In the top of the third inning, Tilton blasted a pitch that cleared the left field wall giving the Panthers an insurance run they would not need.

Perry played perfect in the field and Rohr struck out 12 batters, only allowed 4 hits, and no Louisville runner got any further than second base.  It wasn’t easy for Rohr either as Louisville brought their 2 through 7 hitters to bat in the final two innings.  They were all retired in order before Perry celebrated.

Although she picks up the loss, Brittany Flanigan had an outstanding performance as she sent down 13 Panthers.

The Leopards’ offense just could not get started against last year’s state-champion pitcher.  Balls hung in the air for pop-outs instead of going for line-drive hits and the Leopards’ seem to only get runners on when there were already two outs.

Perry will move on to play Hoover in a rematch of the District Championship last season on Monday.  Luckily for the 23-2 Lady Leps, their season is not over and they can still end the 2011 campaign on a positive note if they defeat Canton South at home on Monday in the final game of the year.

NEXT: The Lady Leps will host Canton South on Monday, May 23 at 4:30 PM in the final game of the year.

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