Aviators Blank Leopards, Louisville Ends Season 18-8
Alliance 1, Louisville 0
athan Rice pitched a 2-hit shutout and struck out 15 to lead the Alliance Aviators to a 1-0 District Semifinal win over the Louisville Leopards at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium. Kyle White had both of Louisville’s hits during Thursday’s Canton Division II Tournament game.
Alliance’s only run came in the top of the first inning. After two quick outs, Mark Pisanello doubled to left field and then advanced to third base on a throw down to second that landed in center field. He then scored on a passed ball to give the Aviators a 1-0 lead that they would never relinquish.
Alliance thrived off playing with an early lead and Rice fanned through the Leopards lineup remaining perfect through the first three innings. Louisville made noise in the third and in the sixth when White singled aboard and reached third base twice. However, the Leopards bats could not get loud enough against Rice who combined for four strikeouts to end the pair of threats.
For Louisville, Riley Groves settled down on the mound after giving up a run and the following eight batters he faced found their way back to the dugout consecutively. Groves pitched the entire contest allowing just 3 hits and striking out 2. However, his valiant effort would not be enough and he picked up his first loss of the year. The Junior Ace finished the season 9-1 with a microscopic 1.56 ERA.
The Aviators will take on the Canton South Wildcats on Friday at 4:30 in the District Championship at Thurman Munson. Canton South earned a 1-0 12 inning victory in their semifinal game against Triway earlier in the afternoon. For the Leopards, their second straight District Semifinal loss leaves a bitter aftertaste to a marvelous 18-8 season. Yet, with several underclassman the future continues to burn bright for Leopards baseball.
PICTURES
Box Score
Team 123-456-7–R-H-E
Alliance 100-000-0–1-3-0
Louisville 000-000-0–0-2-3
Alliance Aviators Batting
Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S Cundiff | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
A Bugara | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
M Pisanello | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
J Grimes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
H Cannon | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
N Rice | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M Whitaker | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Z Wyss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
K Phillips | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Alliance Aviators Pitching
Pitching | O | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | S% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N Rice | 21 | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 70.8% |
Totals | 21 | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 70.8% |
Louisville Leopards Batting
Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
K White | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
C Ruffier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
M Kelly | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
J Crank | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
C Neff | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
D Stertzbaugh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
R Groves | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
J Duckworth | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
A Hollifield | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
Louisville Leopards Pitching
Pitching | O | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | S% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R Groves | 21 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 64.2% |
Totals | 21 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 64.2% |
Records: Alliance 17-8, Louisville 18-8