Benson Homers Twice as Louisville Tops Alliance 7-6 – Softball
Louisville 7, Alliance 6
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The Louisville Leopards Varsity Softball Team edged the visiting Alliance Aviators 7-6 Wednesday Evening at West Main Vet Clinic Field. With their second straight win, Louisville improves to 4-5 on the season.
Benson Goes 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs
Sophomore shortstop Matti Benson batted a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of homers, a double, three runs scored, and five RBIs to lead the Lady Leopards. She got Louisville on the board early with a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the first inning. In her next at-bat, Benson smashed a three-run home run to right field to put the Leopards ahead 6-2 in the bottom of the second inning.
This marks the second time Benson has hit a pair of home runs in the same game. She also hit two home runs in Louisville’s 10-2 win over Alliance last season.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Benson hit a one out double to put herself into scoring position. A few pitches later, senior catcher Brooke Brendle also followed with a double to center field bringing home Benson to put the Leopards in front 7-3. The insurance run proved to be the deciding run as Alliance rallied to within a single run after putting up a three-spot in the fifth inning.
Mayle Puts Leopards Back In Front
The Lady Aviators answered Benson’s first inning two-run homer with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Second baseman Brianna Yoder singled and catcher Cheyanne Hendershot doubled at the start of the inning to put runners on second and third with no one out. Yoder came home via third baseman Megan Hippley’s sacrifice fly to right field. Then Hendershot scored the tying run when left fielder Nyah Fox grounded out to third base.
The score remained tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the second. With one out, junior second baseman Shelby Mayle socked a solo home run to left field to give Louisville the lead back at 3-2. The round tripper was the second of her varsity career as she became the fifth different Lady Leopard to clear the fences this season.
Alliance Rallies Back to Within a Run
Alliance added a run in the fourth inning to cut the deficit in half. Hendershot singled home shortstop Cameryn Mullaly to make the score 6-3.
The Lady Aviators added three more runs all with two outs in the fifth inning. Center fielder Reese Grisez led off the inning with a triple to right field, but was thrown out at home by Louisville third baseman Kenzi Denzer on a sacrifice bunt attempt by pitcher Emma Reese. Brendle applied the tag at the plate to prevent Grisez from scoring.
Alliance broke through anyways. Two batters later, Mullaly reached base on an error that scored Reese from second base. Yoder followed with a two-run homer to right field to cut the Lady Aviators deficit to 7-6.
Heath Shuts Down Aviators to Earn Save
Sophomore pitcher Katie Heath came in for junior starting pitcher Kendra Thomas after that. Heath got the next batter to ground out to end the frame. She would also work a scoreless sixth and seventh innings while fanning three Alliance batters in the process. Heath recorded the first save of her varsity career after working 2 1/3 scoreless.
Thomas pitched the first 4 2/3 innings, allowed three earned runs on six hits, and struck out one in notching her third victory of the season.
Louisville Has Taken 20 Out of 21 from Alliance
The Lady Leopards have now defeated the Lady Aviators in 20 of their last 21 overall meetings dating back to 2010. Their only loss in that span came at Alliance last year by a 7-6 count.
Louisville now leads the all-time series over the Aviators 28-6, which includes a 16-2 record against Alliance when playing at LHS.
<<< 2021 At Alliance | Alliance All-Time Series
UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards will next host the Waynedale Golden Bears on Thursday, April 21 at 5:00 PM.
Cover Photo By The Louisville Herald
Alliance at Louisville Varsity Softball Box Score
LEOPARDS 7, AVIATORS 6
Team 123-456-7–R-H-E
Alliance 020-130-0–6-8-3
Louisville 240-100-X–7-9-1
ALLIANCE AVIATORS SOFTBALL VARSITY BATTING STATS
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emma Reese | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lexi Sedei | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cameryn Mullaly | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brianna Yoder | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Cheyanne Hendershot | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Megan Hippley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nyah Fox | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brooklyn Campbell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reese Grisez | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 29 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
ALLIANCE AVIATORS SOFTBALL VARSITY PITCHING STATS
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emma Reese | 6.0 | 93 | .634 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Totals | 6.0 | 93 | .634 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS SOFTBALL VARSITY BATTING STATS
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenzi Denzer | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Matti Benson | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Brooke Brendle | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jenna Collins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brooke Haren | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kendra Thomas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| -Katie Heath | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matti Adams | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shelby Mayle | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Caitlin Thouvenin | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Olivia Mongiardo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 28 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS SOFTBALL VARSITY PITCHING STATS
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kendra Thomas | 4.2 | 54 | .685 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Katie Heath | 2.1 | 38 | .658 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 7.0 | 92 | .674 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Records: Louisville 4-5
