Claugus Hits School Record 3 Home Runs in District Semifinal Shutout of Copley – Softball
#9 Louisville 7, #21 Copley 0
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The #9 seed Louisville Leopards Softball Team shut out the visiting #21 seed Copley Indians 7-0 in the DIII Northeast 4 District Semifinals Tuesday evening at West Main Vet Clinic Field. With the victory, Louisville evens its record at 14-14-1 on the season and advances to play the #6 seed Revere Minutemen in the District Championship Friday at 4:00 PM from the Jefferson Little League Sports Complex.
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Broadcast Courtesy of YSN Live
Claugus Belts Team Record 3 Home Runs to Lead Leopards
Lead-off batter Leah Claugus finished 3-for-4 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs to lead the Lady Leopards. Claugus set the tone early leading off the bottom of the first inning with a blast to center field. She later hit a 3-run bomb to right field in the fourth inning to help Louisville open up a 5-0 lead. Finally, Claugus led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a line drive shot over the fence in right field that extended the Leopard advantage to 7-0.
Claugus is the first Lady Leopard to hit three home runs in a single game. Previously, 12 different players had recorded two-homer games a combined 28 times. Claugus also had multi-homer games against Manchester and GlenOak already this season. This is her fourth multi-home run game overall and second in the postseason, as she hit two in the sectional final against Nordonia last season. The multi-home run game record is 5 accomplished by Matti Benson (2021-2024) and Grace Jackson (2013-2016). Claugus is the only player to have two multi-homer games in the postseason with only Kaycee Ollis and Shae Thomas accomplishing the feat once each in their 25-0 sectional final win over Akron Ellet in 2019.
Louisville Sets the Team Record for Most Home Runs in a Season
Claugus’ third round tripper was her tenth home run of the season joining Addy Campbell (14) and Bailee Griffith (11) in double digits. They are the first trio to have ten or more home runs each in team history.
Claugus’ final blast was the team’s 39th of the season—a new program record achieved in just 29 games. They surpassed the 2019 state championship team who finished with 38 dingers in 31 games.
Griffith Homers for Second Straight Game
Griffith finished 2-for-3 at the dish with solo homer to lead off the fifth inning that made the score 6-0. This is the second straight game Griffith has homered in, bringing her season total to 11.
Griffith began the season homering 9 times in 12 games before playing 14 straight games without going yard. However, she appears to be finishing the season just as she started—at the most critical time of year.
Miller Fans 10 in Second Straight Shutout
Starting pitcher Katelynn Miller threw another complete game shutout, allowing just 5 hits, walking 2, and striking out 10. Miller has now tossed 18 consecutive scoreless innings in the postseason dating back to last year’s district semifinal against Riverside.
Miller surrendered a lead-off double to Stella Backus to start the game, but retired the next three Indians batters striking out two of them. This began a string of 10 straight batters retired by Miller as she retired the side in order in the second and third inning.
Miller allowed a walk in the fourth, but the runner never left first base. Copley threatened with two runners aboard in the fifth, but induced a groundout to Taylor Thompson at first base on the very next pitch to end the frame. She also retired the side in order in the sixth inning.
The Indians’ greatest threat came in the bottom of the seventh when C Cunat, A Walker, and S Kaplack all singled to load the bases with no one out. All three runners would journey no further as Miller retired the next three batters to preserve the shutout and send Louisville to the district finals for the seventh time in team history. An infield fly, a strikeout looking, and a weak ground out to Thompson at first, a moment reminiscent of the final out in the state championship game, sealed the win.
Leopards Out-Hit Indians 9-5
The Leopards out-hit the Indians 9-5 for the game. After Claugus led off with a homer in the first, Anna Sirohman tripled two pitches later and came home on a sacrifice fly by Addy Campbell.
Louisville finished with six extra-base hits in the game. Thompson doubled to lead-off the bottom of the second inning for the Lady Leopards’ other extra-base hit. Destiny Hanze and Shae O’Neill also singled in the game.
Louisville Advances to 1st District Final Since 2019
Friday will mark Louisville’s first district title game appearance since 2019 when they defeated Lake 1-0 at the Eagles #190 Sports Complex. The Lady Leopards are 1-5 in district finals all-time finishing as runner-up twice in Division I (2013, 2018) and three times in Division II (2001, 2004, 2005).
Head Coach Emily Brislen is the first head coach in team history to reach the district championship in her first season. Jason Siegfried won a district title in his first year for baseball in 2009 and Penny DeShields advanced to the district championship game in her first year as head coach of Lady Leopards Volleyball in 1998.
This was the first district tournament game ever played at home in program history. Louisville has now enjoyed 22 consecutive home postseason victories dating back to 2001. The Lady Leopards are now 25-4 at home in the tournament all-time. Louisville is also 47-38 in the postseason all-time and will look to improve that mark when they play #6 seed Revere in the District Championship Friday.
<<< Vs. Bedford | Tournament History | Vs. Revere >>>
DIII Northeast Tournament
District Semifinal Scores
NORTHEAST 1
#7 Parma Heights Holy Name 5, #32 Youngstown Ursuline 1
#13 Tallmadge 8, #11 Chardon 5
NORTHEAST 2
#2 Boardman 10, #26 Geneva 0, 5 Innings
#14 Warren Howland 9, #28 Medina Highland 0
NORTHEAST 3
#8 Archbishop Hoban 12, #5 Akron Ellet 5
#15 Padua Franciscan 11, #17 Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 7
NORTHEAST 4
#6 Richfield Revere 10, #18 St. Vincent-St. Mary 0, 5 Innings
#9 Louisville 7, #21 Copley 0
NORTHEAST 5
#4 Uniontown Lake 5, #23 Willoughby South 2
#10 Gates Mills Gilmour Academy 6, #25 Grafton Midview 4
NORTHEAST 6
#1 Aurora 12, #31 Avon Lake 2, 5 Innings
#3 Canfield 9, #22 Westlake 2
District Final Schedule
Thursday, May 22
NORTHEAST 1 (at Jackson-Milton)
#7 Holy Name Vs. #13 Tallmadge, 5:00
NORTHEAST 2 (at Hubbard)
#2 Boardman Vs. #14 Warren Howland, 5:00
NORTHEAST 3 (at Norwayne)
#8 Archbishop Hoban Vs. #15 Padua Franciscan, 5:00
NORTHEAST 5 (at LaBrae)
#4 Lake Vs. #10 Gilmour Academy, 5:00
NORTHEAST 6 (at North Royalton)
#1 Aurora Vs. #3 Canfield, 5:00
Friday, May 23
NORTHEAST 4 (at Jefferson Little League Complex)
#6 Revere Vs. #9 Louisville, 4:00
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Copley at Louisville Box Score
LEOPARDS 7, INDIANS 0
Team 123-456-7–R-H-E
Copley 000-000=0–0-5-2
Louisville 200-311-X–7-9-0
COPLEY INDIANS BATTING
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stella Backus #19 (2B) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caroline Deagan #4 (P) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Addy Stewart #11 (1B) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jayce Collins #2 (CF) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Carmen Cunat #14 (LF) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alexis Walker #13 (SS) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Stella Kaplack #5 (P) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scarlett Backus #1 (3B) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Madison Maxwell #15 (RF) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| TEAM | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
COPLEY INDIANS PITCHING
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stella Kaplack #5 | 4.0 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Caroline Deagan #4 | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| TEAM | 6.0 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS BATTING
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leah Claugus #14 (CF) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Anna Sirohman #27 (3B) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Addy Campbell #4 (C) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bailee Griffith #6 (2B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Katelynn Miller #16 (P) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Taylor Thompson #22 (1B) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Destiny Hanze #9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| –Taylor Schneider #1 (RF) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shae O’Neill #99 (LF) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaitlin Twinem #8 (SS) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 27 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 5 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS PITCHING
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katelynn Miller #16 (W) | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| TEAM | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
