Lady Leopards Earn 2nd Ever Win at Hoover 7-3 – Softball
#9 Louisville 7, #14 North Canton Hoover 3
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The #9 ranked Louisville Leopards Softball Team defeated the host #14 ranked North Canton Hoover Vikings 7-3 Thursday Evening at Goodpasture Stadium. With the victory, the Lady Leopards have now won 6 of their last 7 and now sit at 19-3 on the season.
Sirohman Helps Her Own Cause in Victory
Louisville starting pitcher Anna Sirohman pitched four shutout innings before being lifted in the fifth inning. She would work 4 2/3 innings surrendering 3 runs, 6 hits, and a walk while striking out 3. Only one of the runs Sirohman surrendered was earned as she would go on to earn the victory to improve her perfect mark to 4-0 on the season.
Sirohman also help her own cause at the plate going 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring a run in the fourth, and driving home another run in the fifth as LHS built a 6-0 advantage.
Miller Shuts Down Hoover to Earn Save
Katelyn Miller came on in relief with two outs in the fifth inning to help preserve the Lady Leopards lead. Miller walked D Shannon to load the bases before getting M Rennecker to pop out two pitches later to end the frame.
Miller would end up retiring the final seven Hoover batters she faced to notch the save. She struck out the side in the sixth and also retired the side in order in the seventh. Miller would finish with 2 1/3 hitless and scoreless innings pitched, issued just the one walk, and struck out 4 to earn her team best third save of the season.
Leopards Pounce on Vikings Early
Matti Benson cracked a 1-out triple in the opening frame to put Louisville in position to take the early advantage. Bailee Griffith followed and reached on an error after her shallow pop fly found the ground and brought home Benson from third.
Neither team would have a base runner reach second base over the next five half innings as the Lady Leopards clung to their 1-0 lead heading into the fourth.
Louisville Takes 6-0 Advantage
Louisville added five more runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a commanding 6-0 lead.
Sirohman singled to lead off the fourth and Kenzi Denzer followed with a double to right field to put them both into scoring position. Leah Claugus bunted back to the pitcher in the next at-bat. The pitcher looked to throw home, but Sirohman was already sliding in safely to make it 2-0. The hesitation allowed Claugus to easily beat the throw to first and she advanced to second soon after with no one covering the bag.
Two batters later, Olivia Mongiardo laid down a short sacrifice bunt to the left side of the infield. She was thrown out at first but Denzer bolted for home as soon as the throw as made. The second baseman’s throw back to the plate cleared the catcher’s glove all the way to the backstop. Claugus rounded third, sprinted home, and slid safely across the plate to make it 4-0 Leopards.
Louisville continued to add on to their lead in the fifth. Benson and Griffith opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Sirohman singled to center field driving in Benson from third. Denzer then drove home Griffith on a fielder’s choice to up the Leopard advantage to 6-0.
Hoover Cuts LHS Lead in Half
North Canton answered back with 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lucia Granito doubled home Emmy Fankhauser to get the Vikings on the board. Later with two outs, Ella Letosky reached on an error bringing home Granito. Sadie Carroll followed with an RBI single scoring Josie Westfall to cut the Hoover deficit to 6-3.
Miller came out of the bullpen after that and the Vikings didn’t cross the plate again.
Claugus Records 2nd RBI to Make It 7-3
Louisville would tack on one additional insurance run in the top of the seventh. Addy Campbell hit a 1-out single to left field to get things started in the frame for the Leopards. She was then substituted for courtesy runner Chay Cline. Sirohman followed with a single to advance Cline into scoring position. Two batters later, Claugus delivered a 2-out RBI single to center scoring Cline from second base to put LHS ahead 7-3.
Claugus would finish 1-for-3 with a game best 2 RBIs on the evening.
Leopards Out-Hit Vikings 11-6
The Leopards out-hit the Vikings 11-6 for the contest as each of Louisville’s first seven batters recorded a base hit. Benson and Denzer both finished 2-for-4 at the plate to join Sirohman with multi-hit games.
Hoover was also led in hitting by their pitcher Summer McCaw who went 2-for-3 for the game.
Most Lopsided Win Over Hoover in Team History
The 4-run margin is the most the Lady Leopards have ever won by over the Lady Vikings in the 40 season history of the rivalry. Louisville defeated Hoover 6-3 in 1988, 3-0 in 2018, and 8-5 in their previous meeting in 2022.
North Canton leads the all-time series 41-8 overall with half of those Lady Leopards victories coming since 2018. The loss snaps the Vikings three-game winning streak as they drop to 12-5 on the season.
Louisville’s Second Victory at Hoover All-Time
This is just the second time in team history that Louisville has won a game on the road at North Canton Hoover. The Vikings have dominated the series on their home diamond 24-2 overall with the Lady Leopards falling in the first 22 of those trips to North Canton.
The only other time Louisville won at Hoover was a 2-0 shutout on April 17, 2019. Forty-six days later that Lady Leopards team was hoisting the ultimate prize at Firestone Stadium.
<<< Previous 2022 | Hoover All-Time Series
UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards will next host the Lake Blue Streaks on Friday, May 3 for Senior Night. Senior introductions will take place beforehand with first pitch slated for 5:00 PM from West Main Vet Clinic Field.
Cover Photo By The Louisville Herald
Softball Box Score
LEOPARDS 7, VIKINGS 3
Records: Louisville 19-3, North Canton Hoover 11-5
