Louisville Takes Down Defending State Champion Perry 8-3 – Softball
Louisville 8, Perry 3
The Louisville Leopards Varsity Softball Team rewrote the script in their District Championship rematch with the Perry Panthers Saturday. Louisville earned an 8-3 road victory over defending state champion Perry on the campus of Pfeiffer Intermediate School to improve to 7-2 on the season.
Alex Fankhauser and Teagan Rice both drove in 3 runs a piece to lead the Lady Leopards. Fankhauser batted 2-for-3 with a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning to put Louisville ahead 4-3. She later blasted a 2-run homer to center in the seventh inning to put Louisville ahead 6-3.
Rice led the team in hits by finishing 3-for-4 at the dish. Her RBI double in the fourth inning knotted the game at 3-3 after the Panthers had snatched the lead back on a pair of homers in the previous frame. Rice also hit a 2-out, 2-run single in the seventh inning to put a few more nails in the coffin and give the Leopards an 8-3 advantage.
Louisville Pitcher Sarah Cantley struck out 5 and earned the victory to improve to 5-1 on the year. Cantley gave up 3 runs on 4 hits to start the contest including a pair of home runs to begin the the third inning. After surrendering the lead, Cantley settled in to retire the next 13 Perry batters and allowed just a single base runner the rest of the way. She retired the side in order in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings as the Leopards offense came alive to recapture the lead.
Nine different Louisville batters had hits in the content as they pounded out 16 hits as a team. Batterymates Cantley and Catcher Kaycee Ollis each recorded a pair of hits and gave the Leopards the early lead with a pair of RBI doubles in the opening frame. Ollis would finish with 2 of LHS’s 5 doubles as a team. Kaylee Nolte and Lexi Zavarelle also finished 2-for-4 at the plate for the Lady Leopards who managed just 3 hits in the District Championship game against the Panthers a season ago.
Perry got on the board in the second inning Kailee Wilson singled home Payton Gottshall. The Panthers led off the second inning with back-to-back jacks from Rylee Pireu and Madison Snyder to take a 3-2 advantage. Maddie Johnston also registered 2 of Perry’s 5 hits.
With the victory, the Lady Leopards have taken 3 out of the last 4 from the Lady Panthers and the last 4 regular season meetings overall. Perry still leads the all-time series 25-11.
Game Photos
Cover Photo By Jim & Laura Photography
View & Purchase Louisville Leopards Game Photos on the Jim & Laura Photography Website
VARSITY SOFTBALL BOX SCORE
LEOPARDS 8, PANTHERS 3
Team 123-456-7–R-H-E
Louisville 200-110-4–8-16-0
Perry 012-000-0–3-5-2
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS SOFTBALL VARSITY BATTING STATS
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney McKeever | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Teagan Rice | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Kaycee Ollis | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kaylee Nolte | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sarah Cantley | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Fankhauser | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Shae Thomas | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Justina Sirohman | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lexi Zavarelle | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lauren Bennett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Katie Porter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashley Zifer | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 34 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 7 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS SOFTBALL VARSITY PITCHING STATS
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Cantley | 7.0 | 101 | .683 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 7.0 | 101 | .683 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
PERRY PANTHERS SOFTBALL VARSITY BATTING STATS
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R Pireu | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| M Snyder | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| M Holzopfel | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P Gottshall | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| A Cunningham | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| G Durieux | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M Johnston | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K Wilson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| K Dietrick | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L Williams | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 26 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
PERRY PANTHERS SOFTBALL VARSITY PITCHING STATS
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Holzopfel | 5.0 | 104 | .635 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| P Gottshall | 2.0 | 50 | .620 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Totals | 7.0 | 154 | .630 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
Records: Louisville 7-2
