Louisville Takes Opener at Tuslaw 5-1 – Softball
Louisville 5, Tuslaw 1
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The Louisville Leopards Varsity Softball Team opened the season with a 5-1 road victory over the host Tuslaw Mustangs Monday Evening at Tuslaw High School.
Cover Photo By The Louisville Herald
Schneider Fans 9 in Victorious Debut
Freshman starting pitcher Taylor Schneider pitched a complete game, struck out 9, and earned the victory in her varsity debut.
The only run Schneider allowed was unearned in the bottom half of the opening inning. Senior catcher Kylie Johnson cracked a 2-out double to left field that scored sophomore first baseman Isabel McCune from second base. McCune led off the inning with a single and advanced to second base via an error prior to that.
Schneider bounced back by retiring the next seven Mustangs batters to come to the dish. This included striking out the side in the third. Schneider allowed just 5 hits for the game and shutout Tuslaw over the course of the final six innings.
Leopards Pounce on Mustangs Early
The Leopards wasted no time in getting on the board to start the new season. Sophomore second baseman Kaitlin Twinem opened the first inning with a pop single to left field before stealing second and third base. Sophomore third baseman Anna Sirohman then drove Twinem home with a pop single that found the dirt in front of the second baseman to give Louisville the early lead.
Two batters later, senior first baseman Kenzi Denzer hit a 2-out single to right center field. Sirohoman advanced to third on the play and then scored on an errant throw to put LHS ahead 2-0.
Benson Doubles Twice for Louisville
The Leopards added to their advantage with three more runs in the fourth inning. Sophomore catcher Addy Campbell reached base on an error before being replaced by junior courtesy runner Olivia Mongiardo. Two batters later, left fielder Leah Claugus singled home Mongiardo with a two-out single to left center to make it 3-1 Louisville.
Twinem recorded her second single of the game in the next at-bat and the two base runners landed on second and third after an error. Senior shortstop Matti Benson followed with a 2-run double down the left field line that plated Claugus and Twinem to give the Leopards a commanding 5-1 advantage.
Benson would finish 2-for-3 for the game as she recorded another double to lead off the seventh inning. Denzer also finished 2-for-3 for the game and junior center fielder Brooke Haren had the only other extra base hit with a double in the sixth inning.
Louisville Vs. Tuslaw Softball Series
The Leopards have now won 5 straight meetings over the Mustangs dating back to 2017. Louisville now leads the all-time series 5-1 overall, which includes a 1-1 record when playing at Tuslaw in the series.
The Leopards lost their only other meeting to the Mustangs played at Tuslaw back on April 30, 1990. The Lady Mustangs prevailed in that contest 5-2.
<<< Previous 2023 | Tuslaw All-Time Series
UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards will next host the Akron Ellet Orangemen in their home opener on Thursday, March 28. Game time is set for 5:00 PM from West Main Vet Clinic Field.
Louisville at Tuslaw Softball Box Score
LEOPARDS 5, MUSTANGS 1
Team 123-456-7–R-H-E
Louisville 200-300-0–5-9-1
Tuslaw 100-000-0–1-5-3
Records: Louisville 1-0
