Louisville Falls to Boardman 3-1, Finishes as Regional Runners-Up – Softball
#2 Boardman 3, #9 Louisville 1
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The #9 seed Louisville Leopards Softball Team fell to the #2 seed Boardman Spartans 3-1 in the Division III, Region 11 Final on a brisk and blustery Saturday afternoon at Kent State’s Devine Diamond. With the loss, the Lady Leopards conclude their season with a final record of 16-15-1 and finish as Region 11 Regional Runners-Up in their first year in Division III.
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Leopards Strike First on Miller’s RBI Single
Louisville wasted no time getting on the board, capitalizing in the bottom of the first inning. Anna Sirohman singled to left for the Lady Leopards’ first baserunner and Addy Campbell followed with a fielder’s choice for the second out of the inning. Olivia Mongiardo replaced Campbell as a courtesy runner and advanced into scoring position when Bailee Griffith drew a four-pitch walk.
Then Katelynn Miller delivered an RBI single to left that plated Mongiardo, that helped her own cause in putting the Lady Leopards in front 1-0.
Miller Dazzles Through Four, Takes No-Hitter Into Fifth
Miller was equally dominant in the circle through the first four innings and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Alex Ward reached on an error to lead-off the second inning for Boardman’s only baserunner through the first four innings.
Miller struck out four, walked just one, and scattered six hits across seven innings in another complete-game effort. The defense backed her up with crisp play early, including a pair of flyouts to centerfielder Leah Claugus and a defensive gem by Kaitlin Twinem on a groundout to shortstop in the fourth inning that kept the Spartans with zeros across the board.
Miller’s no-hit bid ended in the fifth on a two-out double by Kenzie Cherne, but she stranded the runner to maintain the 1-0 lead into the sixth.
Boardman Comes Alive Late to Steal the Win
The Spartans finally broke through in the top of the sixth. Tori Strines sparked the Boardman rally with a 1-out double off the fence in far right field. Two pitches earlier, Strines fouled a ball off her left foot, hit the ground, and rolled onto her back in pain. The senior pitcher shook it off, banged her bat hard against the ground twice, and stepped back into the batter’s box. Strines took ball three on the next pitch that just missed the outside corner. She belted the next pitch off the blue fence screen near the 190’ marking to put herself into scoring position.
Ava Freeborough singled in the next at-bat to put runners on first and third. Then Strines came home on a sacrifice fly to left by Addie Rudge to tie the game. Moments later, Ward laced an RBI single to center to bring in Freeborough and give Boardman a 2-1 lead.
The Spartans also tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Laci Jurus singled to left to score pinch runner Lanie Joyce, extending the Spartans’ lead to 3-1.
Strines Leads Spartans to First State Tournament Trip
Louisville went down in order in the final frame as Boardman celebrated its first-ever trip to the state tournament.
After surrendering a run in a shaky first inning, Strines settled in to retire 19 of the final Lady Leopard batters she faced. Sirohman drew a walk in the third inning and Campbell laced a bloop single to right-center field between defenders as the only Louisville baserunners in the final six innings. Strines retired the side in order in the second, fourth, and seventh innings.
Strines struck out eight in a complete game effort, while allowing just three hits and two walks. She also led the Spartans at the plate with two of their six hits, including the double that got the Boardman rally started.
The Spartans are now 25-4 on the season with the victory. Boardman will take on Holland Springfield in the state semifinals on Friday, June 6 at 12:30 PM.
The Leopards are now 1-2 against the Spartans all-time. Louisville won at Boardman 9-4 in 2021 and were also blanked on the road 6-0 by the Spartans earlier this season on March 25.
<<< Previous 2025 | Boardman All-Time Series
Brislen Becomes First Rookie Coach to Advance to Regional Final
Head Coach Emily Brislen is the first coach in Louisville Athletics history to lead a team to a regional final in their debut season. As a side note, Leopard Wrestling head coach Micah Kullman won an equivalent OHSWCA Dual Team Wrestling District Title in his first year advancing the Leopards to the state tournament that was comprised of eight teams (they finished fourth in the state). However, in terms of OHSAA sanctioned sports Brislen is the only one.
Lady Leopards Tournament History
The Lady Leopards have won 15 out of their last 20 tournament games overall since 2019. Louisville now holds a 49-39 overall record in the postseason, which includes a 4-1 record in Division III and a 13-17 record when playing at a neutral venue. To put it into perspective, the Lady Leopards were 34-34 all-time in tournament play prior to 2019 and now they are ten games over .500 in the postseason.
The four tournament wins are the second most all-time in a single postseason and the Elite Eight marks the second-deepest run in Louisville Softball history, trailing only the 2019 state championship team.
<<< Vs. Gilmour Academy | Tournament History
The Bright Future of Louisville Softball
The Lady Leopards set a team record by playing 32 games this season, eclipsing the mark of 31 set by the 2019 state championship team. Claugus, Miller, Shae O’Neill, and Anna Sirohman played all 32 games setting a new club record. This experience, especially in the postseason, will bode well for Louisville softball in the coming years as every starter was an underclassman.
The 2025 Lady Leopards went 12-14-1 in the regular season playing the toughest schedule in Division III according to MaxPreps. They won on the road at Perry and Jackson, who just won regional championships, defeated Green, who was a regional finalist, and downed district champions Archbishop Hoban and Warren Champion.
In the tournament Louisville set a team record for runs scored defeating Bedford 33-0 to open the postseason. They then shutout Copley 7-0 in their first-ever district tournament home game. They then upset #6 seed Revere 10-7 to capture their second district title in team history. Then at regionals, they rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat #8 state-ranked Gilmour Academy 8-7 and advance to the regional final.
Their run ends one win shy of a return to Firestone Stadium, home of the state tournament. With nearly the entire roster returning—including three sophomore starting pitchers—the future blazes bright for Louisville Softball.
DIII Softball Tournament
DIII Regional Finals
Friday, May 30
REGION 9 (at Miami Softball Stadium)
Mount Orab Western Brown 6, Greenville 2
REGION 12 (at Shelby)
Holland Springfield 6, Mansfield Madison Comprehensive 5
Saturday, May 31
REGION 10
(at Pickerington Central High School)
Dover 13, Carroll Bloom-Carroll 2
REGION 11 (at Kent State’s Devine Diamond)
#2 Boardman 3, #9 Louisville 1
DIII State Semifinals
(Akron Firestone Stadium)
Friday, June 6
Mount Orab Western Brown Vs. Dover, 10:00
Holland Springfield Vs. #2 Boardman, 12:30
DIII State Championship
(Akron Firestone Stadium)
Saturday, June 7
State Championship, 8:00
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Louisville Vs. Boardman Softball Box Score
SPARTANS 3, LEOPARDS 1
Team 123-4567—R-H-E
Boardman 000-002-1—3-6-0
Louisville 100-000-0—1-3-2
BOARDMAN VARSITY SPARTANS BATTING
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tori Strines #9 (P) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ava Freeborough #11 (2B) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Addie Rudge #31 (C) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alex Ward #15 (3B) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mikayla Rivera #2 (SS) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ellie Wymer #4 (RF) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenzie Cherne #3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| –Lanie Joyce #7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jocelynn Torres #44 (LF) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| –Gabi Sferra #5 (LF) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Laci Jurus #13 (CF) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 28 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
BOARDMAN VARSITY SPARTANS PITCHING
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tori Strines #9 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| TEAM | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS BATTING
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leah Claugus #14 (CF) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Anna Sirohman #27 (3B) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Addy Campbell #4 (C) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| –Olivia Mongiardo #15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bailee Griffith #6 (2B) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| –Lila Tibbits #29 (2B) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Katelynn Miller #16 (P) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Shae O’Neill #99 (LF) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Destiny Hanze #9 (1B) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Taylor Schneider #1 (RF) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kaitlin Twinem #8 (SS) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 24 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS PITCHING
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katelynn Miller #16 | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| TEAM | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
