Louisville Blanked By Top-Seeded Jackson 6-0 in District Semifinals – Baseball

By Leopard Nation · Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 22, 2024

Louisville Leopards Baseball District Semifinals 2024

#1 Jackson 6, #11 Louisville 0

The #11 seed Louisville Leopards Baseball Team was shutout by the #1 seed Jackson Polar Bears 6-0 in the DI Macedonia District Semifinals Tuesday Evening at Nordonia’s Bernie Hovan Memorial Field. With the loss, Louisville finishes the season with a final record of 18-9.

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Polar Bears Pounce on Leopards Early

Jackson wasted no time in taking control of the game early with a 4-spot in the first inning. Carter Mottice and Layne Keller hit back-to-back singles to start the Polar Bear first with runners on the corners. Eric Freetage then grounded out to second driving in Mottice for the first run.

The next three Polar Bears registered two-out hits as Jackson quadrupled its advantage. Benson hit a hard hit ground ball up the middle that was field by Louisville second baseman Owen Burick. Burick went airborne making a tremendous throw to first base, but Benson was able to beat it out. Benson’s hustle brought Keller to the plate to make it 2-0 and kept the inning alive.

Wyatt Fether followed with a single to center on the next pitch to put runners on the corners once more. A passed ball allowed Benson to score and Fether to advance to second into scoring position. Kyle Andrews swapped places with Fether in the next at-bat with an RBI double to left field that put the Polar Bears in front 4-0.

Miller Strikes Out 4 in Relief for Louisville

Cole Miller took the mound of starting pitcher Zach Root in the second inning. He pitched 5 innings in relief, gave up 2 runs on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4. Miller held Jackson scoreless in 4 of the 5 innings he worked, which included retiring the side in order in the fourth and sixth innings.

Root took the loss for the Leopards, but still finishes with the most wins of any Louisville pitcher on the staff with a final record of 5-2.

Jackson Tacks on 2 More in the 5th

The Polar Bears continued to work their two out magic in the bottom of the fifth. Miller retired the first two batters in the inning on six pitches before surrendering a two-out double to Freetage. Freetage then advanced to third on a passed ball and Benson walked to put runners on the corners again for Jackson.

On the next pitch, Fether singled to left field with the runners in motion with two down. Freetage easily scored and Benson scooted around third scoring another run to make it 6-0. The run came just in time as Burick applied the tag on Fether, who was attempting to turn his base knock into a double, just seconds later. Left Fielder Bryce Graziani made the throw to Burick at second on the play.

Thiel Fans 8 in Win for Polar Bears

Starting pitcher Landon Thiel earned the victory on the mound for the Polar Bears. He worked 4 2/3 innings scoreless innings, allowed just 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 8.

Jeffrey Oister and Cole Baker also worked 2/3 of an inning each in scoreless relief. Carson Pastorius earned the save retiring the side in order in the seventh.

Leopards Leave 9 On Base

The Leopards had their chances. Louisville put a runner aboard in each of the first six innings and left nine on base in the process.

Root cracked a two-out single in the opening inning, but would get no further than first. Zander Triplett drew a lead-off walk in the second inning and stole second base. However, Thiel would strike out the side to end the frame.

Jakeb Beard earned a free pass with two outs in the third, but remained on first. Burick also cracked a two-out double to center field in the fourth, but he would be left in scoring position.

The Leopards put a pair board in the fifth inning. Tyler Paumier reached base on an infield error and advanced to second when Beard was hit by pitch with two outs. A fly out to left field ended the threat.

Louisville’s best chance to score came in the sixth inning. Miller and Triplett both walked on a total of 9 pitches to begin the inning. Zach Ganser chopped a single to short two batters later beating the throw to first. That loaded the bases with just one out. Baker came on in relief for Jackson to get out of the jam. A fly out to second and a line out to shortstop to end the inning would prove his outing successful.

Louisville Vs. Jackson Tournament History

The Leopards are now 1-4 against the Polar Bears all-time in the postseason since their first known meeting in the 1988 AAA Sectional Tournament. Louisville won that first tournament matchup 9-6 en route to a regional tournament run.

Jackson has now taken the last four tournament meetings in 1989, 2014, 2015, and 2024.

Date	Round	Location	W-L	Louisville	Jackson
5/4/1988	AAA Sectional Final	North Canton	W	9	6
5/17/1989	AAA Sectional Final	North Canton	L	1	3
5/16/2014	DI Sectional Final	Jackson	L	3	6
5/13/2015	DI Sectional Final	Jackson	L	2	3
5/21/2024	DI District Semifinal	Nordonia	L	0	6

The Polar Bears improve to 23-6 with the in and advance to take on the #12 seed GlenOak Golden Eagles in the DI Macedonia District Championship on Thursday, May 23 at 5:00 PM.

Leopards Enter New Tournament Era

Tuesday’s game likely closes the book on Louisville’s second stint in Division I. The OHSAA will be moving to seven divisions next year for baseball. This will likely land the Leopards in Division III.

Louisville went 2-4 in the Division I tournament from 2014-2017 before falling back to Division II. LHS re-entered Division I last season and went 3-2 during the last two postseasons with back-to-back trips to districts. The Leopards are now 5-6 in Division I tournament play all-time.

Louisville is now 54-52 in the postseason since 1972, which includes a 22-26 record when playing at a neutral site.

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