Softball Clinches 7th Straight Outright NBC Title, Finishes 21-7
Louisville 9, Marlington 2
The Louisville Leopards Varsity Softball Team avenged their only league loss of the season with a 9-2 victory over the host Marlington Dukes Monday. With the win, Louisville finishes the season with an overall record of 21-7 and a conference record of 13-1. The Lady Leopards have now won 7 consecutive Outright NBC Titles.
Kylie Zifer made the most of her final high school game by batting 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBIs to lead Louisville. She finished just a single short of completing the cycle. Zifer doubled home Leandra Givens in the second inning, tripled in Peyton McKeever in the fourth, and blasted a solo home run to left in the sixth that landed just in front of the famous Marlington Horse Statue. For Zifer, it was her third home run in as many games and her fifth dinger of the season.
Emily Cantley also hit her fifth homer of the season earlier in the third inning. Her towering blast to center banged into the outer fence of the distant Marlington Football Stadium on one bounce. The Leopards finish the season with a team record 33 home runs. Cantley would finish with 2 runs scored and also singled in Katie Cozy in the sixth inning. Cozy tripled down the right field line in the at-bat before.
In the circle, Morgan Harris pitched a complete game and struck out 5 to earn the victory for Louisville. She finishes the season with an 11-4 record.
Lexi Givens also finished 2-for-4 and set the tone early with a clutch 2-out, 2-run double to right field in the opening inning. Grace Jackson also had an RBI double in the fourth for the Leopards.
With the win, Louisville has now defeated Marlington in 11 of their last 12 meetings. The all-time series is now tied 28-28 overall, with the Dukes holding a 14-13 edge on their home field. The Lady Leopards have now completed six straight season without a road NBC loss, winning 42 straight conference away games overall. Their last road league loss came at Marlington exactly 6 years ago on May 18, 2009 by a count of 10-0.
Louisville is now tied with Akron Springfield for the most NBC Softball Titles with 8. If you calculate shared titles as half then the Lady Leopards have 7 1/2 crowns compared to the Spartans who have 7. View Full History of NBC Softball Champions
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