Denzer Hits 3-Run Walk-Off as Louisville Stuns #1 Ursuline – Softball
Louisville 9, #1 Youngstown Ursuline 8
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The Louisville Leopards Varsity Softball Team rallied with 5 runs in the bottom of the seventh to stun the previously unbeaten DIII #1 ranked Youngstown Ursuline Fighting Irish 9-8 Saturday at West Main Vet Clinic Field. With the victory, the Lady Leopards improve to 12-11 on the season heading into tournament play.
Louisville Rallies with 5 Runs in the 7th
It appeared Louisville was going to head into tournament play with a losing record trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the defending DI State Champions had other plans. Freshman shortstop Matti Benson walked on five pitches to start the frame. Then senior centerfielder Kaylee Nolte cut the deficit in half with a 2-run homer to centerfield. The home run was her third of the season and the 7th of her varsity career.
The Lady Leopards continued to rally as both senior first baseman Lauren Stillwagon and junior designated hitter Jenna Collins cracked back-to-back singles. Both were replaced by pinch-runners Stevie Barrett and MaKenzie Miller who were making their varsity debuts. Electing to put the tying run into scoring position, junior left fielder Katie Porter laid down a sacrifice bunt and was tagged out advancing to first for the first out of the inning. Barrett and Miller advanced to second and third respectively as a result of the sacrifice.
Denzer Hits Walk-Off for 1st Career Homer
Freshman third baseman Kenzie Denzer came to the plate next and didn’t waste any time. She got the pitch she wanted and crushed a 3-run walk-off home run over the center field fence to lift Louisville to their improbable comeback victory and hand #1 ranked Youngstown Ursuline their first loss of the season. The homer was the first of Denzer’s varsity career as she became the seventh different Lady Leopard to clear the fences this season.
Lady Leopards Rally from 3-0 Deficit
Louisville foreshadowed their own comeback by rallying from a 3-0 deficit earlier in the game. The Lady Leopards used a 4-run bottom of the third to take their first lead of the contest. Benson kickstarted the comeback with a 1-out RBI double to center field that plated the courtesy runner in Miller to get LHS on the scoreboard.
With two outs, Stillwagon and Collins smashed back-to-back home runs to left field to put Louisville in front 4-3. Stillwagon’s 2-run homer also plated Benson as she recorded her team best 29th RBI of the season and 5th home run of the year. Collins followed with a solo shot to mark her third home run of the season and more importantly give LHS the lead. With the 4 home runs hit against Ursuline, the Lady Leopards have now left the yard 20 times this year.
Four Different Irish Homer
The Fighting Irish did not shy away from hitting the long ball either as they belted 4 home runs to build leads of 3-0 and 8-4. Third baseman Paige Ogden put Ursuline on the board first with a 1-out solo homer to left field in the top of the first inning.
Later in the fourth inning, shortstop Marisa Barbato smacked a 2-out, 2-run homer to put the Irish back in front a 5-4. Finally, first baseman Julia Nutter and pitcher/first baseman Emily Holland added back-to-back solo shots to left field in the top of the fifth to extend Ursuline’s advantage to 7-4.
Ursuline Builds 3-0 and 8-4 Leads
Holland would finish 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs to lead the Lady Irish. In addition to her solo homer, Holland hit a 2-out, 2-run double in the top of the third to put Ursuline in front 3-0.
The Fighting Irish’s final run also came via a non-homered pitch. Ogden doubled on a line drive to center scoring Barbato from second. That gave UHS a commanding 8-4 lead in the top of the sixth.
Collins and Stillwagon Register Multi-Hit Games
Ursuline out-hit Louisville 11-9 for the game. Barbato would also finish 3-for-4 for the Fighting Irish, while Nutter and Ogden recorded 2 hits a piece for UHS. Collins and Stillwagon both registered multi-hit games for the Leopards by going 2-for-4 each.
LHS senior pitcher Cloie Ensley recorded her eighth win of the season in the circle after finishing off the final four innings in relief.
This was the first ever meeting between these two programs. .
UP NEXT: The Louisville Leopards Softball Team will next host the #29 Seed Canton McKinley Bulldogs in the DI Massillon Sectional Semifinals on Monday, May 10 at 5:00 PM.
Photos
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VARSITY SOFTBALL BOX SCORE
LEOPARDS 9, FIGHTING IRISH 8
Team 123-456-7–R-H-E
Ursuline 102-221-0–8-11-0
Louisville 004-000-5–9-9-1
URSULINE IRISH SOFTBALL VARSITY BATTING STATS
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maris Barbato | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Paige Ogden | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Alyssa Sheely | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Julia Nutter | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Emily Holland | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Madelyn Miklandric | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Layni Bednar | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mia Opalick | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liza Barbato | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 33 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
URSULINE IRISH SOFTBALL VARSITY PITCHING STATS
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Holland | 3.0 | 55 | .618 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Paige Ogden | 3.1 | 42 | .690 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | 6.1 | 97 | .649 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS SOFTBALL VARSITY BATTING STATS
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matti Benson | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kaylee Nolte | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Lauren Stillwagon | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Stevie Barrett | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jenna Collins | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| MaKenzie Miller | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Katie Porter | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kenzi Denzer | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Shelby Mayle | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kat Frase | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Brooke Brendle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brooke Haren | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cloie Ensley | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Brooklyn Shilling | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Kendra Thomas | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 26 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS SOFTBALL VARSITY PITCHING STATS
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kendra Thomas | 3.0 | 37 | .649 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cloie Ensley | 4.0 | 54 | .667 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 7.0 | 91 | .659 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Records: Louisville 12-11, Youngstown Ursuline 18-1
