Freshman Leah Claugus launches two home runs to lead Louisville softball to tournament win

LOUISVILLE — Avoid Matti Benson at your own risk.

That was the clear message the Louisville softball team sent to future opponents in its Division I tournament opener on Wednesday. The end result was an impressive 11-1 win by the Leopards over Nordonia in a Division I, Northeast 1 sectional final.

Nordonia made the mistake of pitching around Benson early in the game. The Knights walked Benson twice, which ended up setting up the two biggest hits of the game for Louisville.

"A lot of teams do that," Louisville coach Kristen Miller said. "The girls behind Matti get excited by that this year. They take it a little bit personally. They get fired up and they go to bat with the mindset of making teams pay for it."

Freshman Leah Claugus was the Leopard who made the Knights pay on this day — with interest. Claugus crushed two three-run home runs, and one was so far out of the park it nearly hit the windshield of a vehicle parked in the lot beyond the outfield fence.

"When they were pitching around Matti today I just kept thinking, 'You don't have any idea what is waiting for you behind her right now,'" Miller said. "Leah is not an ordinary freshman. She's been hitting so well that we keep moving her up in the lineup. We just moved her to the five spot a couple games ago."

It's been a fast rise for Claugus, who began the year as the number nine hitter before playing her way into the middle of the lineup.

"I've just been trying to do what I can to help the team out," Claugus said. "It feels good to have this kind of game. I was a little nervous coming in because this was my first tournament game. It's the type of thing that will really help my nerves going forward."

It's still understandable why teams would want to avoid dealing with Benson. The University of Maryland recruit can do immense damage with her bat. Nordonia did all it could to prevent that. Benson ended up going 1 for 1 with an infield single and two walks against the Knights. She scored two runs thanks to the home runs by Claugus.

"She's just an awesome player," Miller said. "I like to call Matti the triple threat — she can beat you with her bat, her glove or her speed. She's also a tremendous leader for us."

This is arguably by far the best Louisville team Benson has had around her. The Leopards improved to 20-4 and have high hopes heading into the district tournament next week at Mentor.

"I'm so proud of my teammates," Benson said. "This is probably the best team we've had in my career. I'm super excited to see where we go together in the tournament. I think the thing that is clear is I have back-up this year. I have great players like Leah, Bailee (Griffith), Kaitlin (Twinem) and Anna (Sirohman) with me. We have so many players that are capable of stepping up for us."

Many of the young players like Claugus look to Benson for her experience and leadership. She has had a simple message for them for this tournament run.

"I've been stressing to just go out and have fun," Benson said. "This is a game. It's not a job. Just go out and enjoy every moment of this."

Louisville looks poised to accomplish big things, and it will look to take the next step at 5 p.m. Monday at Mentor High School. Don't expect the Leopards to be caught looking ahead.

"We are very much taking things one game at a time," Miller said. "We aren't looking past anybody. Everything we have worked toward this season is for this moment. We don't have a league championship to play for. This is it. I feel good about our progress. We are peaking at the right time."

Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com

On X: @chickmanREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Leah Claugus leads Louisville softball to sectional tournament win