South vs. Massillon Perry softball regional championship preview

South vs. Massillon Perry

What: Division I regional championship

When: noon, May 26

On deck: The winner advances to the Division I state semifinal round to play the winner of the Columbus Regional between Teays Valley (23-3) and Olentangy (19-11) at 5:30 p.m. May 31 at Akron Firestone Stadium.

South’s path: Def. Brush, 17-3, def. North, 10-4, def. Madison, 12-6, def. Canfield, 4-2

Massillon Perry’s path: Def. Massillon Washington, 6-0, def. North Canton Hoover, 4-0, def. Louisville, 9-0, def. Brunswick, 11-0

For the record: The Rebels (23-6) are looking for their first state final four bid in program history. To reach that mark, they are going to have to overcome a team and pitcher that have not given up a run through four postseason games. Massillon Perry has outscored its postseason opposition, 30-0. Starting pitcher Payton Gottshall enters the game 14-2 with a 0.83 ERA, having struck out 167 batters in 101 innings. The report on Gottshall is that she throws a myriad of pitches at different speeds to keep batters off balance. ... South bats .405 as a team, but so did Brunswick, which Perry buried, 11-0, in a regional semifinal. Riley Frizell (.521, 8HR, 44 RBI) had two RBI hits in the semifinal win over Canfield, while leadoff hitter Mya Matriano (.445) collected three hits. There is some good power in the South lineup with Ava Scott, Kenna Matriano and Frizell. On the mound, University of Missouri recruit Frizell is 14-3 with 103 strikeouts in 114 innings. ... Perry bats .526 as a team, so Frizell will be working toward shutting down a very potent offense in its own right. Alycia Cunningham (.608, 5 HR, 22 RBI), Sunshine Armstrong(.600, 17 RBI) and Missy Holzopfel (.600, 3 HR, 14 RBI) lead the potent Perry offense. ... As good as South’s offense is, this game very well could come down to Frizell’s pitching and the Rebels’ defense.

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