Lehigh University
George Washington
Ling's no-hitter highlights Lehigh's sweep of GW
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Washington, DC – The Mountain Hawks got their season off on the right foot Saturday at George Washington, sweeping the Colonials in a doubleheader. Junior pitcher Emily Ling (1-0) no-hit George Washington in the first game, striking out 10 as Lehigh won the game 8-0. In the second game, the teams played three extra innings before Lehigh erupted for eight runs in the ninth to win 11-3. The Mountain Hawks begin the season 2-0, while George Washington falls to 0-2.
In the first game Ling was unstoppable, allowing only two baserunners, one via walk and one by error. Mary Weider and Kelly Kliewer each had a couple hits, with Weider driving in two and Kliewer scoring two. The Mountain Hawks took advantage of the wildness of Colonial pitcher Gabby Culp (0-2), who walked seven batters in addition to giving up six hits.
In the second game, freshman Heather Hamasaki continued the hot pitching for Lehigh, striking out ten in 5 hitless innings. Kate Arico relieved her and gave up a pair of runs, and at the end of six it was tied at 2-2. Each team pushed a run across in the eighth to make it 3-3, and then things got out of hand in the ninth.
Erin Hengemuhle executed a perfect squeeze to score Jessica Young for what eventually was the game-winner, making it 4-3, but then the floodgates opened and Lehigh tacked on seven more in the inning to put the game out of reach. Arico (1-0) was credited with the win, while Culp took the loss for George Washington.
Head coach Fran Troyan was happy to get the season underway. “It was great to finally get out onto a field,” said Troyan. “We got to see where we are at in terms of pitching and defense, and got some ideas of what we need to be working on. We have a lot of work ahead, but obviously it is nice to be leaving with two wins on the afternoon. I was also very happy for Emily (Ling). She worked extremely hard over the off-season and it was nice to see her rewarded for her effort.”
Lehigh will continue its season when they travel to
