Lehigh University
James Madison
Lehigh defeats James Madison to win title
3/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Harrisonburg, VA – Freshman Heather Hamasaki tossed seven innings, six scoreless, en route to a 3-1 victory for Lehigh over James Madison in the championship game of the Dukes Invitational Softball Tournament at the JMU Softball Complex on Sunday afternoon. With the victory Lehigh improves to 17-6-1 on the season, and is currently riding a three-game winning streak. The Dukes fall to 12-15 on the year.
Hamasaki yielded four hits, struck out seven, and took a shutout into the seventh inning before surrendering the Dukes’ lone run. Senior Shana Treon led off the game for Lehigh with a double to left-center field. Freshman Whitney Schenbeck’s sacrifice bunt advanced Treon to third base. Treon scored on freshman Lauren Haney’s two-out single to center field two batters later giving the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead. In the seventh inning, junior Jessica Young singled to center field triggering a two-run outburst for the Mountain Hawks. Senior Elizabeth Gripp plated Young with an RBI single and scored on the next at-bat as Schenbeck singled to left field, making the score 3-0. James Madison staged a late-game comeback when junior Liz George’s one-out single to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning scored freshman pinch-runner Katherine Schray from third base, loading the bases for the Dukes. However, Hamaski closed out the game by retiring JMU’s next two batters, clinching the tournament championship for the Mountain Hawks. Sophomore Briana Carrera suffered the loss for James Madison hurling 6.1 innings, allowing three runs and striking out seven. Lehigh returns to action on Wednesday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Newark, DE, to take on Delaware in a doubleheader. The first game is slated to begin at 2:30.
