Lehigh University
Lafayette
Mountain Hawks fall short in league's tournament
5/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The afternoon began in a promising fashion for the Mountain Hawks, as senior shortstop Eric Hoffman led off the game with a solo homer to left field. The blast was Hoffman’s sixth of the season, and it fought through a stiff wind that wreaked havoc on play all afternoon at Doubleday Field.
The Mountain Hawks quickly regained the lead in the top of the second, when designated hitter Steve Salemme singled to center field, plating David Moscow with the go-ahead run. Lehigh added a run in the third when
In the fourth, senior Jeff Baker singled to start the frame, and Hoffman doubled. With runners at second and third and nobody out, John Zaszewski grounded out plating Baker, and catcher Matt McBride singled to left field, driving home Hoffman.
Lehigh was leading 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth, when
Lehigh did fight back, tying the score in the eighth inning. Salemme led off the inning with a perfectly-executed bunt down the third base line. Later in the frame, a Novalis sacrifice fly to right tied the score at 6-6.
The Leopards quickly squelched the Mountain Hawks’ momentum, however, with a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs and nobody on, the number eight hitter Craig Alexander smacked a double, and Eric Vacca singled home Alexander with what proved to be the winning run.
“We just didn’t execute today as well as we should have,” said a disappointed Lehigh head coach Sean Leary after the game. “We needed to put more runs on the board [early in the game], and our defense didn’t play the type of game we’re used to seeing.”
Lehigh committed two errors in the game defensively, while the offense stranded 12 runners on base. Sophomore Kyle Collina (2-4) was saddled with the loss.
Lehigh concludes its 2004 season with a 25-21 record. The 25 victories mark the second-most in the 119 year history of the program.
