Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh continues to roll, tops Delaware St.
9/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dover, DE – The Mountain Hawks scored eight times in the fifth inning, as they cruised to a 13-8 win over host Delaware State at Solider Field on Thursday afternoon. Lehigh has now won five contests in a row, and is off to its best start (10-6-1) since the 1984 campaign, when the team won ten games in a row, finishing with a 20-9 record and an East Coast Conference title. Thursday’s loss drops the Hornets mark to 16-12 on the season.
Lehigh jumped on top 2-0 in the top of the first, when a Jeff Pietrak single to left field plated Eric Hoffman and Justin Pagan. DSU responded with a run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-1 game. The Hornets tied the score in the fourth inning, when a fielder’s choice plated the tying run.
The Mountain Hawks took advantage of several Hornet miscues to blow the game open in the fifth inning. After Hoffman doubled in Anthony Piccola to give Lehigh a 3-2 lead, Justin Pagan reached on an error, putting Mountain Hawk runners at the corners. Jesse Novalis then singled in Hoffman, to give Lehigh a 4-2 advantage. The Mountain Hawks loaded the bases, and the Hornets changed pitchers. Piccola, Lehigh’s shortstop, produced a 2-RBI hit for Lehigh, helping to widen the gap. All told, two more errors, a wild pitch, and a balk later, Lehigh had built a 10-2 cushion at the game’s halfway mark.
The Mountain Hawks went on to the win, thanks in part to some excellent pitching from Matt Mezzancello out of the bullpen. The freshman (1-0) pitched 6 solid innings of relief to pick up the win.
Lehigh attempts to make it six wins in a row on Friday, as Lehigh hosts King’s College at 3:00 at Goodman Field. The Mountain Hawks then take to the road for a doubleheader Saturday at Pennsylvania, beginning at noon. The twinbill at Penn will be broadcast live on the Lehigh web site at www.lehigh.edu.
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Lehigh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 0 |
Delaware St. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 6 |
WP – Matt Mezzancello (1-0)
LP – Joe Brzeczek (5-2)
For more information, contact Jeff Tourial, Lehigh Sports Media Relations.
