Lehigh faces Lafayette in LBC finals Tuesday night

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the third time in four years, the Mountain Hawks will make the trip to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for a shot at the Liberty Bell Classic title. But instead of facing Villanova, who Lehigh saw in the championship game in 2004 and 2005, the Mountain Hawks will play archrival Lafayette on Tuesday night.

“It just adds something extra to the tournament,” said head coach Sean Leary after his team’s semifinal win over Temple last Tuesday. “It is already a thrill to be playing at Citizens Bank Park. But when it’s against your archrival, it just makes the experience more special.”

Both of Lehigh’s first two games of the Liberty Bell Classic took place on the Goodman Campus as the Mountain Hawks squeaked by La Salle 3-2 in ten innings on March 28 and then easily defeated Temple 14-4 on April 3. Against La Salle, junior Joe Ercolano scored the game-winning run off a wild pitch. Meanwhile, in the semifinals, Lehigh took advantage of three Temple errors in the first inning to score ten runs off four hits.

Lehigh will have a tough obstacle in its way on Tuesday night as the Mountain Hawks are 1-7 against Patriot League teams this season. Lehigh enters the game after being swept by Holy Cross in last weekend’s four-game series—a feat no Patriot League team had done to Lehigh since the 2001 season. Meanwhile, Lafayette is boasting a 7-1 record against Patriot League teams. So far this season, the Leopards have swept league power Army and took three of four games from Navy.

Lehigh and Lafayette have only met once in the Liberty Bell Classic. In the 2004 semifinals, Lehigh scored two runs in the top of the ninth to come back and defeat Lafayette, who tallied six runs in the first inning, 12-11 at Limeport Stadium. The Leopards scored six runs in the first inning to take an early lead in that same game.

First pitch of the Liberty Bell Classic championship game is scheduled to be thrown at 8:00 pm. Admission into the game at Citizens Bank Park is $5. Live audio of the game will be broadcast online at lehighsports.com, with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports. Jeff Tourial and Steve Lomangino will call the action.

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Lehigh faces Lafayette in LBC finals Tuesday night

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