Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh hosts Marist in Wednesday doubleheader
4/7/2009 10:45:00 AM | Softball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After winning six straight Patriot League games to move into first place in the league standings, Lehigh steps away from league play on Wednesday as the Mountain Hawks welcome the Marist Red Foxes to Kaufman Field for a midweek doubleheader. The Mountain Hawks swept four games from Army last weekend to move to 19-14-1 overall this season and Lehigh will use Wednesday’s games as a tune-up for a big four-game series with rival Lafayette at Kaufman Field this weekend.
The Mountain Hawks swept the Patriot League’s weekly awards for the second time this season, with senior Alisha Gonzales earning Player of the Week honors, junior Tiffany Curtis netting Pitcher of the Week honors and freshman Julie Fernandez garnering Rookie of the Week laurels.
Gonzales’ 7-for-11 showing at the plate in four games last weekend moved her into second place in the league’s batting statistics with a .380 average, which is second only to Fernandez, who leads the league with a .392 clip. Fernandez and Gonzales are tied for the league lead with nine doubles, while Fernandez also tops the Patriot League in hits (40) and runs batted in (25).
One of the biggest bright spots for Lehigh on the weekend was the re-emergence of its pitching staff, which allowed just six runs in the four games. Curtis and senior Lisa Sweeney each went 2-0 on the weekend and combined to allow just three runs as each pitcher racked up a shutout over the weekend.
Marist enters Wednesday’s twinbill at 10-22 overall and 3-3 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes are coming off a 1-3 weekend at home where they split a doubleheader with Rider and dropped a pair of games to Fairfield. Melissa Giordano paces the Marist offense with a .410 batting average, while Jessica Green tops the Red Foxes with four homers and 23 RBI. Caitlin Carpentier has been Marist’s top pitcher, with a 6-10 record and 3.63 earned run average.
The all-time series between Lehigh and Marist is tied 4-4. These two schools last met in 2006 when they split a doubleheader in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Marist took the opening game 4-0, before Lehigh came back to win the nightcap 9-0 in six innings.
Wednesday’s doubleheader gets underway at 3 p.m. from Lehigh’s Kaufman Field. The game will be broadcast live on Lehighsports.com with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
