Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks look to push through to NCAAs
4/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Will this year be different? Lehigh head softball coach Fran Troyan hopes so.
“We have been preparing for this weekend since our first practice all the way back on August 27,” said Troyan. “We are happy with our regular season performance for sure, but all 54 of our games were played to prepare us for the tournament. We have the pitching, the defense, and the offense to compete well I think – but we have to do it against three pretty outstanding teams.”
Leading the way for Lehigh all season has been the stellar performance of the pitching staff. Emily Ling, Kate Arico, and Heather Hamasaki have combined to baffle Patriot League opponents all season long. The threesome has combined to win all 16 league games, holding opponents to a miniscule .206 batting average and allowing just 27 runs in 121 innings.
Lehigh will be facing the cream of the crop in the PL tourney, as each team has batters who can change the complexion of the game in a hurry. The League’s top five home run hitters will all be present, as will the top five run-producers. Colgate will bring Patriot League Player of the Year Dorothy Donaldson, who led the league in hitting and home runs, and Natalie Rawson, who lead the league in RBIs. Bucknell’s offense features Angie Stackhouse, who was second in the league in batting with a .404 average.
Army, in addition to fielding a stellar team, is also the only Patriot League team to defeat the Mountain Hawks this season, having won twice in their last at bat back during the first series of the year.
Defensively, Lehigh has held up its end of the bargain as well, as the Mountain Hawks have yet to give up an unearned run in Patriot League play. In 18 games, Lehigh has made just seven errors, and no player has made more than two. Jessica Young has been particularly impressive at second base, fielding 64 chances without an error.
Offensively for the Mountain Hawks, two All-Patriot League selections will look to ignite the team. Shana Treon, a first team selection, and Mary Wieder, a second team performer, are batting .453 and .441, respectively, in league games.
The games get underway at Lehigh’s Kaufman Field on Saturday, with top-seeded Lehigh taking on Bucknell at 9:00am, in the first of five scheduled games. Colgate and Army square off in the next game at 11:00am, and from there the match-ups will be determined by the results.
All Lehigh games will be broadcast live on Lehigh’s website at www.lehighsports.com.
Game schedule:
Saturday, May 1 |
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Game 1 – No. 1 Lehigh vs. No 4 Bucknell 9:00 AM |
Game 2 – No. 2 Army vs. No. 3 Colgate 11:00 AM |
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 1:00 PM |
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 3:00 PM |
Game 5 – Winner game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 5:00 PM |
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Sunday, May 2 |
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 1:00 PM |
Game 7 – if necessary 3:00 PM |
