Lehigh University
Penn
Lehigh picks up win, tie on the road at Penn
3/25/2009 7:45:00 PM | Softball
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PHILADELPHIA – Senior Whitney Lowe went 3-for-5 with four RBI as Lehigh out-slugged Penn 10-7 in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday at Warren field. Lowe’s fifth inning two-run single to right field gave Lehigh an 8-7 advantage and junior Tiffany Curtis came out of the bullpen with three scoreless innings of relief to save the game for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh could not hold a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh in the nightcap as Penn rallied to tie the game at 3-3 at which point the game was called due to darkness.
The Mountain Hawks enter Patriot League play at 12-13-1, while Penn will begin its Ivy League season this weekend with a 4-14-1 mark.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the third of game one, Lehigh took the lead with a five-run outburst. Freshman Audra Wood reached on an error and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Lowe singled up the middle to bring her home. The Mountain Hawks loaded the bases and senior Alisha Gonzales tied the game with a sacrifice fly to right.
Two batters later, sophomore Alex Cueva doubled down the left field line, scoring Lisa Sweeney to put Lehigh up 3-2. The Mountain Hawks added two more runs as sophomore Mickey LaValley delivered an RBI single and Cueva eventually came around to score on a wild pitch.
The Quakers tied the game in the bottom of the frame with three runs off of Sweeney. Lehigh re-took the lead on an RBI single by freshman Julie Fernandez in the top of the fourth inning, but again Penn battled back to take a 7-6 lead on a two-run triple by Alisha Prystowsky in the bottom of the fourth.
A two-out rally in the fifth led to Lehigh taking the lead for good. Sophomore Carly Potock reached on an infield single and then moved to third on a single to right field by Wood. A stolen base by Wood put runners on second and third and Lowe put Lehigh in front with a single to right field.
Lehigh added single runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Cueva and in the seventh as Wood tripled and scored on a single by Lowe.
Sweeney struggled in the circle, but picked up the win (7-7) allowing seven runs on eight hits in four innings of work. She struck out three and walked two. Curtis came on to pitch the final three innings, allowing just one hit, while walking two and striking out two.
Fernandez went 3-for-3 at the plate, hitting behind Lowe, with Wood, Sweeney and Potock each registering two hits in the opener. Emily Denstedt suffered the loss in relief of Cailyn Hennessey.
Cueva put the Mountain Hawks ahead in the second inning of game two, with a one out single to left that scored Sweeney. Lehigh added to its lead in the next frame as Sweeney singled home Lowe, who led off the inning with a double to make it 2-0.
Penn scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to pull even at 2-2. Lehigh pulled ahead in the top of the sixth as junior Brooke Lewis doubled to left field and pinch runner Ali Torborg moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a second wild pitch by Tory Satagaj.
Curtis looked to close the door on the Quakers in the bottom of the seventh, but Keiko Uraguchi led off with a triple and then scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice by Justine Payne. At that point the game was called on account of darkness and declared a tie. Curtis allowed three runs on seven hits in six-plus innings, walking three and fanning five. Lehigh out-hit Penn 8-7 in the nightcap with Sweeney picking up two of the Mountain Hawks’ eight hits.
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action this weekend when they open up league play on the road at Colgate. The four-game series begins with a doubleheader Saturday at the Eaton Street Field in Hamilton, N.Y. First pitch for game one is set for 12 p.m.
