Lehigh University
Army
Lehigh completes four-game sweep of Army
4/5/2009 5:00:00 PM | Softball
 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh completed a four-game series sweep of Army with a pair of convincing victories Sunday afternoon at Kaufman Field. Senior Alisha Gonzales and sophomore Mickey LaValley each went 3-for-3 and Lehigh scored ten runs in the fourth inning en route to a 14-5 win in five innings in game one, while the Mountain Hawks finished the day with a 4-1 win in the nightcap. The Mountain Hawks totaled 26 hits in the doubleheader, including four triples as Lehigh moves to 19-14-1 overall and 7-1 in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks own a two-game lead in the Patriot League standings after two weekends of league play.
LaValley opened the scoring in game one with a one-out bases-clearing three run triple to put the Mountain Hawks in front 3-0. Army climbed within a run with a pair of runs in the top of the third inning, but Gonzales singled home Whitney Lowe in the bottom of the third to increase the Lehigh lead to 4-2.
The Mountain Hawks busted the game open in the fourth, scoring ten runs on ten hits and sending 16 batters to the plate in the inning. With runners on first and second and nobody out, freshman Audra Wood singled home LaValley to put Lehigh up by three. Two batters later, freshman Julie Fernandez blasted a three-run home run to right center, her fourth of the year, giving Lehigh an 8-2 advantage. Lehigh tacked on six more runs in the frame, including an RBI single for LaValley, a two-run double for sophomore Carly Potock, and run-scoring singles from junior Brooke Lewis, freshman Tenley Halaquist and sophomore Sam Miller.
Lehigh finished with 17 hits in the opener, with 12 different players registering at least one hit.
In the pitcher’s circle, senior Lisa Sweeney went the first four innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Sweeney struck out three and walked one as she improves to 11-8 on the season.
Beverly Nordin took the loss for Army allowing 13 runs (eight earned) in 3.2 innings of work.
In game two, Fernandez put Lehigh ahead in the bottom of the first inning with a triple to right field that scored Lowe. Two batters later, Gonzales singled home Fernandez to put the Mountain Hawks up 2-0.
Army scored its lone run on a Rachel Duval sacrifice fly in the sixth, but Lehigh added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the frame on a RBI triple from freshman Jen Colquhoun and a single by sophomore Alex Cueva.
“There have been a lot of tough game’s we’ve played this year against tough competition early in the season,” said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. “Those games are starting to pay off. The pitching at this level is good, but not at the same level that we faced earlier this year and because of that, we’ve been hitting the ball really well.”
Junior Tiffany Curtis picked up her second win in as many days, allowing a run on five hits, while striking out four and walking three as she improves to 8-4.
Shawna Bleyl was saddled with the loss for the Black Knights as she allowed four runs on nine hits. The Black Knights are now 12-25, 2-6 in league games.
The Mountain Hawks will return to the diamond on Wednesday when they host Marist in a non-league doubleheader at Kaufman Field. First pitch for game one is set for 3 p.m. and both games can be heard live on Lehighsports.com with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
Watch the Lehigh - Army Post-Game Extra
