Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh returns home to face Delaware Wednesday
4/20/2010 2:30:00 PM | Softball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh softball team returns home for the first time in two-and-a-half weeks for the final six home games of the regular season, beginning Wednesday when the Mountain Hawks welcome Delaware to Kaufman Field for a non-league doubleheader. The Mountain Hawks went 7-5 on their recently completed road trip that ended with the Brown and White winning three out of four games from rival Lafayette over the weekend.
The Mountain Hawks (24-14) are tied with Bucknell for second place in the Patriot League standings at 8-4, two games behind Army. Lehigh will host the Bison for four games this weekend but will first face a Delaware team that has already beaten the Mountain Hawks twice this season at the UMBC Spring Classic.
Sophomore Julie Fernandez once again led Lehigh against Lafayette with six hits in 12 at-bats, including three doubles and her third home run of the season. Fernandez’ remarkable 27-game hitting streak came to an end in Sunday’s first game but Lehigh’s first baseman picked up where she left off with two doubles in the series finale. Fernandez leads the Patriot League with a .486 average and 52 hits and is two doubles shy of the school single-season record of 15.
After dropping the first game against Lafayette, Lehigh took the next three by a combined score of 24-3. The Mountain Hawks hit four home runs in Sunday’s doubleheader sweep, with junior Alex Cueva, sophomores Jen Colquhoun and Tenley Halaquist and freshman Liz Lucas all going deep. Lucas also homered on Saturday to take over the team lead with five. Her 30 runs batted in tie Lucas with Colquhoun for the team lead.
In the pitchers circle both senior Tiffany Curtis and freshman Rebecca Bliss shook off rough outings against Monmouth to combine to allow just four earned runs in 24 innings against Lafayette.
Wednesday’s doubleheader could feature a milestone should the Mountain Hawks sweep the Fightin’ Blue Hens. Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan enters Wednesday’s action at 498-265-4 and needs two wins to reach 500 for his career.
Delaware comes into Wednesday’s games at 16-22-1 overall. The Fightin’ Blue Hens won two of three games from UNC Wilmington over the weekend in North Carolina. Jenny Richards leads Delaware with a .355 batting average, while Michelle Grap has been the primary power source with 11 home runs and 25 RBI.
The Blue Hen pitching staff is led by Amanda Stacevicz, the reigning CAA Pitcher of the Week, who is 9-10 with a 3.35 ERA. Anne Marie Pagano has thrown the second-most innings on the staff and owns a 5-8 record and 4.16 ERA.
Earlier this season, Delaware defeated Lehigh twice at the UMBC Spring Classic, winning 11-2 in five innings on March 19 and 7-6 on March 21. Grap, Stacevicz and Mary Ann Magee combined for five hits and nine RBI in the first game between the two teams, while Grap singlehandedly won the second game with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Wednesday’s twinbill gets underway at 3 p.m. from Kaufman Field with live audio coverage for both games available online at Lehighsports.com.
