Friday, February 25
Davidson, N.C.
2:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
8
vs
15
Ohio
Mountain Hawks open season with 15-8 loss to Ohio
2/25/2011 10:57:00 PM | Baseball
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Lehigh baseball team (0-1, 0-0) dropped its season opener in a 15-8 loss to the Ohio Bobcats on Wednesday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks jumped out to a promising 2-0 lead, but Ohio managed to score 15 runs on a Lehigh team that was playing outside for one of the first times this spring.
"We played a pretty solid game offensively," said Lehigh head coach Sean Leary. "We were very productive on offense and swung the bats well. We struggled a little bit on the pitching and defensive end. It was one of the first days outside for us, so we were not sharp at times."
"We played a pretty solid game offensively," said Lehigh head coach Sean Leary. "We were very productive on offense and swung the bats well. We struggled a little bit on the pitching and defensive end. It was one of the first days outside for us, so we were not sharp at times."
Senior Mike Lebo made the start on the mound for the Mountain Hawks, throwing four innings and striking out two batters. Seniors Brendan McGaheran and Andy Russell each drove in two runs for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks collected 15 total hits as a team in the loss, as seniors Billy Goldman and Brendan Pifer led the way, gathering three hits each.
The Mountain Hawks got off to a solid start, as Lebo pitched a one-two-three first inning against Ohio, who was the designated away team. In the bottom of half of the inning, Goldman had a one out single and then advanced to third on a throwing error when senior Russell walked. Lehigh had runners on second and third. The Mountain Hawks then went up 2-0 on a fielding error on a ball hit by senior Logan Winchester.
Ohio countered with four runs in the second inning though to take over the lead. Lehigh cut it back to 4-3 though in the bottom half, when Pifer scored on a two-out double by McGaheran.
Ohio would tack on two more runs in the third inning and increase its lead to 6-3. Lebo settled down in the fourth inning, with another one-two-three stand. Lehigh would take its momentum into the bottom of the fourth, scoring two runs to cut the Ohio lead to 6-5. Chad Warga scored on a throwing error from the center fielder off a Pifer single. Pifer would then score when McGaheran grounded out to short, capping off the two-run inning for Lehigh.
The Bobcats would however score two more runs in the fifth inning, as sophomore Brandon Sady took over the pitching duties. Ohio had an 8-5 lead at that point. The Bobcats were not done, as they tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning to gain a 10-5 lead. Lehigh answered back, when Pifer scored on a Russell sac-fly to make the score 10-6 after six in the book.
Sophomore Thomas O'Malley saw some action on the mound, as he gave up one run in the seventh inning and none in the eighth. Lehigh scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but that would not be enough, as Ohio tacked on four more in the top of the ninth, making the final score 15-8.
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action at 5 p.m. against Davidson on Saturday. Lehigh will look to seek revenge Sunday morning against Ohio, as they take on the Bobcats with a 10 a.m. first pitch.
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