Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks head to Hamilton for Patriot League Tournament
5/11/2011 10:04:00 PM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After failing to win a Patriot League tournament game for the first time in program history last year, Lehigh heads to Colgate's Eaton Street Field in Hamilton, N.Y. looking to win its league-best 11th tournament crown at the 2011 tournament, which kicks off Thursday. The Mountain Hawks are looking to get back to the NCAA Regional tournament for the sixth time in eight years. Lehigh went 14-6 in the league this season to earn the No. 2 seed and the Mountain Hawks will open this double-elimination tournament against No. 3 Holy Cross. Lehigh won three of four from the Crusaders less than two weeks ago at Kaufman Field.
Prior to last year the Patriot League tournament had never been held outside the Lehigh Valley, but Army snapped Lehigh's 11-year regular season title streak last year and Colgate captured the regular season crown with a 16-3 league showing this year. Lehigh, which is the only team to qualify for all 21 Patriot League tournaments, has won 16 regular season titles and ten tournament crowns and has been the No. 1 seed for all ten of its tournament championships. The first 11 Patriot League tournaments were played at Patriots Park in Allentown, Pa. with the next eight played at Lehigh's Kaufman Field during the Mountain Hawks run of consecutive championships. The Brown and White have made six NCAA Regional appearances, with the most recent coming in 2009, when Lehigh reached the finals of the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
The Mountain Hawks (31-20) placed six players on the All-Patriot League teams, but did not receive any of the league's four major athletics based awards for the first time since 2004.Juniors Julie Fernandez and Jen Colquhoun and sophomores Rebecca Bliss and Liz Lucas were named to the first team, while senior Carly Potock and junior Audra Wood were named to the second team. Lehigh did receive one major award as Colquhoun was named the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for softball for the second straight year, making her the first repeat winner in league history. Colquhoun was joined on the inaugural academic All-Patriot League team by Potock, Fernandez and sophomore Rosie Roessel.
Lehigh and Holy Cross will open the tournament in Thursday's first game. The Mountain Hawks won three out of four games from the Crusaders, splitting a doubleheader on April 30, before sweeping the final two games of the series on May 1. Bliss was the star of the series for Lehigh, throwing 10.2 scoreless innings and going 2-0 with a save versus the Crusaders. She threw a two-hit shutout in the series opener and came on in relief to earn a win and a save in Sunday's doubleheader sweep. Freshman Ashley Quigley also pitched well, recording a win in the series finale, and taking a hard-luck loss after allowing just one run on one hit in seven innings in a 1-0 loss to the Crusaders. Offensively, Potock led Lehigh in four games against the Crusaders with five hits in 12 at-bats. Fernandez had four hits, including a three-run home run in game one, and drove in five of Lehigh's 16 runs in the series. Fernandez leads the Mountain Hawks in hitting at .364, while Lucas has been the top run producer with seven homers and 40 runs batted in.
Holy Cross finished the regular season at 18-29 overall and 10-10 in the league. The Crusaders are making their first Patriot League tournament appearance since 2003. Holy Cross enters the tournament on a five-game losing streak, after dropping its final two games to Lehigh, then dropping a doubleheader to Central Connecticut State on May 3 and a single game to Hartford on May 5.
Senior Caitlin Belanger is a dual threat for the Crusaders, with a team leading .382 batting average and a 4-10 record and 3.04 ERA in the pitcher's circle. Belanger has thrown the most innings on the Crusader staff, and threw a one-hitter in Holy Cross' win over Lehigh on April 30. Sam Fregenti and Keeley Seniuk have combined for 14 home runs and enter the tournament with 31 RBI apiece. Julia Barrett has the most wins (five) and lowest ERA (2.94) on the staff.
Lehigh leads the all-time series versus Holy Cross 65-16, which includes a 9-4 record in the Patriot League Tournament. The teams haven't met in the tournament since 2002, each team won one game. Holy Cross prevailed 4-3 in the opening round of the tournament, but Lehigh eliminated the Crusaders with a 7-1 win in game five.
Thursday's other first round game pits top-seed Colgate against No. 4 Army. Colgate comes in at 25-19 overall and 16-3 in the league, while Army is 27-23 overall and 9-11 in the league. The Raiders swept a four game series from the Black Knights at West Point on the opening weekend of league play.
The Patriot League tournament gets underway Thursday when the Mountain Hawks will face No. 3 Holy Cross in game one at 2 p.m., with No.1 Colgate battling No. 4 Army in game two at 4:30 p.m.
Games three, four and five are slated for Friday, beginning at noon, with the winner's bracket game between the winners of Thursday's contests. The championship round featuring game six and, if necessary, game seven is set for noon on Saturday.
Lehigh Athletics will provide streaming audio of Thursday's Patriot League tournament opener against Holy Cross and any tournament games against the Crusaders or against Colgate online at Lehighsports.com. Pregame coverage on Thursday begins at 1:45 p.m.
2011 Patriot League Softball Championship Schedule
Thursday, May 12
Thursday, May 12
Game 1: No. 2 Lehigh vs. No. 3 Holy Cross – 2 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Colgate vs. No. 4 Army – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, May 13
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 12 p.m.
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 – 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 14
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 12 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 – 2:30 p.m. (if necessary)
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