Saturday, April 21
Kaufman Field
11:00:00 AM
Lehigh University
4
vs
3
Colgate
Lucas' grand slam sparks Lehigh to doubleheader sweep of Colgate
4/21/2012 9:13:00 PM | Softball
Update: Sunday's scheduled doubleheader has been postponed to Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Lehigh's Kaufman Field.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In her first game against Colgate since belting three home runs in the 2011 Patriot League Championship game, junior Liz Lucas hit a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the sixth to propel Lehigh to a 4-3 win over the Raiders Saturday at Kaufman Field. Freshman Emily Bausher then fired a one-hitter as the Mountain Hawks captured the nightcap 10-0 in five innings.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In her first game against Colgate since belting three home runs in the 2011 Patriot League Championship game, junior Liz Lucas hit a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the sixth to propel Lehigh to a 4-3 win over the Raiders Saturday at Kaufman Field. Freshman Emily Bausher then fired a one-hitter as the Mountain Hawks captured the nightcap 10-0 in five innings.
With the sweep, Lehigh improves to 32-16 overall and 13-1 in league games.
“In the first game, Colgate totally came ready to play and for most of the game outplayed us,” said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. “We kept our composure. We kept our confidence. In that sixth inning we got some runners on base and Liz came up with a big swing to put us ahead.”
Game one was scoreless through four frames as junior Becca Bliss worked in-and-out of a pair of jams, while Colgate's Courtney O'Connell also kept the Mountain Hawks at bay.
The Raiders broke through for three two-out runs in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Tera Vaughn and a two-run single by two-run single by Emmie Dolfi.
In the bottom of the sixth, Lehigh put runners on second and third after a leadoff walk, a fielder's choice and then a double to right by senior Jen Colquhoun. Senior Julie Fernandez then walked to load the bases setting the stage for Lucas, who drilled an O'Connell offering to straightaway center for her fourth home run of the season.
“That was a huge momentum changer for us,” Troyan said. “We came back and then Becca was able to close it out and Emily came out and pitched well in game two.”
Bliss worked around a one-out single in the seventh, striking out Dolfi to end the game. She improved to 14-6 after allowing three runs (one earned) on nine hits, while striking out six and walking two. O'Connell suffered the loss, allowing six hits in the opener, including three off the bat of Colquhoun.
Colgate threatened in the top of the first in game two, putting runners on second and third with nobody out after a hit batsman, an error and a stolen base, but Bausher worked her way out of trouble thanks to a lineout and a pair of strikeouts.
Lehigh took control of the nightcap with seven runs in the bottom of the second. The inning started with a walk and a hit batsman before freshman Cassie Waggy singled to right scoring pinch runner Lizzy Odren. Freshman Emma Capetz reached on an infield single to load the bases and after a lineout to left field, the Mountain Hawks extended their lead as Bausher and junior Rosie Roessel drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to make it 3-0. Senior Audra Wood then singled down the left field line, scoring two more runs to make it 5-0 Lehigh and chasing Colgate starter Rachel LeCoq.
O'Connell came on in relief and retired Colquhoun on a popup to second, but Fernandez laced a two-run single up the middle to cap the seven-run inning.
The Mountain Hawks added three more runs in the third, as Bausher led off by a triple and then scored on an error following an infield single by Roessel. Fernandez and Lucas added RBI singles, with Fernandez's hit, the 249th of her career, moving her into second place on Lehigh's career hit list, passing Jenny Bender '03 and leaving her eight behind Stephanie Digneo '03.
Bausher took care of the rest, retiring the final ten batters for her fifth solo shutout of the season. She improves to 15-9 on the season after allowing just a second inning single by Eileen Ornousky while striking out eight.
Colgate falls to 16-21 overall and 9-5 in the league with the losses. Lehigh remains two games ahead of second-place Army in the loss column. The Black Knights completed a four-game sweep of Lafayette to improve to 13-3 in league games.
Lehigh and Colgate were scheduled to wrap-up their series on Sunday but the doubleheader has been postponed due to the threat of inclement weather. The teams will instead play a doubleheader Wednesday at Kaufman Field, with first pitch for game one set for 1 p.m. Wednesday's doubleheader will be broadcast online at Lehighsports.com.
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