Sunday, March 24
Kaufman Field
12:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
4
vs
3
Niagara
Softball finishes off weekend sweep of Niagara
3/25/2013 2:12:00 AM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh softball team came back twice on Sunday to sweep a doubleheader (and the weekend series) from Niagara. The Mountain Hawks took home wins of 4-3 (in nine innings) and 10-8 for their first four-game winning streak of the season. Senior Rosie Roessel paced the offense with three hits in game one while freshmen Alexis Watanabe and Morgan Decker posted three hits apiece in game two.
“Any time that you take four from an opponent, it's a great weekend,” said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. “We're starting to see glimpses of the team that we think we can be. We have a whole lot of work ahead of us, but it's a resilient bunch.
“They battled in the first game, came back. We got the win there then we were behind early in the second game and we fought back,” Troyan continued. “We really, really battled. Morgan and Alexis had great games. Ashley came in and pitched well. A lot of our league series are going to go exactly like this where we'll be behind in games, but have to come back.”
Niagara got off to the early start in game one, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning off Lehigh senior Becca Bliss. Bliss settled down from there, allowing just one run the rest of the way. That gave the offense a chance to come to life as Roessel tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the third, and Waggy hit an RBI single after senior Liz Lucas opened the inning with a double. That pulled the Mountain Hawks within 3-2 after six innings of play.
Lehigh tied it in the bottom of the seventh as Watanabe singled home senior Kristen Mitchell to tie the score at three. Decker went on to win it in the ninth as she singled home Roessel for the 4-3 victory.
Roessel finished game one 3-of-4 with two runs scored. Decker was 2-for-4 with an RBI while four others had a hit. Bliss allowed nine hits and three runs in nine innings of work.
Game two started similarly as game one, with the Purple Eagles taking a 2-0 lead after a half inning of play, but Waggy hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the inning to quickly even the score at two.
Niagara took a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the fourth, but that's when the Mountain Hawks' offense exploded. After two were out, Lehigh used seven straight hits to bat around, scoring six times to take a 9-6 advantage.
Decker doubled in Watanabe in the fifth for a 10-6 lead. Niagara scored twice in the top of the seventh, but junior Ashley Quigley was able to preserve the win and earn the save.
Watanabe got on base all four times in game two, including 3-for-3 at the plate and a walk. She scored four times and added an RBI. Waggy was 3-for-4 with three RBI while Lucas went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Bausher got the win, pitching the first four innings before Quigley pitched the final three.
“It's good for our confidence,” said Troyan. “We have a lot of freshmen. They're talented kids, but they're still just freshmen. They're learning things and learning the games. Hopefully we'll continue to progress as we move through the season.”
Lehigh remains home for a pair on Wednesday as the Mountain Hawks host Hofstra in a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m.
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