Saturday, March 30
Easton, Pa.
12:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
7
at
4
Lafayette
Mountain Hawks split Saturday twinbill at Lafayette
3/30/2013 11:59:00 PM | Baseball
EASTON, Pa. – On its first day of Patriot League play, the Lehigh baseball team (12-11,1-1 PL) split a doubleheader against rival Lafayette (4-20,1-1 PL). The Mountain Hawks took the first game 7-4, but fell to the Leopards 10-6 in game two.
Junior Joe Abeln went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBI in game one, as the Mountain Hawks outhit the Leopards 10-5 and scored in all but two innings. Abeln hit an RBI single in the first to put Lehigh up right away, then drove a two-run single into left field off Lafayette starting pitcher Alex Farina in the third.Lafayette scored its first run off a Campbell Lipe double and got a second run off a wild pitch from junior Colin Gotzon that scored Andrew Santomauro. Junior Brandon Wilt created some distance with a two-run single in the fourth to put Lehigh on top
5-2.
5-2.
Gotzon exited the game in favor of freshman Kevin Long after throwing 5.1 innings, surrendering three earned runs and striking out eight. Lafayette would not go away quietly however, as Long walked Lipe to load the bases and hit James McCool with a pitch to cut the Leopards' deficit to four. A Wilt error made it 7-4 Lehigh, but senior Tom O'Malley came in from the bullpen to get the Mountain Hawks' final five outs.
Sophomore Justin Pacchioli scored two runs and stole a pair of bases in the victory. Parker Hills also scored two runs for Lafayette and hit 1-for-3. Farina fell to 0-5 with the loss. Gotzon picked up his fourth win and O'Malley earned his first save of the season.
“They were just able to pitch to their strength and came through in the clutch to shut Lafayette down,” Lehigh head coach Sean Leary said.
Lehigh drew nine walks compared to Lafayette's three in a back and forth second game, but couldn't pick up the victory.
“We had a really good approach at the plate, we just couldn't pile on runs and score as much as we needed to,” Leary said. “They just outhit us in the second game.”
Both teams got on the board early, with the Brown and White getting an RBI double by Brong and Andrew Ruck hitting a solo home run for Lafayette. Then the Leopards charged back with a three-run second inning that featured a Ruck RBI single off Lehigh junior Nick Cassell.
Lehigh tied the game in the third and fourth innings with a pair of at bats from sophomore John Elson. Elson hit a two-run single in the third before senior Casey Turner scored on a McCool throwing error to tie the game at four. After junior Joey McNamara surrendered an RBI hit to Thomas Dunleavy, Elson came to bat with the bases loaded and hit a sac fly to deep center. Turner and junior Tyler Brong scored on the play to make the game 6-6 midway through the fourth inning.The Mountain Hawks would not score another run from that point on, as the Leopards added a pair of runs on singles from Lipe and Hills in the bottom of the frame. McCool and Ruck drove in one run apiece off sophomore Jordan Smith in the seventh to put the game out of reach for Lehigh.
Robert Tatum earned the win on the mound and Mitch Leeds earned the save by throwing three scoreless innings. Cassell took the loss for Lehigh.
Ruck was one of three Lafayette players to have three hits in the contest and had a stolen base in addition to his home run. McCool, Dunleavy and Lipe also had two runs apiece for the Leopards. Elson led the Mountain Hawks with four RBI, while Brong finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of runs and an RBI.
Lehigh will face the Leopards in another doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. Sunday before playing at Saint Joseph's in the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic on Tuesday.
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