Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks host Army in key Patriot League series
4/12/2013 3:07:00 PM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Fresh off a doubleheader sweep at Fordham on Wednesday, the Lehigh softball team returns to Kaufman Field for a critical four-game series with Army. The Mountain Hawks and Black Knights will play doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday in a rematch from the championship round of last year's Patriot League tournament, won by Lehigh 2-0.
The Mountain Hawks enter the weekend series having won their last four games. Lehigh is 20-13-1 overall and 6-2 in the Patriot League, good for a one-game lead over Colgate and Holy Cross in the league standings. So far in league play, Lehigh has taken 3-of-4 games at Bucknell and then won 3-of-4 against rival Lafayette last weekend.
Lehigh's offense has awakened over the last two weeks as the Mountain Hawks have averaged just under seven runs per game over their four-game winning streak. In 11 games since Patriot League play began, Lehigh is hitting .317 as a team, and averaging five runs and just under nine hits per game. The Mountain Hawks are 9-2 in those games.
Senior Rosie Roessel has come on offensively as of late as she is batting .536 with 12 runs scored over her last 11 games to raise her season average to .368. Roessel, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week, is an impressive 11-for-17 (.647) in Patriot League games this season. Freshman Morgan Decker had another big game in Lehigh's 7-1 game two win over Fordham on Wednesday. Decker went 2-for-3 in with a big three-run home run and four RBI in the win and now leads the Mountain Hawks in batting average (.380), home runs (four) and RBI (29).
Lehigh's pitching has also been much improved as of late as the Mountain Hawks have allowed just 15 runs and 26 hits over their last 11 games. The Mountain Hawks have allowed three runs in a game just once in the 11-game span. On Wednesday, senior Becca Bliss and sophomore Emily Bausher shut down a potent Fordham offense, combining to allow just two runs and ten hits in 14 innings of work.
Bausher and Bliss are neck-and-neck for the Patriot League ERA lead, with Bausher entering the weekend at 1.82 and Bliss right behind at 1.83. Bliss is 6-0 with a 0.97 ERA over her last six appearances, and leads Lehigh with 11 wins, while Bausher eclipsed the 100 strikeout mark on Wednesday and now has 103 for the season.
With the two victories on Wednesday, Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan now has 598 for his career. The 18th-year Lehigh mentor will bid for his milestone 600th career victory this weekend. Troyan, who owns a 598-325-6 career record, posted his 500th win against Bucknell in April of 2010.
Army enters the weekend series at 19-16 overall and 4-4 in Patriot League action. The Black Knights split a doubleheader at Drexel on Wednesday, winning the opener 5-1 and dropping the nightcap 7-3. Thus far in league play, Army split a four-game series at home against Colgate and last weekend split four games at Holy Cross. The Black Knights are fourth in the league standings, two games ahead of both Bucknell and Lafayette, who are tied for fifth place.
The Black Knights feature the reigning Patriot League Pitcher and Rookie of the Year in sophomore Morgan Lashley. The right hander thrown 162 of Army's 244.2 innings this season and owns a 15-10 record with a 2.72 ERA. Braetana Roy is Army's No. 2 pitcher. Roy has thrown 74.2 innings for the Black Knights and is 4-6 with a 3.75 ERA.
Offensively, Army is led by the trio of Amanda Nguyen, Alex Reynolds and Kasey McCravey, all of whom are hitting north of .340. The speedy Nguyen leads the Black Knights at .366, while Reynolds is batting .353 with 21 RBI. McCravey and April Orentzo have been the top run producers as McCravey has four home runs and 23 RBI to go along with a .345 average, while Ortenzo is at .256 with three homers and 24 driven in.
Lehigh leads the all-time series versus Army 72-29. The Mountain Hawks went 5-1 against the Black Knights last season, rebounding from an opening game loss to win 3-of-4 in the regular season series at West Point, before posting 4-0 and 2-0 wins in the Patriot League Tournament. Bliss was especially tough against Army last year, going 4-0 with a save, three shutouts and just two runs allowed against the Black Knights. She fired a two-hitter in Lehigh's Patriot League championship-clinching win, supported by RBIs from Kristen Mitchell and Cassie Waggy.
The Lehigh-Army series will feature doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at Kaufman Field with first pitch both days set for noon. Live audio of Sunday's twinbill will be broadcast online at Lehighsports.com.
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