Wednesday, April 17
Princeton, N.J.
3:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
9
at
2
Princeton
Two Decker homers, strong pitching lead Lehigh to sweep of Princeton
4/18/2013 12:32:00 AM | Softball
PRINCETON, N.J. – For the second straight week the Lehigh softball team swept a non-league doubleheader on the road as the Mountain Hawks took two from Princeton Wednesday at Class of 1895 Field. Freshman Morgan Decker homered twice and drove in five runs as Lehigh won game one 9-2, while senior Becca Bliss fired a two-hit shutout as the Mountain Hawks won the nightcap 1-0.
With the sweep, the Mountain Hawks improve to 25-14-1 on the season, while Princeton falls to 21-17. Lehigh faced off against former standout Lisa Sweeney '09, who is in her first season as Tigers head coach.
Lehigh took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game one as freshman Alexis Watanabe hit a one-out double, took third on a wild pitch and then scored on a throwing error by Tiger catcher Maddie Cousins. Princeton tied things up in the bottom of the second as Lizzy Pierce hit a solo home run to left off sophomore Emily Bausher.
Senior Rosie Roessel was hit by a pitch to open the top of the third, and after an infield single by Watanabe, Decker drilled a three-run home run to right field to give the Mountain Hawks a 4-1 lead.
Princeton crept within two at 4-2 when Candy Button scored an unearned run on a wild pitch in the fourth, but the Mountain Hawks scored five runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach.
Watanabe led off the seventh by reaching on an error and Decker followed with a two-run blast to center to extend Lehigh's lead to 6-2. The home run was Decker's seventh of the season, while the five RBI were a season high for a Lehigh individual and gave the Mountain Hawks' third baseman a league-leading 36 for the season.
Bausher helped her own cause with a RBI double down the left field line, while senior Jacqi Kennelly followed with a pinch hit two-run single to center to cap the five-run frame.
In the circle, Bausher limited the Tigers to two runs (one earned) in six innings, while walking two and striking out one. She improves to 10-6 on the season. Junior Ashley Quigley threw a scoreless seventh inning to close out game one.
Shanna Christian took the loss for Princeton in game one allowing nine runs (seven earned) on ten hits. She walked five and struck out five as she falls to 7-5.
Game two saw Bliss throw a two-hit shutout against the Tigers for the second consecutive year. She walked one, hit a batter and struck out two as she pitched her first shutout of the season and improved to 14-6.
The only run of the nightcap was an unearned run in the top of the third inning. Roessel drew a one-out walk and stole second. A single by Decker put runners on the corners, and an error by the Tigers' Sarah McGowan on a ball hit by senior Liz Lucas allowed Roessel to score from third.
Princeton's biggest threat came when Danielle Allen led off the sixth with a double and moved to third on a ground out, but she was caught off third by Lucas and Decker for the second out of the inning.
Liza Kuhn pitched the first four innings for Princeton allowing the one unearned run on three hits as she took the loss. Meredith Brown threw the final four innings for the Tigers. Sophomore Emma Capetz had two of Lehigh's four hits in game two, with Decker and freshman Carissa Zito recording the other two.
The Mountain Hawks will return to Patriot League play this weekend when they host Holy Cross for four games at Kaufman Field. Lehigh and Holy Cross will play doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday 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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