Sunday, April 21
Kaufman Field
12:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
8
vs
0
Holy Cross
Lehigh completes sweep of Holy Cross behind dominant pitching
4/21/2013 10:20:00 PM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Behind a pair of dominant pitching performances from senior Becca Bliss and sophomore Emily Bausher, the Lehigh softball team completed a four-game sweep of Holy Cross with two wins Sunday at Kaufman Field. Bliss struck out a career-high 11 in her third straight two-hit shutout as Lehigh took the opener 8-0 in six innings, while Bausher followed with a one-hitter and 13 strikeouts as the Mountain Hawks took the nightcap 4-0.
"Becca pitched an absolutely tremendous game in the first game," said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. "She was in total command the entire time. In the second game, that was the hardest we've seen Emily throw since she's been here. Her changeup was working very well and had Holy Cross off balance. When you get two pitching performances like that you have a good chance of winning."
Lehigh clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth as the Mountain Hawks improved to 29-14-1 overall and 13-3 in the Patriot League. Second place Colgate split its doubleheader Sunday versus Lafayette, meaning the Mountain Hawks need to win one at Colgate next weekend to clinch their second straight league regular season title.
Game one saw Bliss throw her third two-hit shutout this week as the senior blanked the Crusaders for the second straight day. Bliss allowed just a first inning single to Sam Fregenti and a third inning leadoff single to Kat Rosenthal as she improves to 16-6 on the season. In 13 innings of work against Holy Cross, Bliss struck out 18 batters and did not issue a walk.
Freshman Morgan Decker led Lehigh offensively, going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Decker opened the scoring with a long two-run home run to right field in the third inning off Gennifer Durham, her league-leading eighth home run of the season.
"She's a talented kid but she's also a competitive kid and a student of the game," Troyan said of Decker. "We haven't had many freshmen who can make adjustments during the course of the game. She's able to make those adjustments. She's a student of the game and has a beautiful swing that she's able to hit week in and week out."
A pinch hit RBI single by senior Jacqi Kennelly gave Lehigh a 3-0 lead after four innings before the Mountain Hawks broke the game open with four runs in the fifth. Sophomore Cassie Waggy and freshman Carissa Zito both delivered two-run singles to left in the frame to give Lehigh a seven run lead.
Lehigh ended the opener via the eight run rule when freshman Alexis Watanabe reached on a one out single in the sixth, and then scored on a game-ending double to right center by Decker. The Mountain Hawks finished with 11 hits in game one, with Watanabe, Decker and Bausher recording two apiece.
Durham allowed four runs in four-plus innings for Holy Cross before giving way to Jenna Legros.
The Mountain Hawks jumped on the Crusaders for two runs in the bottom of the first inning of game two. Senior Rosie Roessel led off with a double down the left field line. Watanabe tried to bunt her over to third, but Alex Gustafson threw the bunt away allowing Roessel to score as Watanabe advanced all the way to third. Lehigh scored its second run when Watanabe scored on a RBI fielder's choice by Waggy.
Lehigh added to its lead with two runs in the fourth. Bausher led off with an infield single to third and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Emma Capetz. Freshman Jessica Calvini then singled to right scoring Bausher to make it 3-0 Mountain Hawks. A single to left by Kennelly put runners on the corners and fielder's choice by Roessel scored Calvini to give Lehigh a four run lead.
Bausher took care of the rest in the pitcher's circle en route to her 12th win and fifth shutout of the season. After a leadoff walk issued to Emily Jarvis in the first inning, Bausher retired the next ten batters before a walk to Fregenti gave Holy Cross its second base runner.
The Crusaders' only hit of game two was a two-out single through the left side by Sarah Free in the fifth. Bausher appeared to get stronger as the game progressed as she struck out the side in the sixth inning and fanned seven of the last nine batters she faced.
Holy Cross falls to 13-25 overall and 7-9 in the league with the two losses.
Lehigh will host Columbia in a non-league doubleheader Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Kaufman Field, before wrapping up the regular season with four games at Colgate Saturday and Sunday in Hamilton, N.Y.
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