Friday, May 10
Kaufman Field
10:00:00 AM
Lehigh University
8
vs
0
Army
Mountain Hawks down Army 8-0 to advance to 2013 PL Championship
5/10/2013 6:17:00 PM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Freshman Morgan Decker kick started the offense with a two-run home run, sophomore Emily Bausher threw a shutout in the circle and senior Liz Lucas had the game-ending RBI double as the No.1 seed Lehigh softball team defeated second seeded Army 8-0 in six innings Friday at Kaufman Field. The victory in game three of the Patriot League Tournament advances Lehigh to Saturday's championship round, which will feature games six and, if necessary, game seven.
The Brown and White will go up against the Black Knights again at 10 a.m. Saturday, needing just one victory to capture the program's third consecutive league title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The contest was moved up two hours because of inclement weather in the forecast. The Mountain Hawks have now won 14 consecutive games overall to set a new single-season league record, which this year's team previously shared with the 2012 Army squad and Lehigh's 2005 team. Lehigh's last loss came in a 5-4 home contest on April 14 that ended in favor of the Black Knights.
The Brown and White will go up against the Black Knights again at 10 a.m. Saturday, needing just one victory to capture the program's third consecutive league title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The contest was moved up two hours because of inclement weather in the forecast. The Mountain Hawks have now won 14 consecutive games overall to set a new single-season league record, which this year's team previously shared with the 2012 Army squad and Lehigh's 2005 team. Lehigh's last loss came in a 5-4 home contest on April 14 that ended in favor of the Black Knights.
Decker's ninth home run of the year, a shot to straight away centerfield, put Lehigh ahead 2-0 in the first inning. The Brown and White's lead stretched to 4-0 in the third inning after freshman Alexis Watanabe came home on an error and Bausher hit a sacrifice fly.Bausher preserved the shutout in the third and fifth innings by retiring the Black Knights' leadoff and No. 2 hitters, Christian McKone and Amanda Nguyen, with two runners on base and one out. Bausher earned her 15th win of the season after giving up just three hits and striking out two batters in six innings in the circle.
"Emily pitched great today. We knew that she was going to pitch well, and we feel like we're going to get better as the tournament goes on," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "That certainly took a lot of pressure off when Morgan hit the two-run home run in the first inning, and with Alexis it seems like whenever she gets on she scores."
The Mountain Hawks will face Army after the Black Knights pulled off a stunning 4-3 comeback victory against No. 3 Bucknell in game five of the tournament Friday. Live audio of Saturday's championship round will be available on Patriot League All Access.
"We feel really good about our chances in the game," Troyan said. "Someone has to beat us twice and that can be done but I feel confident that we'll play well and good things will happen."
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