Lehigh beats Colgate 6-4 for weekend sweep

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Five different Mountain Hawks recorded multiple hits and senior pitcher Ashley Quigley went the distance to lead the Lehigh softball team to a 6-4 win over Colgate on Sunday. The Mountain Hawks earned the series sweep to open Patriot League play, outscoring the Raiders 37-9 on the weekend. Lehigh scored two runs in the first inning and four more in the third, which proved to be enough.

Colgate rallied for three runs in the seventh inning, but Quigley induced a line-out to preserve Lehigh's seventh straight victory.

"I thought Colgate got some pretty good swings at her in the seventh inning, but I felt like Ashley was in control the entire game," said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. "I thought our defense played great. I felt like we swung the bats from top to bottom very, very well today. It was a good all-around effort from a pitching standpoint, from a defensive standpoint and from an offensive standpoint."

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Quigley allowed nine hits and four runs (all earned) in seven innings, striking out five to improve to 4-2 on the season. Junior Cassie Waggy, freshman Ashley Cole and sophomores MacKenzie Velasquez, Alexis Watanabe and Morgan Decker all had two hits to lead a balanced offensive effort.

The first four Mountain Hawks reached base in the bottom of the first as Velasquez was first to cross the plate after a leadoff walk. After a sharp single up the middle from Waggy, Velasquez was being held at third, but went home after a bobble from Colgate centerfielder Tera Vaughn. Decker added a single to score Watanabe, which made it 2-0 after an inning of play.

Lehigh added four runs on six hits in the third inning. Waggy roped an RBI single, scoring Velasquez, to make it 3-0. Pinch runner Lizzy Odren scored on an error to make it 4-0 then sophomore Jessica Calvini hit a rocket to the outfield, driving in junior Emily Bausher. A Colgate error also allowed junior Emma Capetz to come all the way around from first to make it 6-0 after three innings of play.

Lehigh had one hit in the fifth and three more in the sixth, but couldn't add insurance. The Raiders scored three times in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a Katie Bushee triple to score two. However, Quigley got the outs she needed to secure the victory.

Velasquez finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and two runs scored. A balanced team effort saw no other Mountain Hawk tally more than a single run or RBI.

The Mountain Hawks return to action on Wednesday when they head to Villanova to face the Wildcats in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. Lehigh returns to Patriot League play next weekend at home against Lafayette.

"We just want to be playing well," said Troyan. "Obviously, we played well enough to take three from Colgate. We expect to win series and to go 3-0 in a number of series this year. We respect all the opponents that we're going to play. I know the league is as strong as it has been from top to bottom. I feel like we have a strong team and we're progressing very nicely."

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Team Stats

MacKenzie Velasquez

Alexis Watanabe

Morgan Decker

Cassie Waggy

Lehigh University Athletics

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