Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, May 3
West Point, N.Y.
3:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
Army
Regular season title at stake as Lehigh softball visits Army
5/2/2014 9:27:00 AM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The final weekend of the regular season has the Lehigh softball team heading to West Point, N.Y. for a critical three-game series with the Black Knights of Army. The Mountain Hawks enter the final weekend of league play at 27-18 overall and 12-3 in league play.
The field of four is set for next week's Patriot League Tournament but the seeding will be based on this weekend's results. The Mountain Hawks hold a one game lead over Boston University, while both Army and Bucknell are three games back. While Lehigh visits Army this weekend Boston University will host Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks can clinch their third straight (and 19th overall) Patriot League regular season championship with three victories over the Black Knights, but should Lehigh stumble, Army and Boston University both have a chance to move up to grab the top seed.
This weekend's series also marks a rematch of the championship round of last year's Patriot League Tournament, where the Black Knights shut out the Mountain Hawks twice in one day at Kaufman Field to deny Lehigh a third straight tournament crown. Army and Lehigh met seven times last year, with Lehigh winning four of those games. The Black Knights, however, captured the two that mattered most.
Lehigh was off from league play last week and went 3-3 in non-league action, winning the second game of a doubleheader at Manhattan on Saturday before sweeping a home twinbill from Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday.
Freshman Vicky Lattanzio led Lehigh in last week's action, going 7-for-16 (.438) with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI. Juniors Emily Bausher and Emma Capetz both drove in four runs for the week as well.
In the pitcher's circle, freshman Christine Campbell capped the week with an eight-hit shutout in the nightcap against Saint Francis. She rebounded from a rocky outing at Hofstra in the midweek, striking out a career-high eight to pick up her ninth win and fourth shutout of the season.
Sophomore Morgan Decker continues to lead Lehigh offensively, with a .390 average, eight home runs and 36 runs batted in. Decker has been especially strong in Lehigh's 15 Patriot League games, batting .500 (20-for-40) with eight extra base hits and 14 RBI. She has also reached via a walk or hit by pitch 16 times in league play, good for a .632 on-base percentage.
Second baseman Alexis Watanabe has been Lehigh's table setter, behind Decker in the stats and in front of her in the Mountain Hawks' batting order. Watanabe is batting .361 and leads Lehigh in hits (57), while tying for the lead in runs (31). The sophomore is batting .415 in league games.
While her workload has been somewhat limited, Bausher has been outstanding in the pitcher's circle for Lehigh in league play. She has appeared in seven games, and thrown 37 innings and owns a 7-0 record with a miniscule 0.38 ERA. Bausher has struck out 51 and walked just seven in those 37 innings. For the season, Bausher has an 11-6 record and team-low 2.16 ERA. In addition to Campbell, senior Ashley Quigley (7-5, 2.96) could see time in the circle.
The defending league champion Black Knights are 22-23 overall and 9-6 in the Patriot League. Army swept a doubleheader at Holy Cross on Sunday but lost the series finale on a walk-off home run Monday afternoon. The Black Knights were rained out against Albany on Wednesday.
At the plate Army is led by third baseman Kasey McCravey, who is second to Decker in the league with seven home runs, and second, just ahead of Decker with 43 RBI to go along with a .393 average.
Freshman Alee Rashenskas has added a .358 average and 25 RBI, while senior Amanda Nguyen leads with 33 runs scored, to go along with a .338 average and 25 stolen bases.
Three Army pitchers have thrown more than 70 innings in the circle this season. Caroline Smith leads the staff with 132 innings pitched. She owns a 12-11 record and 2.97 ERA. More recently, Kristen West has been the pitcher of choice for the Black Knights. She has thrown every inning of Army's last four games, including back-to-back shutouts of Holy Cross last Sunday. West is 5-5 with a team-low 2.70 ERA. Braetana Roy is the only pitcher of the three that Lehigh has faced. This year, Roy is 5-5 with a 5.25 ERA in 73.1 innings, but she hasn't appeared in a game since April 12.
Lehigh leads the all-time series with Army 76-32 but has lost three of the last four games after winning eight straight prior to that.
The series begins with a doubleheader Saturday at the Army Softball Complex followed by a single game Sunday afternoon. First pitch both days is set for 1 p.m. with audio coverage available at Lehighsports.com.
The Patriot League Tournament begins May 8 at the home field of the highest seed.
The field of four is set for next week's Patriot League Tournament but the seeding will be based on this weekend's results. The Mountain Hawks hold a one game lead over Boston University, while both Army and Bucknell are three games back. While Lehigh visits Army this weekend Boston University will host Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks can clinch their third straight (and 19th overall) Patriot League regular season championship with three victories over the Black Knights, but should Lehigh stumble, Army and Boston University both have a chance to move up to grab the top seed.
This weekend's series also marks a rematch of the championship round of last year's Patriot League Tournament, where the Black Knights shut out the Mountain Hawks twice in one day at Kaufman Field to deny Lehigh a third straight tournament crown. Army and Lehigh met seven times last year, with Lehigh winning four of those games. The Black Knights, however, captured the two that mattered most.
Lehigh was off from league play last week and went 3-3 in non-league action, winning the second game of a doubleheader at Manhattan on Saturday before sweeping a home twinbill from Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday.
Freshman Vicky Lattanzio led Lehigh in last week's action, going 7-for-16 (.438) with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI. Juniors Emily Bausher and Emma Capetz both drove in four runs for the week as well.
In the pitcher's circle, freshman Christine Campbell capped the week with an eight-hit shutout in the nightcap against Saint Francis. She rebounded from a rocky outing at Hofstra in the midweek, striking out a career-high eight to pick up her ninth win and fourth shutout of the season.
Sophomore Morgan Decker continues to lead Lehigh offensively, with a .390 average, eight home runs and 36 runs batted in. Decker has been especially strong in Lehigh's 15 Patriot League games, batting .500 (20-for-40) with eight extra base hits and 14 RBI. She has also reached via a walk or hit by pitch 16 times in league play, good for a .632 on-base percentage.
Second baseman Alexis Watanabe has been Lehigh's table setter, behind Decker in the stats and in front of her in the Mountain Hawks' batting order. Watanabe is batting .361 and leads Lehigh in hits (57), while tying for the lead in runs (31). The sophomore is batting .415 in league games.
While her workload has been somewhat limited, Bausher has been outstanding in the pitcher's circle for Lehigh in league play. She has appeared in seven games, and thrown 37 innings and owns a 7-0 record with a miniscule 0.38 ERA. Bausher has struck out 51 and walked just seven in those 37 innings. For the season, Bausher has an 11-6 record and team-low 2.16 ERA. In addition to Campbell, senior Ashley Quigley (7-5, 2.96) could see time in the circle.
The defending league champion Black Knights are 22-23 overall and 9-6 in the Patriot League. Army swept a doubleheader at Holy Cross on Sunday but lost the series finale on a walk-off home run Monday afternoon. The Black Knights were rained out against Albany on Wednesday.
At the plate Army is led by third baseman Kasey McCravey, who is second to Decker in the league with seven home runs, and second, just ahead of Decker with 43 RBI to go along with a .393 average.
Freshman Alee Rashenskas has added a .358 average and 25 RBI, while senior Amanda Nguyen leads with 33 runs scored, to go along with a .338 average and 25 stolen bases.
Three Army pitchers have thrown more than 70 innings in the circle this season. Caroline Smith leads the staff with 132 innings pitched. She owns a 12-11 record and 2.97 ERA. More recently, Kristen West has been the pitcher of choice for the Black Knights. She has thrown every inning of Army's last four games, including back-to-back shutouts of Holy Cross last Sunday. West is 5-5 with a team-low 2.70 ERA. Braetana Roy is the only pitcher of the three that Lehigh has faced. This year, Roy is 5-5 with a 5.25 ERA in 73.1 innings, but she hasn't appeared in a game since April 12.
Lehigh leads the all-time series with Army 76-32 but has lost three of the last four games after winning eight straight prior to that.
The series begins with a doubleheader Saturday at the Army Softball Complex followed by a single game Sunday afternoon. First pitch both days is set for 1 p.m. with audio coverage available at Lehighsports.com.
The Patriot League Tournament begins May 8 at the home field of the highest seed.
MHT EP 12 - Softball
Friday, March 13
2026 Lehigh Softball Season Preview
Thursday, February 05
Lehigh Sports Central: Softball
Wednesday, April 30
2025 Season Preview: Softball
Thursday, February 06
