Lehigh softball season in review, Mountain Hawks announce team awards
5/23/2014 10:08:00 AM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh softball team enjoyed another strong season in 2014. While the Mountain Hawks fell short of their ultimate goal, a Patriot League Tournament title and return trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament, Lehigh did post a 30-20 overall record extending its streak of consecutive 30-win seasons to 14.
The Mountain Hawks won their third straight Patriot League regular season title with a league record of 15-3. The pressure was on the Mountain Hawks to sweep Army in the final weekend of play to clinch the title and they did just that, winning all three games against the Black Knights by a combined score of 22-4.
While the Mountain Hawks came up short of a Patriot League Tournament title for the second straight season the 2014 season was highlighted by memorable moments and significant individual accomplishment.
"While the Patriot League Tournament did not end up as planned, we did have an outstanding season in many ways," said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. "First in a very competitive Patriot League, we were able to win the regular season championship and along the way have six first team All-Patriot League selections and one second team selection. It is also very rewarding to have three players receive major Patriot League Awards and Regional All-American status."
After dropping its first four games against tough competition at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic, Lehigh took its first trip to California since 1998 for spring break. There, the Mountain Hawks were greeted by rare Southern California rainfall, which impacted the early schedule. The team finally broke through for its first win of the season in its sixth game as freshman Christine Campbell threw a six-hit shutout in her hometown to defeat eventual NCAA Regional participant San Diego State. The Mountain Hawks also split a doubleheader against the University of San Diego and picked up wins over Brown and Saint Mary's at the LMU Invitational to finish 4-6 in California and returned home at 4-10.
From there, Lehigh went on its most successful run of the season, winning 13 straight games to improve to 17-10, while also winning its first seven Patriot League contests. The 13 straight wins fell one shy of the school and Patriot League record set one year ago.
The Mountain Hawks' Patriot League opener was a record-setting one as Lehigh defeated Colgate 26-1 in five innings on March 22. Lehigh answered a Colgate first inning home run with 26 unanswered runs in its four at bats. The 26 runs were the second most in program history and the most in the Patriot League Era and Patriot League game. The 25 run margin of victory set a new school record, surpassing the 22 run margin against Muhlenberg in 1977.
Individually, five players had at least three hits against Colgate, led by sophomore Alexis Watanabe, who went 5-for-5. Three players: Watanabe, sophomore MacKenzie Velasquez and junior Cassie Waggy, tied a school record with four runs scored, while Waggy added five RBI and Lehigh's only home run of the rout.
As part of the win streak, Lehigh also swept three games from arch rival Lafayette and hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the second game of a doubleheader sweep at Rider.
At the end of the season Watanabe, sophomore Morgan Decker and junior Emily Bausher collected a number of individual honors. All three Mountain Hawks were first team All-Patriot League selections and all three won major Patriot League awards. Additionally, all three were recognized for their work in the classroom as they were named to the Academic All-Patriot League team. Following the Patriot League Tournament, all three players were named to NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region Teams, with Decker earning a spot on the first team, Bausher being named to the second team and Watanabe selected to the third team.
Decker earned Patriot League Player of the Year honors for the second straight year. The sophomore led Lehigh with a .412 batting average, nine home runs and 39 RBIs. She also led the Patriot League in home runs, slugging percentage (.725), on base percentage (.548) and walks (32). Decker's slugging percentage was more than 100 points higher than anyone else in the Patriot League and her on base percentage ranks eighth nationally.
Bausher was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year after leading all Patriot League pitchers with nine wins and 55 strikeouts during the Patriot League regular season. She finished the season at 13-7 overall with a 2.14 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
At the conclusion of Lehigh's season, Troyan handed out the softball team's end of season awards, with Bausher receiving the Outstanding Athlete Award, which is given to the player who makes the most outstanding athletic contribution to the accomplishments of the team.
"The selections for our end of the year team awards were as difficult as ever but for Athlete of the Year, Emily is the most deserving," Troyan said, "While battling an injury most of the season, she finished Patriot League Play with a miniscule 0.89 ERA."
Sophomore Alexis Watanabe was the first ever recipient of Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year award. The second baseman handled 179 of 182 chances, good for a .984 fielding percentage. She also batted .364 with 64 hits and 34 runs scored. Watanabe was honored with the team's Scholar-Athlete award, which is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the ideal of the scholar athlete. Troyan said it was a difficult decision to make as many players contributed to a very strong team GPA of nearly 3.5 for the spring semester.
"Alexis Watanabe stands out ever so slightly from the crowd," he said of his second baseman that carries a 3.80 cumulative GPA in molecular biology. "And this is difficult to do when you need shoes on to break 5-feet tall."
Finally, the team awarded sophomore Carissa Zito with the Coaches Award, which is given to the individual who made a significant contribution to the well-being of the team in terms of attitude, improvement or special leadership. In order to help the team this season, Zito moved from shortstop to catcher without any previous experience at her new position.
"Her personal sacrifice for the betterment of the team did not go unnoticed by anyone," Troyan said.
Troyan received his sixth Patriot League Coach of the Year award becoming the first softball coach to win the award in three straight seasons.
Joining Decker, Bausher and Watanabe on the All-League first team were Waggy, sophomore Jessica Calvini and freshman Vicky Lattanzio. Junior shortstop Emma Capetz was named to the second team.
Following the conclusion of the Patriot League Tournament, Bausher and Lattanzio, a freshman outfielder who came on late in the season to bat .315 with ten doubles and 29 RBI, were named to the All-Tournament team.
Lehigh faced a tough schedule in 2014 with one-fifth of the Mountain Hawks' games coming against teams that qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament. In addition to its win at San Diego State, Lehigh defeated Boston University 3-0 behind a one-hitter from Bausher on April 5 before the Terriers captured the final two games of the season. The other NCAA squads Lehigh faced included North Carolina State, South Alabama, Long Beach State, Fordham and Hofstra.
The Mountain Hawks lose five seniors to graduation who were members of Lehigh's back-to-back Patriot League Championship teams in 2011 and 2012. The class of 2014 includes pitchers Ashley Quigley and Kelsey Lee, catcher Jess Long, infielder Lizzy Odren and outfielder Kristin Taft. Lehigh does return almost all of its positional starters plus its top two pitchers in terms of innings pitched for 2015.
Story by Molly Brooks '15
The Mountain Hawks won their third straight Patriot League regular season title with a league record of 15-3. The pressure was on the Mountain Hawks to sweep Army in the final weekend of play to clinch the title and they did just that, winning all three games against the Black Knights by a combined score of 22-4.
While the Mountain Hawks came up short of a Patriot League Tournament title for the second straight season the 2014 season was highlighted by memorable moments and significant individual accomplishment.
"While the Patriot League Tournament did not end up as planned, we did have an outstanding season in many ways," said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. "First in a very competitive Patriot League, we were able to win the regular season championship and along the way have six first team All-Patriot League selections and one second team selection. It is also very rewarding to have three players receive major Patriot League Awards and Regional All-American status."
After dropping its first four games against tough competition at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic, Lehigh took its first trip to California since 1998 for spring break. There, the Mountain Hawks were greeted by rare Southern California rainfall, which impacted the early schedule. The team finally broke through for its first win of the season in its sixth game as freshman Christine Campbell threw a six-hit shutout in her hometown to defeat eventual NCAA Regional participant San Diego State. The Mountain Hawks also split a doubleheader against the University of San Diego and picked up wins over Brown and Saint Mary's at the LMU Invitational to finish 4-6 in California and returned home at 4-10.
From there, Lehigh went on its most successful run of the season, winning 13 straight games to improve to 17-10, while also winning its first seven Patriot League contests. The 13 straight wins fell one shy of the school and Patriot League record set one year ago.
The Mountain Hawks' Patriot League opener was a record-setting one as Lehigh defeated Colgate 26-1 in five innings on March 22. Lehigh answered a Colgate first inning home run with 26 unanswered runs in its four at bats. The 26 runs were the second most in program history and the most in the Patriot League Era and Patriot League game. The 25 run margin of victory set a new school record, surpassing the 22 run margin against Muhlenberg in 1977.
Individually, five players had at least three hits against Colgate, led by sophomore Alexis Watanabe, who went 5-for-5. Three players: Watanabe, sophomore MacKenzie Velasquez and junior Cassie Waggy, tied a school record with four runs scored, while Waggy added five RBI and Lehigh's only home run of the rout.
As part of the win streak, Lehigh also swept three games from arch rival Lafayette and hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the second game of a doubleheader sweep at Rider.
At the end of the season Watanabe, sophomore Morgan Decker and junior Emily Bausher collected a number of individual honors. All three Mountain Hawks were first team All-Patriot League selections and all three won major Patriot League awards. Additionally, all three were recognized for their work in the classroom as they were named to the Academic All-Patriot League team. Following the Patriot League Tournament, all three players were named to NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region Teams, with Decker earning a spot on the first team, Bausher being named to the second team and Watanabe selected to the third team.
Decker earned Patriot League Player of the Year honors for the second straight year. The sophomore led Lehigh with a .412 batting average, nine home runs and 39 RBIs. She also led the Patriot League in home runs, slugging percentage (.725), on base percentage (.548) and walks (32). Decker's slugging percentage was more than 100 points higher than anyone else in the Patriot League and her on base percentage ranks eighth nationally.
Bausher was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year after leading all Patriot League pitchers with nine wins and 55 strikeouts during the Patriot League regular season. She finished the season at 13-7 overall with a 2.14 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
At the conclusion of Lehigh's season, Troyan handed out the softball team's end of season awards, with Bausher receiving the Outstanding Athlete Award, which is given to the player who makes the most outstanding athletic contribution to the accomplishments of the team.
"The selections for our end of the year team awards were as difficult as ever but for Athlete of the Year, Emily is the most deserving," Troyan said, "While battling an injury most of the season, she finished Patriot League Play with a miniscule 0.89 ERA."
Sophomore Alexis Watanabe was the first ever recipient of Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year award. The second baseman handled 179 of 182 chances, good for a .984 fielding percentage. She also batted .364 with 64 hits and 34 runs scored. Watanabe was honored with the team's Scholar-Athlete award, which is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the ideal of the scholar athlete. Troyan said it was a difficult decision to make as many players contributed to a very strong team GPA of nearly 3.5 for the spring semester.
"Alexis Watanabe stands out ever so slightly from the crowd," he said of his second baseman that carries a 3.80 cumulative GPA in molecular biology. "And this is difficult to do when you need shoes on to break 5-feet tall."
Finally, the team awarded sophomore Carissa Zito with the Coaches Award, which is given to the individual who made a significant contribution to the well-being of the team in terms of attitude, improvement or special leadership. In order to help the team this season, Zito moved from shortstop to catcher without any previous experience at her new position.
"Her personal sacrifice for the betterment of the team did not go unnoticed by anyone," Troyan said.
Troyan received his sixth Patriot League Coach of the Year award becoming the first softball coach to win the award in three straight seasons.
Joining Decker, Bausher and Watanabe on the All-League first team were Waggy, sophomore Jessica Calvini and freshman Vicky Lattanzio. Junior shortstop Emma Capetz was named to the second team.
Following the conclusion of the Patriot League Tournament, Bausher and Lattanzio, a freshman outfielder who came on late in the season to bat .315 with ten doubles and 29 RBI, were named to the All-Tournament team.
Lehigh faced a tough schedule in 2014 with one-fifth of the Mountain Hawks' games coming against teams that qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament. In addition to its win at San Diego State, Lehigh defeated Boston University 3-0 behind a one-hitter from Bausher on April 5 before the Terriers captured the final two games of the season. The other NCAA squads Lehigh faced included North Carolina State, South Alabama, Long Beach State, Fordham and Hofstra.
The Mountain Hawks lose five seniors to graduation who were members of Lehigh's back-to-back Patriot League Championship teams in 2011 and 2012. The class of 2014 includes pitchers Ashley Quigley and Kelsey Lee, catcher Jess Long, infielder Lizzy Odren and outfielder Kristin Taft. Lehigh does return almost all of its positional starters plus its top two pitchers in terms of innings pitched for 2015.
Story by Molly Brooks '15
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