Lehigh falls to Army 5-1 in nine innings in Patriot League Tournament opener

Thursday, May 8

12:30 PM

Lehigh University

30-19

Army

23-26

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Army	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	5	11	0
Lehigh	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	3

Lehigh falls to Army 5-1 in nine innings in Patriot League Tournament opener

5/8/2014 6:38:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Live Stats for Friday | Watch all games on PLN | Patriot League Tournament Home

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After battling back from an early 1-0 deficit to force extra innings, the top-seeded Lehigh softball team dropped its first game at the Patriot League Tournament Thursday as No. 4 seed Army scored four runs in the ninth to win 5-1 in nine innings at Kaufman Field. Freshman Vicky Lattanzio tied the game at one with a sixth-inning RBI single, but a RBI double by Marah House and two Lehigh errors allowed the Black Knights to reclaim the lead for good.

The Black Knights (23-26) will face No. 2 seed Boston University in Friday's first game after the Terriers rallied to beat No. 3 Bucknell 4-3 in eight innings. Lehigh falls to 30-19 and will face the Bison in an elimination game Friday at approximately 1 p.m.

"Army played well and made every play when we didn't," said Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan. "That was the difference in the game. We've been in this situation before. We're going to try to win four games in a row to win the whole thing, which we've done on plenty of occasions throughout the year."

<%--Softball vs. Army (PLT), 5/8/14 Gallery--%>

Lattanzio led the Mountain Hawks offensively with a 2-for-4 showing at the plate that included Lehigh's lone RBI. Junior Emily Bausher was strong in the circle for the majority of the game before surrendering four runs in the ninth inning.

After a scoreless first inning, Army third baseman Casey McCravey sent a single to right field to lead off the second inning before stealing both second and third base. Army pitcher Caroline Smith grounded out to second, scoring McCravey to give the Black Knights a 1-0 lead.

Lehigh had a few chances over the next few innings to plate a run of their own, but Smith worked her way out of trouble to leave three Mountain Hawks on base over the next four innings. Bausher worked out of multiple jams herself to keep Lehigh in the hunt.

Sophomore Alexis Watanabe singled through the right side in the sixth inning before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Classmate Morgan Decker followed by drawing a walk before Lattanzio sent a shot down the right field line to drive home Watanabe and tie the game at one. Lehigh had an opportunity to take the lead but McCravey snared a rocket to off Bausher's bat and landed on third base for the inning-ending double play

Lehigh had a runner on base in the bottom of the seventh but could not push across the winning run as Smith got pinch hitter Carissa Zito to ground out to shortstop.

Both teams had a chance to score in the eighth, but each ultimately stranded two runners on base and the score remained 1-1 heading into the ninth. McCravey led off the top of the ninth with an infield single. House followed with a double to right center that got under the glove of Lehigh centerfielder MacKenzie Velasquez. The hit scored McCravey while the error allowed House to roll into third before a throwing error by Wantanabe sent House home and gave the Black Knights took a 3-1 lead. A pair of RBI singles from Amanda Nguyen and Alee Rashenskas added two more to give Army a 5-1 lead.

Smith (13-11) sat Lehigh down in order in the bottom half of the ninth to close out the victory. Bausher (13-7) suffered her first loss against a Patriot League opponent in 2014 and finished with a line of five runs on 11 hits and five strikeouts nine innings.

Lehigh will face Bucknell in an elimination game Friday at 1 p.m. The survivor of that game will face the loser of Friday's first game between Army and Boston University at 3:30 p.m. Friday for a spot in the championship round. Streaming video for all games in the Patriot League Tournament is available for free via the Patriot League Network.