Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh looks back on momentum-building championship campaign
6/12/2015 11:16:00 AM | Softball, Tickets
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh softball program got back to where it wanted to be in 2015. After disappointing ends to the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Mountain Hawks put together an impressive 40-9 campaign this year. Lehigh clinched the Patriot League regular season title with three games to spare and went on to win its 13th Patriot League tournament crown and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. In a return to Norman, Oklahoma the Mountain Hawks posted their first NCAA Tournament victory in six years.
The Mountain Hawks reclaimed their place at the top of Patriot League in softball, and established a foundation for future success.
"Obviously we enjoyed a very good season, going 40-9," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "We met our goal of winning a Patriot League Championship and getting back to the NCAA Tournament and were able to win a game at regionals. We had a number of impressive team and individual accomplishments this year, which will give us a lot of positive momentum moving forward. Our final RPI ended up being 55 which is incredible given how many games we lost to weather!"
At times in 2015, it seemed like Lehigh's toughest opponent might be Mother Nature. A trip to North Carolina for the season-opening Tar Heel Invitational was cancelled and winter weather forced the Mountain Hawks to change plans for their opener the following weekend. A March snowstorm postponed the start of Patriot League play, and a brutal northeast winter delayed the opening of the new Leadership Park.
When the Mountain Hawks were finally able to play, they won, more than they lost. A late change of plans had Lehigh opening its season in Florida, at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic. The Mountain Hawks finally opened up on February 27, rallying from an early 5-0 deficit to defeat Omaha 6-5. Later that day Lehigh was beaten by Indiana 15-7. That loss marked the only time all season that the Mountain Hawks gave up more than six runs in a game. Weather cost the Mountain Hawks power conference games against Maryland and Notre Dame the following day but Lehigh closed the Citrus Classic with two tight wins over Northern Iowa and Saint Francis (Pa.).
Freshman Nicole Yozzo proved to be a catalyst in the early season, going 12-for-14 at the plate on the opening weekend and earning Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors.
The following weekend, Lehigh returned to Florida for its spring break trip. The Mountain Hawks won their first five games at the Rebel Spring Games, outscoring their opponents 21-2 before a 4-0 loss to Creighton in their final game in Winter Haven.
Two days later, Lehigh split two games at USF, beating Georgetown before falling 4-2 in a close game to the host Bulls. The Mountain Hawks led that game 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth and after the loss to USF would not lose another game for nearly a month.
Lehigh capped its spring break trip with a 4-0 showing at the USF Spring Break Tournament, including one-run wins over Green Bay, Central Michigan and UMass-Lowell.
Upon returning to the northeast, Lehigh swept its first midweek doubleheader of the season, blanking Penn twice in Philadelphia on March 18. A rough winter left neither Leadership Park nor Kaufman Field ready for play so the first two games of Lehigh's Patriot League-opening series versus Boston University were moved to Penn, before a weekend snowstorm postponed them further.
After a road win at Delaware, Lehigh opened league play with a three-game sweep of rival Lafayette, outscoring the Leopards 21-0 in three games in Easton.
With Leadership Park not yet ready, Lehigh opened its home slate at Kaufman Field, and showed few ill effects in posting five wins over Boston University and Bucknell April 1-5. The Mountain Hawks scored 11 first inning runs in game two of a doubleheader with the Terriers on April 1 and outscored their two opponents 49-10 over those five games. With 7-3 win over the Bison on April 5, Lehigh broke its own Patriot League record with its 15th consecutive victory.
A doubleheader sweep at the hands of regional rival Hofstra on April 8 halted the win streak, but Lehigh continued to play well. The Mountain Hawks won six of next seven games, including come-from-behind extra-inning wins at Princeton (11 innings) and UMBC (ten innings).
Finally, on April 22, Lehigh was able to play on its new home field. An afternoon thunderstorm shortened a scheduled doubleheader with Villanova to a single game, but behind a home run and three RBI by junior Morgan Decker and five shutout innings from senior Emily Bausher, Lehigh topped the Wildcats 7-1 in the first game at Leadership Park.
Army West Point visited Leadership Park for the first league series at the new facility. Lehigh rebounded from a game one loss to split an April 25 doubleheader. The following day Bausher fired a two-hitter as Lehigh won the rubber game 3-0, a win that combined with a Colgate loss gave the Mountain Hawks the regular season title.
After closing out the regular season with a three-game sweep at Colgate, Lehigh hosted the Patriot League Tournament at Leadership Park. The Mountain Hawks opened with postseason nemesis Army West Point and Bausher pitched (a three-hitter) and hit (go-ahead RBI single) the Mountain Hawks to a 3-0 win with some help from classmate Cassie Waggy, who delivered a key two-run single for insurance.
Lehigh met Bucknell in the May 8 winner's bracket game and built a 4-0 lead before the Bison tied the game late with four unearned runs. A two-out, walk-off RBI single by junior Jessica Calvini scored Alexis Watanabe to put Lehigh into the championship round.
The following day, Lehigh won the title with an 8-0, six-inning win over the Bison, breaking open a 4-0 game with a four run sixth. Yozzo went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Bausher pitched her 11th shutout of the season on the way to earning Tournament MVP honors.
For their NCAA appearance, Lehigh was sent back to Norman, where it competed in 2001 and 2012. The first opponent was a familiar one in Texas A&M, a team the Mountain Hawks owned a 3-1 record against. Lehigh held its own against the Aggies in the regional opener but came up on the short end of a 2-1 score. The next day the Mountain Hawks eliminated Central Arkansas 3-0 behind a combined four-hitter from sophomore Christine Campbell and Bausher. The win earned Lehigh a rematch with Texas A&M that night. The Aggies built a 4-0 lead behind three home runs before play was suspended due to severe weather. When play resumed the next morning Texas A&M added one more run to win 5-0 and end Lehigh's season.
The Mountain Hawks' 40-9 final record marked just the fifth 40-win season in school history. Bausher and Campbell anchored a pitching staff that ranked second nationally with a 1.52 team earned run average. Individually, Bausher ranked seventh in Division I with a 1.24 ERA and tied a Patriot League record with 11 shutouts.
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 for the second straight year. The award is given to the player who makes the most outstanding athletic contribution to the accomplishments of the team.
Bausher became a four-time All-Patriot League selection in 2015 and won her second straight Pitcher of the Year award in addition to earning All-Region distinction from the NFCA. She was also named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for softball and was Lehigh Athletics' outstanding Graduating Female Athlete and Graduating Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Bausher went 21-7 as a senior and struck out 193 batters in a career-high 180 innings of work.
Junior second baseman Alexis Watanabe was honored as the team Scholar-Athlete award winner for the second straight year. The Scholar-Athlete award is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the ideal of the scholar athlete. Watanabe had another strong year academically, and carries a 3.81 GPA in molecular biology. She also enjoyed her best season on the field, leading the Patriot League and ranking ninth nationally with a .460 batting average. A first team All-Patriot League and NFCA All-Region selection, Watanabe had 63 hits, nine doubles, 29 runs scored and 27 RBI despite missing seven games due to injury.
Finally, the team awarded senior catcher Brandi Hawkins 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. Hawkins only appeared in 16 games in 2015 but was a team tri-captain and a leader off the field for the Mountain Hawks. In the seventh inning of Lehigh's season-ending loss to Texas A&M, Waggy asked if Hawkins could take her turn at bat, and Hawkins responded with a sharp single to center field for her first hit of the season.
In all, nine Mountain Hawks garnered All-Patriot League recognition. Bausher and Watanabe were joined by Campbell, senior shortstop Emma Capetz, who delivered six triples and a number of clutch hits for the Mountain Hawks, and junior MacKenzie Velasquez, who led Lehigh with a .476 batting average during league play.
Yozzo finished at .373 with 45 runs scored and 30 stolen bases and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year. She was joined on the all-league second team by Calvini, Decker and sophomore Vicky Lattanzio.
Prior to the Norman Regional, Bausher and Watanabe were named first team Mid-Atlantic All-Region by the NFCA while Yozzo was named to the second team.
Lehigh loses four starters to graduation in Bausher, Capetz, Hawkins and Waggy but returns seven All-League performers. Now that the Mountain Hawks have returned to the top of the Patriot League, the pieces are in place to remain there.
The Mountain Hawks reclaimed their place at the top of Patriot League in softball, and established a foundation for future success.
"Obviously we enjoyed a very good season, going 40-9," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "We met our goal of winning a Patriot League Championship and getting back to the NCAA Tournament and were able to win a game at regionals. We had a number of impressive team and individual accomplishments this year, which will give us a lot of positive momentum moving forward. Our final RPI ended up being 55 which is incredible given how many games we lost to weather!"
At times in 2015, it seemed like Lehigh's toughest opponent might be Mother Nature. A trip to North Carolina for the season-opening Tar Heel Invitational was cancelled and winter weather forced the Mountain Hawks to change plans for their opener the following weekend. A March snowstorm postponed the start of Patriot League play, and a brutal northeast winter delayed the opening of the new Leadership Park.
When the Mountain Hawks were finally able to play, they won, more than they lost. A late change of plans had Lehigh opening its season in Florida, at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic. The Mountain Hawks finally opened up on February 27, rallying from an early 5-0 deficit to defeat Omaha 6-5. Later that day Lehigh was beaten by Indiana 15-7. That loss marked the only time all season that the Mountain Hawks gave up more than six runs in a game. Weather cost the Mountain Hawks power conference games against Maryland and Notre Dame the following day but Lehigh closed the Citrus Classic with two tight wins over Northern Iowa and Saint Francis (Pa.).
Freshman Nicole Yozzo proved to be a catalyst in the early season, going 12-for-14 at the plate on the opening weekend and earning Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors.
The following weekend, Lehigh returned to Florida for its spring break trip. The Mountain Hawks won their first five games at the Rebel Spring Games, outscoring their opponents 21-2 before a 4-0 loss to Creighton in their final game in Winter Haven.
Two days later, Lehigh split two games at USF, beating Georgetown before falling 4-2 in a close game to the host Bulls. The Mountain Hawks led that game 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth and after the loss to USF would not lose another game for nearly a month.
Lehigh capped its spring break trip with a 4-0 showing at the USF Spring Break Tournament, including one-run wins over Green Bay, Central Michigan and UMass-Lowell.
Upon returning to the northeast, Lehigh swept its first midweek doubleheader of the season, blanking Penn twice in Philadelphia on March 18. A rough winter left neither Leadership Park nor Kaufman Field ready for play so the first two games of Lehigh's Patriot League-opening series versus Boston University were moved to Penn, before a weekend snowstorm postponed them further.
After a road win at Delaware, Lehigh opened league play with a three-game sweep of rival Lafayette, outscoring the Leopards 21-0 in three games in Easton.
With Leadership Park not yet ready, Lehigh opened its home slate at Kaufman Field, and showed few ill effects in posting five wins over Boston University and Bucknell April 1-5. The Mountain Hawks scored 11 first inning runs in game two of a doubleheader with the Terriers on April 1 and outscored their two opponents 49-10 over those five games. With 7-3 win over the Bison on April 5, Lehigh broke its own Patriot League record with its 15th consecutive victory.
A doubleheader sweep at the hands of regional rival Hofstra on April 8 halted the win streak, but Lehigh continued to play well. The Mountain Hawks won six of next seven games, including come-from-behind extra-inning wins at Princeton (11 innings) and UMBC (ten innings).
Finally, on April 22, Lehigh was able to play on its new home field. An afternoon thunderstorm shortened a scheduled doubleheader with Villanova to a single game, but behind a home run and three RBI by junior Morgan Decker and five shutout innings from senior Emily Bausher, Lehigh topped the Wildcats 7-1 in the first game at Leadership Park.
Army West Point visited Leadership Park for the first league series at the new facility. Lehigh rebounded from a game one loss to split an April 25 doubleheader. The following day Bausher fired a two-hitter as Lehigh won the rubber game 3-0, a win that combined with a Colgate loss gave the Mountain Hawks the regular season title.
After closing out the regular season with a three-game sweep at Colgate, Lehigh hosted the Patriot League Tournament at Leadership Park. The Mountain Hawks opened with postseason nemesis Army West Point and Bausher pitched (a three-hitter) and hit (go-ahead RBI single) the Mountain Hawks to a 3-0 win with some help from classmate Cassie Waggy, who delivered a key two-run single for insurance.
Lehigh met Bucknell in the May 8 winner's bracket game and built a 4-0 lead before the Bison tied the game late with four unearned runs. A two-out, walk-off RBI single by junior Jessica Calvini scored Alexis Watanabe to put Lehigh into the championship round.
The following day, Lehigh won the title with an 8-0, six-inning win over the Bison, breaking open a 4-0 game with a four run sixth. Yozzo went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Bausher pitched her 11th shutout of the season on the way to earning Tournament MVP honors.
For their NCAA appearance, Lehigh was sent back to Norman, where it competed in 2001 and 2012. The first opponent was a familiar one in Texas A&M, a team the Mountain Hawks owned a 3-1 record against. Lehigh held its own against the Aggies in the regional opener but came up on the short end of a 2-1 score. The next day the Mountain Hawks eliminated Central Arkansas 3-0 behind a combined four-hitter from sophomore Christine Campbell and Bausher. The win earned Lehigh a rematch with Texas A&M that night. The Aggies built a 4-0 lead behind three home runs before play was suspended due to severe weather. When play resumed the next morning Texas A&M added one more run to win 5-0 and end Lehigh's season.
The Mountain Hawks' 40-9 final record marked just the fifth 40-win season in school history. Bausher and Campbell anchored a pitching staff that ranked second nationally with a 1.52 team earned run average. Individually, Bausher ranked seventh in Division I with a 1.24 ERA and tied a Patriot League record with 11 shutouts.
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 for the second straight year. The award is given to the player who makes the most outstanding athletic contribution to the accomplishments of the team.
Bausher became a four-time All-Patriot League selection in 2015 and won her second straight Pitcher of the Year award in addition to earning All-Region distinction from the NFCA. She was also named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for softball and was Lehigh Athletics' outstanding Graduating Female Athlete and Graduating Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Bausher went 21-7 as a senior and struck out 193 batters in a career-high 180 innings of work.
Junior second baseman Alexis Watanabe was honored as the team Scholar-Athlete award winner for the second straight year. The Scholar-Athlete award is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the ideal of the scholar athlete. Watanabe had another strong year academically, and carries a 3.81 GPA in molecular biology. She also enjoyed her best season on the field, leading the Patriot League and ranking ninth nationally with a .460 batting average. A first team All-Patriot League and NFCA All-Region selection, Watanabe had 63 hits, nine doubles, 29 runs scored and 27 RBI despite missing seven games due to injury.
Finally, the team awarded senior catcher Brandi Hawkins 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. Hawkins only appeared in 16 games in 2015 but was a team tri-captain and a leader off the field for the Mountain Hawks. In the seventh inning of Lehigh's season-ending loss to Texas A&M, Waggy asked if Hawkins could take her turn at bat, and Hawkins responded with a sharp single to center field for her first hit of the season.
In all, nine Mountain Hawks garnered All-Patriot League recognition. Bausher and Watanabe were joined by Campbell, senior shortstop Emma Capetz, who delivered six triples and a number of clutch hits for the Mountain Hawks, and junior MacKenzie Velasquez, who led Lehigh with a .476 batting average during league play.
Yozzo finished at .373 with 45 runs scored and 30 stolen bases and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year. She was joined on the all-league second team by Calvini, Decker and sophomore Vicky Lattanzio.
Prior to the Norman Regional, Bausher and Watanabe were named first team Mid-Atlantic All-Region by the NFCA while Yozzo was named to the second team.
Lehigh loses four starters to graduation in Bausher, Capetz, Hawkins and Waggy but returns seven All-League performers. Now that the Mountain Hawks have returned to the top of the Patriot League, the pieces are in place to remain there.
Players Mentioned
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UT
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/ SoftballMHT 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
