Monday, February 22
Norfolk, Va.
11 a.m.
Lehigh University
3-0
7
at
6
Norfolk State
0-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Lehigh
0
2
0
2
0
0
1
0
2
7
10
0
Norfolk State
0
4
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
6
4
4
Lehigh earns 7-6 come-from-behind win to sweep series at Norfolk State
2/22/2016 2:14:00 PM | Baseball
NORFOLK, Va. - The Lehigh baseball team trailed 6-5 heading into the top of the ninth inning in the final game of a three-game series at Norfolk State Monday, but the Mountain Hawks plated two runs in the frame to battle for a 7-6 win at Marty L. Miller Field. Sophomore southpaw Sam Ashey threw a perfect 4.1 innings of relief to earn the victory on the mound as the Mountain Hawks completed the three-game sweep of the Spartans and put Lehigh's season record at 3-0.
"Sam Ashey was the story of today's game and he gave us a chance to win," said head coach Sean Leary. "He had a fantastic outing and really kept us in the game. The clutch hitting was really great to see as well and we had offensive contributions up and down the lineup today."
Junior Patrick Donnelly went 2-for-5 at the plate with two RBI, including the game-winning RBI double in the top of the ninth inning. Classmate Connor Donovan had a 3-for-5 showing at the dish with two runs scored and one RBI, while senior Anthony Rinaldi knocked in a pair of runs as well.
Both teams went down in order in the first inning before Lehigh struck in the second frame of the back-and-forth contest. Donnelly and Donovan were able to take second and third with one out in the second inning thanks to a pair of Norfolk State errors before Rinaldi brought both runners home with a two-run single up the middle to put Lehigh ahead 2-0. The Spartans countered right away in the bottom half of the inning by drawing three-straight walks before Alex Mauricio hit a grand slam to give Norfolk State a 4-2 lead. Freshman Cole McManimon took the mound in relief and recorded three quick outs, two of which were strikeouts, to end the NSU threat.
After a quick third inning, Lehigh was able to tie the game in the fourth as junior David Young reached base with an infield single before advancing to second on a passed ball. Donovan then followed with an RBI single to left to put the score at 4-3. A batter later, freshman Jeff Shanfeldt sent a game-tying base hit to left to score Donovan and even the game at 4-4.
McManimon allowed just one hit in his first three innings on the mound before the Spartans used a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. The Mountain Hawks were able to get a run back in the seventh when a Norfolk State error put sophomore James Bleming on second before he scored on a single through the left side from Donnelly to cut the Spartans' lead to 6-5.
Ashey came on in relief with two outs in the fifth and retired the next 10 Spartans send the game to the top of the ninth. Bleming drew a leadoff walk before taking second and third on a pair of passed balls. A Norfolk State error on a groundball off the bat of senior Mike Garzillo allowed Bleming to run home and tie the game at 6-6. Donnelly followed with a double down the left field line to score Garzillo and put the Mountain Hawks ahead 7-6.
Ashey finished his first career appearance by getting a groundout and fanning the final two batters to lock up the 7-6 win and secure the series sweep for the Mountain Hawks. He struck out six batters while walking none in the hitless 4.1 inning outing. Norfolk State reliever Jonathan Mauricio was saddled with the loss.
The Mountain Hawks return to action next Wednesday March 2 when Lehigh heads to Coppin State for a 3 p.m. contest before traveling to Marshall for a three-game set March 5-6.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ashey, Sam (1-0)
L: MAURICIO,Jonathan (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Bleming, James 1 ; Donnelly, Patrick 1
RBI: Donnelly, Patrick 2 ; Donovan, Connor 1 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 2 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 1
SH: Nalesnik, Jacen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bleming, James 2 ; Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Donnelly, Patrick 1 ; Young, David 1 ; Donovan, Connor 2
HBP: Nalesnik, Jacen 1
Batting:
HR: LEITE,Tony 1 ; MAURICIO,Alex 2
RBI: LEITE,Tony 1 ; MAURICIO,Alex 5
Base Running:
RUNS: BEARD,Brian 1 ; LEITE,Tony 2 ; HERRERA,Ismael 1 ; MAURICIO,Alex 2
SB: GRANGER,Kevin 2
HBP: HERRERA,Ismael 1 ; GRANGER,Kevin 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF/IF
/ Baseball3B
/ Baseball1B/P
/ Baseball
2B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
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