Saturday, March 12
Orlando, Fla.
9:00:00 AM
Lehigh University
vs
Florida Gulf Coast
Mountain Hawks headed to Florida for 11 games over Spring Break
3/11/2016 11:01:00 AM | Softball
UCF Spring Fling Tournament Central Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh softball team is headed to Florida for 11 games spread over eight days over spring break. The Mountain Hawks will play in two tournaments, beginning with four games at the UCF Spring Fling Tournament, which for Lehigh begins Saturday in Orlando.
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The Mountain Hawks enter spring break at 7-3 through two weekends of play. After an impressive 4-1 showing at the UNCG Invitational, Lehigh rebounded from two tough losses to win their final three games of the Winthrop Invitational last weekend, downing Albany twice and beating a good Charlotte team that was coming off a victory over No. 16 Kentucky.
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Lehigh has hit the ball well in its first 10 games with a team batting average of .315. The Mountain Hawks are averaging just over six runs per game. Senior Morgan Decker has led the way in the early going, batting .571 (16-for-28) with four home runs and 17 RBI through 10 games. Decker had one home run each day of the Winthrop Invitational, and on Sunday became Lehigh's career leader in home runs with her 26th career long ball in a 9-0 win over Albany. She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week.
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Behind Decker, sophomore Katie Schultz is batting .391 with eight RBIs, while senior Alexis Watanabe is off to another strong start at the plate, hitting .371 with nine runs scored. Junior Vicky Lattanzio has been Lehigh's No. 2 run producer, with a home run and nine RBIs to go along with a .368 average.
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Lehigh's pitchers have thrown to a 3.52 earned run average. Junior Christine Campbell is 5-1 with a 3.53 ERA while freshman Emily Sorem is 2-2 with a 3.92 ERA in her first four college appearances. Both hurlers have 23 strikeouts on the season. Lattanzio has been solid in five innings of work, allowing just one run on seven hits.
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The Mountain Hawks will begin spring break at the UCF Spring Fling Tournament, where they will face Florida Gulf Coast (9 a.m.) and Indiana State (1 p.m.) on Saturday before taking on the Sycamores again (9 a.m.) and Big Ten member Purdue (1:30 p.m.) on Sunday.
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Florida Gulf Coast is 12-9 on the season. The Eagles are coming off an 8-0 loss to tournament host No. 25 UCF Thursday night. Prior to that FGCU split a doubleheader with Central Michigan on Tuesday. Lehigh has never faced Florida Gulf Coast in softball.
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Indiana State enters Friday at the UCF Spring Fling at 3-9. The Sycamores have lost their last five games including an 0-4 showing at the Purple & Gold Challenge in Nashville last weekend. Lehigh is 0-3 all-time against Indiana State with the most recent meeting coming in 2012.
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Purdue carries a 12-7 record into this weekend's action. The Boilermakers won their last three games at the USF Under Armour Invitational last weekend, beating College of Charleston, Seton Hall and St. Bonaventure. Sunday's game will mark the first meeting between Lehigh and Purdue.
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After a day of Monday, Lehigh will play Hartford in a single game Tuesday in Clearwater before playing two games at USF's stadium in Tampa on Wednesday.
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Hartford enters the weekend at 1-12 and will play five more games prior to Tuesday's neutral-site meeting with the Mountain Hawks, which is set for 3 p.m.
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On Wednesday, Lehigh will face Maine at 2:30 p.m. at the USF Softball Stadium before taking on the host Bulls at 5 p.m.
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Maine just opened its season on Monday, going 2-2 with wins over IPFW and Penn and losses to Penn and Western Michigan. The Black Bears will play seven more games before Wednesday. When Lehigh and Maine get together, Morgan Decker will compete against her sister Maddie, who is a freshman infielder for the Black Bears and is 1-for-5 in three games so far this season. Lehigh is 2-0 all-time versus Maine with wins in 2003 and 2006.
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USF is 14-9 on the season and has won six straight games including two wins over a tough Utah squad on Wednesday. The Bulls have six more games on the slate before facing Lehigh and Maine on Wednesday. The Lehigh-USF series is tied 1-1, with the Mountain Hawks claiming the initial meeting in 2009 and the Bulls rallying for a 4-2 win last season.
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Lehigh will close out its spring break trip with four games Friday and Saturday at the USF Spring Break Tournament. The Mountain Hawks will face Rutgers (11:45 a.m.) and Quinnipiac (2:15 p.m.) on Friday before closing out the trip with games against Northwestern (9:30 a.m.) and Marist (11:45 a.m.) on Saturday.
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Rutgers is just 6-12 overall but the Scarlet Knights have won their last three games, defeating UNC-Greensboro and North Carolina Central (twice). The Scarlet Knights will have seven more games in Florida before the USF Spring Break Tournament. Rutgers leads the series with Lehigh 6-5, but the Mountain Hawks claimed the most recent meeting, 1-0 in 2006.
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Quinnipiac carries a 5-4 mark into its spring trip to Florida. The Bobcats have six more games before the USF Spring Break Tournament, including a Friday game with Patriot League member Army West Point. Quinnipiac claimed the only two meetings with Lehigh in 2003 and 2004.
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Perennial NCAA Tournament participant Northwestern is 7-12 on the season. The Wildcats last played at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., where they went 0-5 including losses to ranked Fresno State and Arizona State. Northwestern has not played since March 6 and will not play again until next Friday. Next Saturday's meeting will be the first between Lehigh and Northwestern.
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Lehigh's final spring game will be against 7-3 Marist. The Red Foxes went 3-2 at the George Mason Tournament last weekend and will play in the UMBC Tournament this weekend. Lehigh leads the Marist series 7-5 with the most recent meetings coming in 2014.
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Following its spring break trip, Lehigh will visit Saint Joseph's for a non-league doubleheader on Wednesday, March 23 before opening Patriot League play against rival Lafayette at Leadership Park March 26-27.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh softball team is headed to Florida for 11 games spread over eight days over spring break. The Mountain Hawks will play in two tournaments, beginning with four games at the UCF Spring Fling Tournament, which for Lehigh begins Saturday in Orlando.
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The Mountain Hawks enter spring break at 7-3 through two weekends of play. After an impressive 4-1 showing at the UNCG Invitational, Lehigh rebounded from two tough losses to win their final three games of the Winthrop Invitational last weekend, downing Albany twice and beating a good Charlotte team that was coming off a victory over No. 16 Kentucky.
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Lehigh has hit the ball well in its first 10 games with a team batting average of .315. The Mountain Hawks are averaging just over six runs per game. Senior Morgan Decker has led the way in the early going, batting .571 (16-for-28) with four home runs and 17 RBI through 10 games. Decker had one home run each day of the Winthrop Invitational, and on Sunday became Lehigh's career leader in home runs with her 26th career long ball in a 9-0 win over Albany. She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week.
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Behind Decker, sophomore Katie Schultz is batting .391 with eight RBIs, while senior Alexis Watanabe is off to another strong start at the plate, hitting .371 with nine runs scored. Junior Vicky Lattanzio has been Lehigh's No. 2 run producer, with a home run and nine RBIs to go along with a .368 average.
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Lehigh's pitchers have thrown to a 3.52 earned run average. Junior Christine Campbell is 5-1 with a 3.53 ERA while freshman Emily Sorem is 2-2 with a 3.92 ERA in her first four college appearances. Both hurlers have 23 strikeouts on the season. Lattanzio has been solid in five innings of work, allowing just one run on seven hits.
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The Mountain Hawks will begin spring break at the UCF Spring Fling Tournament, where they will face Florida Gulf Coast (9 a.m.) and Indiana State (1 p.m.) on Saturday before taking on the Sycamores again (9 a.m.) and Big Ten member Purdue (1:30 p.m.) on Sunday.
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Florida Gulf Coast is 12-9 on the season. The Eagles are coming off an 8-0 loss to tournament host No. 25 UCF Thursday night. Prior to that FGCU split a doubleheader with Central Michigan on Tuesday. Lehigh has never faced Florida Gulf Coast in softball.
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Indiana State enters Friday at the UCF Spring Fling at 3-9. The Sycamores have lost their last five games including an 0-4 showing at the Purple & Gold Challenge in Nashville last weekend. Lehigh is 0-3 all-time against Indiana State with the most recent meeting coming in 2012.
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Purdue carries a 12-7 record into this weekend's action. The Boilermakers won their last three games at the USF Under Armour Invitational last weekend, beating College of Charleston, Seton Hall and St. Bonaventure. Sunday's game will mark the first meeting between Lehigh and Purdue.
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After a day of Monday, Lehigh will play Hartford in a single game Tuesday in Clearwater before playing two games at USF's stadium in Tampa on Wednesday.
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Hartford enters the weekend at 1-12 and will play five more games prior to Tuesday's neutral-site meeting with the Mountain Hawks, which is set for 3 p.m.
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On Wednesday, Lehigh will face Maine at 2:30 p.m. at the USF Softball Stadium before taking on the host Bulls at 5 p.m.
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Maine just opened its season on Monday, going 2-2 with wins over IPFW and Penn and losses to Penn and Western Michigan. The Black Bears will play seven more games before Wednesday. When Lehigh and Maine get together, Morgan Decker will compete against her sister Maddie, who is a freshman infielder for the Black Bears and is 1-for-5 in three games so far this season. Lehigh is 2-0 all-time versus Maine with wins in 2003 and 2006.
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USF is 14-9 on the season and has won six straight games including two wins over a tough Utah squad on Wednesday. The Bulls have six more games on the slate before facing Lehigh and Maine on Wednesday. The Lehigh-USF series is tied 1-1, with the Mountain Hawks claiming the initial meeting in 2009 and the Bulls rallying for a 4-2 win last season.
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Lehigh will close out its spring break trip with four games Friday and Saturday at the USF Spring Break Tournament. The Mountain Hawks will face Rutgers (11:45 a.m.) and Quinnipiac (2:15 p.m.) on Friday before closing out the trip with games against Northwestern (9:30 a.m.) and Marist (11:45 a.m.) on Saturday.
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Rutgers is just 6-12 overall but the Scarlet Knights have won their last three games, defeating UNC-Greensboro and North Carolina Central (twice). The Scarlet Knights will have seven more games in Florida before the USF Spring Break Tournament. Rutgers leads the series with Lehigh 6-5, but the Mountain Hawks claimed the most recent meeting, 1-0 in 2006.
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Quinnipiac carries a 5-4 mark into its spring trip to Florida. The Bobcats have six more games before the USF Spring Break Tournament, including a Friday game with Patriot League member Army West Point. Quinnipiac claimed the only two meetings with Lehigh in 2003 and 2004.
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Perennial NCAA Tournament participant Northwestern is 7-12 on the season. The Wildcats last played at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., where they went 0-5 including losses to ranked Fresno State and Arizona State. Northwestern has not played since March 6 and will not play again until next Friday. Next Saturday's meeting will be the first between Lehigh and Northwestern.
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Lehigh's final spring game will be against 7-3 Marist. The Red Foxes went 3-2 at the George Mason Tournament last weekend and will play in the UMBC Tournament this weekend. Lehigh leads the Marist series 7-5 with the most recent meetings coming in 2014.
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Following its spring break trip, Lehigh will visit Saint Joseph's for a non-league doubleheader on Wednesday, March 23 before opening Patriot League play against rival Lafayette at Leadership Park March 26-27.
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