Thursday, May 12
12PM
Lehigh University
vs
Bucknell
Mountain Hawks set to host Patriot League Tournament beginning Thursday
5/11/2016 3:15:00 PM | Softball
Lehigh PLT Notes | Watch on PLN | Live Stats | Tournament Central
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League Tournament returns to Leadership Park this weekend as Lehigh seeks its second straight tournament title, with tournament action beginning Thursday and running through Sunday. The Mountain Hawks have won a league-best 13 tournament crowns and are hosting the tournament for the fifth consecutive season. Lehigh will seek its ninth tournament championship in the last 13 years and will try to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and 10th time overall.
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The Mountain Hawks finished the regular season at 35-14 and at 13-4 claimed the league's regular season title by half a game over Army West Point. Lehigh will open the double-elimination tournament against No. 4 seed Bucknell in a rematch of last year's championship round. The rest of the field features No. 2 seed Army West Point and No. 3 Boston University.
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Admission is free for all three days of tournament action at Leadership Park, which opened in April 2015 and hosted last year's tournament. Lehigh University's Füd Truk will be on hand for the weekend to provide concessions. Patriot League prize packs and Füd Truk gift cards will be given away at Leadership Park to fans seen cheering and wearing their school's gear as well as fans who follow Lehigh sports on social media and download and check in to Patriot League Tournament games via the Mountain Hawk Rewards app.
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Lehigh placed a league-best seven student-athletes on the All-Patriot League teams and senior Alexis Watanabe won her second Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year award in the last three years. Watanabe and senior Morgan Decker both became four-time All-Patriot League selections, while junior Vicky Lattanzio earned all-league honors for the third straight year.
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When you get to the postseason, strong pitching is critical to a team's success. The Mountain Hawks are led in the circle by the capable arms of junior Christine Campbell and freshman Emily Sorem. While Lehigh was unable to match last year's team ERA which finished the year ranked third nationally, Campbell and Sorem led the way for a Lehigh staff that led the league with a 2.38 ERA. Both pitchers threw four shutouts, with Campbell leading Lehigh with a 2.25 ERA and 19 victories, and Sorem contributing a team-best 107 strikeouts. Campbell was a second team all-league selection, going 8-2 with a 0.95 ERA in 10 league appearances.
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While Lehigh's staff has just two innings of Patriot League Tournament experience, Campbell threw 6.2 shutout innings to beat Central Arkansas in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Boston University's Melanie Russell was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, marking just the third time in 12 years a Lehigh pitcher did not win the award. In the previous two instances (2011 and 2012), the Mountain Hawks won the Patriot League Tournament championship.
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Playing extra-inning games has not bothered the Mountain Hawks in 2016. Lehigh is 5-0 in extra-inning games, including a 1-0, 10-inning win over Holy Cross on May 7 in the Mountain Hawks' longest game of the year. The Mountain Hawks were 3-0 in extra inning league games, topping Lafayette 5-4 in nine on March 26 and winning 4-2 in eight at Boston University on April 27. Lehigh's other two extra inning wins were against Iona (8-2 in nine innings) on February 26 and at Penn (4-0 in eight innings) on March 30.
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Lehigh and Bucknell will open the tournament in Thursday's first game, a rematch from the final game of last year's tournament. The Mountain Hawks won 2-of-3 games from the Bison in Lewisburg, sweeping a doubleheader 10-0 in six innings and 2-1 on April 30 before Bucknell walked off with a 3-2 in the series finale that was pushed back to May 3 because of rain.
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Sophomore Rachel Timberman homered and drove in four runs, while Sorem threw a two-hit shutout in game one of the series. Campbell out-dueled Amanda Fazio in the April 30 nightcap.
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Lattanzio led Lehigh in three games against Bucknell, going 4-for-7 at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs. Sophomore Carolyn Wright was 3-for-6 in two games with a double and two RBIs.
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Bucknell finished the regular season at 27-21 overall and 11-7 in the Patriot League. The Bison have not played since the Lehigh series due to final exams.
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First baseman Meghan Kovac is Bucknell's top offensive threat, batting .402 with a league-leading 19 doubles, six home runs and 40 RBIs. Fazio is next at .358 and the senior left-hander has also been the top pitcher for the Bison, with a 15-10 record, 1.74 ERA and 136 strikeouts this year.
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Lehigh leads the all-time series against Bucknell 87-41 and is 10-6 versus the Bison in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh has opened the Patriot League Tournament against Bucknell on four previous occasions. The Mountain Hawks are 2-2 in those games with the Bison taking the two most recent tournament openers in 2005 and 2010.
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Thursday's other first round game matches No. 2 Army West Point and No. 3 Boston University. The Black Knights own a 37-15 record and finished half a game behind Lehigh in the league at 13-5. The Terriers won 13 of their last 16 to get to 25-22 overall and finished 11-6 in league play. Army opened Patriot League play by sweeping three games from BU by a total of just four runs.
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Army won its most recent Patriot League title in 2013 while Boston University won the 2014 title in its first year in the league. Bucknell's last title came in 2010 with the Bison finishing second to BU in 2014 and runners-up to Lehigh last season.
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The Patriot League tournament gets underway Thursday when the Mountain Hawks will face Bucknell in game one at 12:05 p.m., with Army West Point battling Boston University in game two at approximately 2:35 p.m.
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Games three, four and five are slated for Friday, beginning at 10:35 a.m., with the winner's bracket game between the winners of Thursday's contests. The championship round featuring game six and, if necessary, game seven is set for noon on Saturday.
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Streaming video of all Patriot League Tournament action will be available online for free via the Patriot League Network.Â
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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday May 12:
Game 1: No. 1 Lehigh vs. No. 4 Bucknell, 12:05 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Army West Point vs. No. 3 Boston University, 2:35 p.m.
Friday May 13:
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 10:35 a.m.
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1:05 p.m.
Game 5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 3:35 p.m.
Saturday May 14:
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12:05 p.m.
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 2:35 p.m.*
* - if necessary
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League Tournament returns to Leadership Park this weekend as Lehigh seeks its second straight tournament title, with tournament action beginning Thursday and running through Sunday. The Mountain Hawks have won a league-best 13 tournament crowns and are hosting the tournament for the fifth consecutive season. Lehigh will seek its ninth tournament championship in the last 13 years and will try to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and 10th time overall.
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The Mountain Hawks finished the regular season at 35-14 and at 13-4 claimed the league's regular season title by half a game over Army West Point. Lehigh will open the double-elimination tournament against No. 4 seed Bucknell in a rematch of last year's championship round. The rest of the field features No. 2 seed Army West Point and No. 3 Boston University.
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Admission is free for all three days of tournament action at Leadership Park, which opened in April 2015 and hosted last year's tournament. Lehigh University's Füd Truk will be on hand for the weekend to provide concessions. Patriot League prize packs and Füd Truk gift cards will be given away at Leadership Park to fans seen cheering and wearing their school's gear as well as fans who follow Lehigh sports on social media and download and check in to Patriot League Tournament games via the Mountain Hawk Rewards app.
Â
Lehigh placed a league-best seven student-athletes on the All-Patriot League teams and senior Alexis Watanabe won her second Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year award in the last three years. Watanabe and senior Morgan Decker both became four-time All-Patriot League selections, while junior Vicky Lattanzio earned all-league honors for the third straight year.
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When you get to the postseason, strong pitching is critical to a team's success. The Mountain Hawks are led in the circle by the capable arms of junior Christine Campbell and freshman Emily Sorem. While Lehigh was unable to match last year's team ERA which finished the year ranked third nationally, Campbell and Sorem led the way for a Lehigh staff that led the league with a 2.38 ERA. Both pitchers threw four shutouts, with Campbell leading Lehigh with a 2.25 ERA and 19 victories, and Sorem contributing a team-best 107 strikeouts. Campbell was a second team all-league selection, going 8-2 with a 0.95 ERA in 10 league appearances.
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While Lehigh's staff has just two innings of Patriot League Tournament experience, Campbell threw 6.2 shutout innings to beat Central Arkansas in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Boston University's Melanie Russell was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, marking just the third time in 12 years a Lehigh pitcher did not win the award. In the previous two instances (2011 and 2012), the Mountain Hawks won the Patriot League Tournament championship.
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Playing extra-inning games has not bothered the Mountain Hawks in 2016. Lehigh is 5-0 in extra-inning games, including a 1-0, 10-inning win over Holy Cross on May 7 in the Mountain Hawks' longest game of the year. The Mountain Hawks were 3-0 in extra inning league games, topping Lafayette 5-4 in nine on March 26 and winning 4-2 in eight at Boston University on April 27. Lehigh's other two extra inning wins were against Iona (8-2 in nine innings) on February 26 and at Penn (4-0 in eight innings) on March 30.
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Lehigh and Bucknell will open the tournament in Thursday's first game, a rematch from the final game of last year's tournament. The Mountain Hawks won 2-of-3 games from the Bison in Lewisburg, sweeping a doubleheader 10-0 in six innings and 2-1 on April 30 before Bucknell walked off with a 3-2 in the series finale that was pushed back to May 3 because of rain.
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Sophomore Rachel Timberman homered and drove in four runs, while Sorem threw a two-hit shutout in game one of the series. Campbell out-dueled Amanda Fazio in the April 30 nightcap.
Â
Lattanzio led Lehigh in three games against Bucknell, going 4-for-7 at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs. Sophomore Carolyn Wright was 3-for-6 in two games with a double and two RBIs.
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Bucknell finished the regular season at 27-21 overall and 11-7 in the Patriot League. The Bison have not played since the Lehigh series due to final exams.
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First baseman Meghan Kovac is Bucknell's top offensive threat, batting .402 with a league-leading 19 doubles, six home runs and 40 RBIs. Fazio is next at .358 and the senior left-hander has also been the top pitcher for the Bison, with a 15-10 record, 1.74 ERA and 136 strikeouts this year.
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Lehigh leads the all-time series against Bucknell 87-41 and is 10-6 versus the Bison in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh has opened the Patriot League Tournament against Bucknell on four previous occasions. The Mountain Hawks are 2-2 in those games with the Bison taking the two most recent tournament openers in 2005 and 2010.
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Thursday's other first round game matches No. 2 Army West Point and No. 3 Boston University. The Black Knights own a 37-15 record and finished half a game behind Lehigh in the league at 13-5. The Terriers won 13 of their last 16 to get to 25-22 overall and finished 11-6 in league play. Army opened Patriot League play by sweeping three games from BU by a total of just four runs.
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Army won its most recent Patriot League title in 2013 while Boston University won the 2014 title in its first year in the league. Bucknell's last title came in 2010 with the Bison finishing second to BU in 2014 and runners-up to Lehigh last season.
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The Patriot League tournament gets underway Thursday when the Mountain Hawks will face Bucknell in game one at 12:05 p.m., with Army West Point battling Boston University in game two at approximately 2:35 p.m.
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Games three, four and five are slated for Friday, beginning at 10:35 a.m., with the winner's bracket game between the winners of Thursday's contests. The championship round featuring game six and, if necessary, game seven is set for noon on Saturday.
Â
Streaming video of all Patriot League Tournament action will be available online for free via the Patriot League Network.Â
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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday May 12:
Game 1: No. 1 Lehigh vs. No. 4 Bucknell, 12:05 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Army West Point vs. No. 3 Boston University, 2:35 p.m.
Friday May 13:
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 10:35 a.m.
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1:05 p.m.
Game 5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 3:35 p.m.
Saturday May 14:
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12:05 p.m.
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 2:35 p.m.*
* - if necessary
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Players Mentioned
P
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IF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
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