Saturday, March 25
10:30AM
Lehigh University
9-14, 0
11
vs
3
Boston U.
8-16, 0
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Boston University
0
2
0
1
0
3
4
0
Lehigh
1
7
0
0
3
11
14
0
Bats come to life as Lehigh opens home and league slate with Saturday sweep of Boston U.
3/25/2017 3:43:00 PM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Through its first 22 games the Lehigh softball team had managed just 56 runs and four home runs. The Mountain Hawks made up for their early season offensive drought in their home and league-opening doubleheader, totaling 20 runs on 24 hits and hitting five home runs in a sweep of defending Patriot League champion Boston University Saturday at Leadership Park.
Junior Carolyn Wright and freshman Reva Alderman hit back-to-back home runs to kick-start a seven run second inning as Lehigh took game one 11-3 in five innings. Senior Vicky Lattanzio homered twice and drove in five to lead the Mountain Hawks to a 9-1, five-inning win in the nightcap.
With the sweep, Lehigh opens league play at 2-0 and improves to 10-14 overall. Boston University falls to 8-17 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Lattanzio drove in seven runs over the two games Saturday, while Wright and senior Ashley Cole each drove in four. Cole and freshman Mary-Hannah Smith led Lehigh with four hits apiece in the doubleheader.
"We're not a home run hitting team," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "Some of it has to do with the conditions that we played in, in California. It sounds crazy but the wind was blowing in most of the days we were out there and we were facing some pretty good pitching. Same for the N.C. State Tournament and down at the Disney Classic. Here it was a very unusual day because there was no wind at all and because of that the ball did carry today. It carried the other day in practice as well, but we were happy to have the ball carry today."
Junior Nicole Yozzo was 3-for-6 on the day with three runs scored and three stolen bases. She singled to left field to lead off the bottom of the first of game one, and after stealing second, scored on a double to center by Smith.
BU took a 2-1 lead in the second on Kaitlin Sahlinger's two-out, two-run double, but the long ball keyed Lehigh's seven run outburst in the bottom of the frame.
Wright led off with her first home run of the season out to left field off Makinna Akers and Alderman followed with her second of the year, going out to right center to give Lehigh a 3-2 lead. Following a walk, a sacrifice and a bunt single, Cole brought home two more runs with a double to left center. Lehigh tacked on three more runs behind a Lattanzio sacrifice fly and a two-run double by Wright to lead 8-2 after two innings.
The Terriers pulled a run back in the fourth inning but Lehigh came back with three in the bottom of the fifth, capped by a Lattanzio game-ending single to claim the run-rule victory.
Senior Christine Campbell improved to 6-4 on the season, allowing three runs on three hits in five innings of work.
Alex Heinen's RBI double gave Boston University the early lead in game two but the Mountain Hawks used the long ball to score four runs in the bottom of the first. With one out, Cole drilled her third home run of the season out to left center to tie the game at 1-1. After a single by Smith, Lattanzio hammered her second of the year out to right center, giving Lehigh a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Ashley Quidolit Rabago followed with a double and after moving to third on a wild pitch, scored on a Wright single.
"Any time we get our little guys on, good things will happen," Troyan noted. "Nicole (Yozzo) started things off with a base hit and whenever she's on base, she is certainly someone who can cause some damage stealing some bases. She's a real threat. She got on. Ashley (Rabago) had a very nice day today and if the little guys get on like that it helps put pressure on the defense and put pressure on the pitchers and our bigger hitters came through with some pretty good hitting today as well."
Lehigh added single runs in the second as Cole singled home junior Rachel Timberman and the third, as Rabago led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Alderman. Lattanzio came up again with two on and two out in the fourth and launched her second home run of the game out to right center, putting the Mountain Hawks up by eight.
"We've been working hard with Vicky," Troyan said. "She started a little slowly and was getting a little frustrated. Early in the year she was facing some tremendous pitching. She's made a couple adjustments and obviously she swung the bat really well today."
Prior to Saturday's doubleheader, Lehigh batters had hit just three home runs in 25 previous games at Leadership Park.
Sophomore Emily Sorem was the beneficiary of the run support. She allowed a run on five hits in five innings with two walks and two strikeouts to improve to 3-6 on the season.
Kali Magane took the loss for the Terriers in game two.
Lehigh and Boston University will wrap-up their three-game series with a single game Sunday. With more inclement weather in the forecast, start time for Sunday's game has been moved up to 10:30 a.m. Once again the game will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Campbell, Christine (6-4)
L: Akers, Makinna (4-5)
Batting:
2B: Sahlinger, Kaitlin 1
RBI: Sahlinger, Kaitlin 2 ; Morrow, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schanda, Jilee 2 ; Killebrew, Madi 1
HBP: Martinez, Gabi 1 ; Killebrew, Madi 1 ; Sahlinger, Kaitlin 1
Batting:
2B: Cole, Ashley 1 ; Smith, Mary-Hannah 1 ; Wright, Carolyn 1
HR: Wright, Carolyn 1 ; Alderman, Reva 1
RBI: van Ooyen, Lexi 1 ; Cole, Ashley 2 ; Smith, Mary-Hannah 1 ; Lattanzio, Vicky 2 ; Wright, Carolyn 3 ; Alderman, Reva 1
SH: Timberman, Rachel 1
SF: Lattanzio, Vicky 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Yozzo, Nicole 2 ; Cole, Ashley 1 ; Smith, Mary-Hannah 1 ; Rabago, Ashley 1 ; Wright, Carolyn 1 ; Alderman, Reva 1 ; Schultz, Katie 1 ; Gerhardt, Brianna 2 ; Timberman, Rachel 1
SB: Yozzo, Nicole 2 ; Smith, Mary-Hannah 1 ; Rabago, Ashley 1
HBP: Timberman, Rachel 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
rf/dp
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballOF
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