Lehigh University Athletics
Friday, May 19
Los Angeles, Calif.
11:30PM ET
Lehigh University
at
UCLA
Lehigh heads to Los Angeles for NCAA Regional beginning Friday at No. 5 UCLA
5/17/2017 4:03:00 PM | Softball
Lehigh Postseason Guide | Los Angeles Regional Central | Lehigh Patriot League Champions Merchandise
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After a one-year hiatus, Lehigh returns to the NCAA Tournament after winning its 14th Patriot League softball tournament championship. The Mountain Hawks are the only non-California team in the Los Angeles Regional and will open the double-elimination tournament against one of the most storied programs in college softball in No. 5 UCLA. Lehigh rebounded from a loss to Boston University to eliminate Army and then defeated the Terriers twice on the tournament's final day to claim the Patriot League title, with senior right-hander Christine Campbell leading the way.
Lehigh will meet UCLA for the first time in program history as the Mountain Hawks bid for their first-ever win against a Pac-12 opponent. Cal State Fullerton and San Jose State join the Mountain Hawks in this four-team regional. The winner of this regional will face the winner of the Oxford, Mississippi regional in the Super Regionals next weekend.
After winning its sixth straight Patriot League regular season championship (and 22nd overall), Lehigh captured its 14th tournament crown and its ninth in the last 14 years last weekend at Leadership Park. The Mountain Hawks opened the tournament with a 9-1, six-inning win over Holy Cross, with juniors Carolyn Wright and Rachel Timberman each recording three hits. A 14-7 loss to Boston University Friday morning dropped Lehigh to the losers bracket but senior Vicky Lattanzio put the Mountain Hawks on her back, driving in all five runs, including the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning in a 5-3 elimination game against Army.
Saturday's championship round was postponed a day due to rain but Lehigh came out strong on Sunday, riding Christine Campbell's right arm to consecutive wins over Boston University to claim the title. Campbell threw a two-hitter and freshman Mary-Hannah Smith drove in the only run in a 1-0 win; then the Mountain Hawks rallied from an early 2-0 hole, getting a two-run double from Timberman and RBIs from sophomore Ashley Quidolit Rabago and junior Katie Schultz to take the seventh and deciding game 4-3.
Junior Nicole Yozzo leads the Mountain Hawks with a .331 batting average entering NCAA Tournament play. Senior Ashley Cole leads Lehigh with 54 hits and 38 runs scored, while Lattanzio leads in home runs with six. Wright has a team-best 41 RBIs and is tied with Smith for the team lead with 10 doubles.
Campbell's tournament MVP performance lowered her ERA to a team-leading 2.02. She also leads Lehigh with 22 wins and 108 strikeouts in 176.2 innings of work. Campbell and sophomore Emily Sorem both have three complete game shutouts on the season. Sorem has pitched to an 11-8 record and 2.47 ERA and will be Lehigh's No. 2 option in the pitcher's circle.
Lehigh (36-18) returned from its spring break trip to northern California with an 8-14 overall record but the Mountain Hawks have turned things on since then. Starting with its home and league opening series against Boston University on March 25-26, Lehigh is 28-4. While Lehigh didn't play its best softball early in the season, nine of its first 22 games were against teams currently ranked in the top 75 of the latest RPI, including a Florida team that is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks went 2-9 in those games and since spring break have only played two games against a top 75 RPI team, splitting a doubleheader with Fordham on April 12.
Lehigh will be making its fourth-ever trip to the state of California and its second this year. The Mountain Hawks went 4-8 on their spring break trip to northern California in March, playing games at Stanford, California, Pacific and Santa Clara. Lehigh went 4-6 in southern California in 2014 playing games in San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles (Loyola Marymount). Lehigh's first California trip resulted in a 2-8 record against Cal State Dominguez, Concordia, Canisius, Cal State Fullerton, San Diego and Loyola Marymount.
The Mountain Hawks are making their 10th NCAA Regional appearance overall, and its ninth in the last 14 years. Lehigh is 7-18 all-time in NCAA Regional Play, with three of those wins coming against Texas A&M. Lehigh's win over Central Arkansas in 2015 snapped a six-game NCAA regional losing streak.
One of the most storied programs in college softball history, UCLA has won 12 national championships, with the most recent coming in 2010, and has made 25 appearances in the Women's College World Series. This year the Bruins are 42-13 overall and tied for third in the Pac-12 with a 16-8 record. UCLA swept three games from Arizona State to close out the regular season. The Bruins are led by Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Rachel Garcia in the pitcher's circle. Kylee Perez leads UCLA with a .411 batting average. The Bruins hit .321 as a team with 65 home runs. Lehigh and UCLA have seven common opponents: Cal Poly, N.C. State, Florida, Boston University, Long Beach State, California and Stanford. The Mountain Hawks were 5-8 against those seven teams, while the Bruins were 10-1 with the lone loss coming to Florida. Kelly Inouye-Perez is in her 11th season as UCLA's head coach.
Cal State Fullerton captured the Big West's automatic bid, using a late-season 10-2 run to finish at 33-21 overall and 16-5 in conference. The Titans had won nine straight since an April 18 loss to UCLA but dropped two-of-three at UC Santa Barbara to close out the regular season. Delynn Rippy leads Cal State Fullerton with a .352 batting average, while Ariana Williams has been the top run producer with 10 homers and 39 RBIs. Five Titans have thrown at least 19 innings in the circle, led by Kelsey Kressler, who owns a 19-7 record and a 1.50 ERA with 160 strikeouts in 177.1 innings. Kelly Ford is in her fifth season as Cal State Fullerton's head coach. The Mountain Hawks and Titans have four common opponents: Pacific, Boston University, Cal Poly and Long Beach State. Cal State Fullerton is 5-5 against those teams, while Lehigh is 5-3.
Mountain West champion San Jose State makes its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2013 as the Spartans seek their first regional win this weekend. San Jose State went 36-17 in the regular season and finished 16-8 in the Mountain West, capping the season by losing two-of-three games at UNLV. SJSU had won nine straight games prior to dropping its last two in Las Vegas. Georgia Blair leads the Spartans with a .380 average and six home runs, while Madison Aurin has 31 RBIs. Katelyn Linford is the top pitcher, going 23-7 with a 2.33 ERA and 190 strikeouts in 198.1 innings. Peter Turner is in his 11th season as SJSU's head coach. Common opponents for Lehigh and SJSU include Grand Canyon, Boston University, Pacific, Massachusetts and Princeton. The Mountain Hawks went 8-3 against those five teams, while the Spartans were 5-2.
Cal State Fullerton is the only team in the field that Lehigh has faced previously as the Mountain Hawks dropped two games against the Titans on their first trip to California in 1998. Lehigh is 0-6 all-time versus the Pac-12 Conference with losses to Stanford (twice) and California earlier this season and Arizona (2005), Stanford (2008) and Oregon State (2012) in previous NCAA regional competition.
The Mountain Hawks will face No. 5 UCLA in game two of the regional, set for 11:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. PT) from Easton Stadium in Los Angeles. That contest will be televised on ESPN2. All other games in the Los Angeles Regional will be streamed on ESPN3 with any additional television coverage to be announced over the weekend.
Los Angeles Regional Schedule (all times Eastern)
Friday, May 19
Game 1 – 9 p.m. – San Jose State vs. Cal State Fullerton – ESPN3
Game 2 – 11:30 p.m. – Lehigh at UCLA – ESPN2
Saturday, May 20
Game 3 – 5 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 – 7:30 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 – 10 p.m. – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Sunday, May 21
Game 6 – 7 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 – 9:30 p.m. – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After a one-year hiatus, Lehigh returns to the NCAA Tournament after winning its 14th Patriot League softball tournament championship. The Mountain Hawks are the only non-California team in the Los Angeles Regional and will open the double-elimination tournament against one of the most storied programs in college softball in No. 5 UCLA. Lehigh rebounded from a loss to Boston University to eliminate Army and then defeated the Terriers twice on the tournament's final day to claim the Patriot League title, with senior right-hander Christine Campbell leading the way.
Lehigh will meet UCLA for the first time in program history as the Mountain Hawks bid for their first-ever win against a Pac-12 opponent. Cal State Fullerton and San Jose State join the Mountain Hawks in this four-team regional. The winner of this regional will face the winner of the Oxford, Mississippi regional in the Super Regionals next weekend.
After winning its sixth straight Patriot League regular season championship (and 22nd overall), Lehigh captured its 14th tournament crown and its ninth in the last 14 years last weekend at Leadership Park. The Mountain Hawks opened the tournament with a 9-1, six-inning win over Holy Cross, with juniors Carolyn Wright and Rachel Timberman each recording three hits. A 14-7 loss to Boston University Friday morning dropped Lehigh to the losers bracket but senior Vicky Lattanzio put the Mountain Hawks on her back, driving in all five runs, including the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning in a 5-3 elimination game against Army.
Saturday's championship round was postponed a day due to rain but Lehigh came out strong on Sunday, riding Christine Campbell's right arm to consecutive wins over Boston University to claim the title. Campbell threw a two-hitter and freshman Mary-Hannah Smith drove in the only run in a 1-0 win; then the Mountain Hawks rallied from an early 2-0 hole, getting a two-run double from Timberman and RBIs from sophomore Ashley Quidolit Rabago and junior Katie Schultz to take the seventh and deciding game 4-3.
Junior Nicole Yozzo leads the Mountain Hawks with a .331 batting average entering NCAA Tournament play. Senior Ashley Cole leads Lehigh with 54 hits and 38 runs scored, while Lattanzio leads in home runs with six. Wright has a team-best 41 RBIs and is tied with Smith for the team lead with 10 doubles.
Campbell's tournament MVP performance lowered her ERA to a team-leading 2.02. She also leads Lehigh with 22 wins and 108 strikeouts in 176.2 innings of work. Campbell and sophomore Emily Sorem both have three complete game shutouts on the season. Sorem has pitched to an 11-8 record and 2.47 ERA and will be Lehigh's No. 2 option in the pitcher's circle.
Lehigh (36-18) returned from its spring break trip to northern California with an 8-14 overall record but the Mountain Hawks have turned things on since then. Starting with its home and league opening series against Boston University on March 25-26, Lehigh is 28-4. While Lehigh didn't play its best softball early in the season, nine of its first 22 games were against teams currently ranked in the top 75 of the latest RPI, including a Florida team that is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks went 2-9 in those games and since spring break have only played two games against a top 75 RPI team, splitting a doubleheader with Fordham on April 12.
Lehigh will be making its fourth-ever trip to the state of California and its second this year. The Mountain Hawks went 4-8 on their spring break trip to northern California in March, playing games at Stanford, California, Pacific and Santa Clara. Lehigh went 4-6 in southern California in 2014 playing games in San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles (Loyola Marymount). Lehigh's first California trip resulted in a 2-8 record against Cal State Dominguez, Concordia, Canisius, Cal State Fullerton, San Diego and Loyola Marymount.
The Mountain Hawks are making their 10th NCAA Regional appearance overall, and its ninth in the last 14 years. Lehigh is 7-18 all-time in NCAA Regional Play, with three of those wins coming against Texas A&M. Lehigh's win over Central Arkansas in 2015 snapped a six-game NCAA regional losing streak.
One of the most storied programs in college softball history, UCLA has won 12 national championships, with the most recent coming in 2010, and has made 25 appearances in the Women's College World Series. This year the Bruins are 42-13 overall and tied for third in the Pac-12 with a 16-8 record. UCLA swept three games from Arizona State to close out the regular season. The Bruins are led by Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Rachel Garcia in the pitcher's circle. Kylee Perez leads UCLA with a .411 batting average. The Bruins hit .321 as a team with 65 home runs. Lehigh and UCLA have seven common opponents: Cal Poly, N.C. State, Florida, Boston University, Long Beach State, California and Stanford. The Mountain Hawks were 5-8 against those seven teams, while the Bruins were 10-1 with the lone loss coming to Florida. Kelly Inouye-Perez is in her 11th season as UCLA's head coach.
Cal State Fullerton captured the Big West's automatic bid, using a late-season 10-2 run to finish at 33-21 overall and 16-5 in conference. The Titans had won nine straight since an April 18 loss to UCLA but dropped two-of-three at UC Santa Barbara to close out the regular season. Delynn Rippy leads Cal State Fullerton with a .352 batting average, while Ariana Williams has been the top run producer with 10 homers and 39 RBIs. Five Titans have thrown at least 19 innings in the circle, led by Kelsey Kressler, who owns a 19-7 record and a 1.50 ERA with 160 strikeouts in 177.1 innings. Kelly Ford is in her fifth season as Cal State Fullerton's head coach. The Mountain Hawks and Titans have four common opponents: Pacific, Boston University, Cal Poly and Long Beach State. Cal State Fullerton is 5-5 against those teams, while Lehigh is 5-3.
Mountain West champion San Jose State makes its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2013 as the Spartans seek their first regional win this weekend. San Jose State went 36-17 in the regular season and finished 16-8 in the Mountain West, capping the season by losing two-of-three games at UNLV. SJSU had won nine straight games prior to dropping its last two in Las Vegas. Georgia Blair leads the Spartans with a .380 average and six home runs, while Madison Aurin has 31 RBIs. Katelyn Linford is the top pitcher, going 23-7 with a 2.33 ERA and 190 strikeouts in 198.1 innings. Peter Turner is in his 11th season as SJSU's head coach. Common opponents for Lehigh and SJSU include Grand Canyon, Boston University, Pacific, Massachusetts and Princeton. The Mountain Hawks went 8-3 against those five teams, while the Spartans were 5-2.
Cal State Fullerton is the only team in the field that Lehigh has faced previously as the Mountain Hawks dropped two games against the Titans on their first trip to California in 1998. Lehigh is 0-6 all-time versus the Pac-12 Conference with losses to Stanford (twice) and California earlier this season and Arizona (2005), Stanford (2008) and Oregon State (2012) in previous NCAA regional competition.
The Mountain Hawks will face No. 5 UCLA in game two of the regional, set for 11:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. PT) from Easton Stadium in Los Angeles. That contest will be televised on ESPN2. All other games in the Los Angeles Regional will be streamed on ESPN3 with any additional television coverage to be announced over the weekend.
Los Angeles Regional Schedule (all times Eastern)
Friday, May 19
Game 1 – 9 p.m. – San Jose State vs. Cal State Fullerton – ESPN3
Game 2 – 11:30 p.m. – Lehigh at UCLA – ESPN2
Saturday, May 20
Game 3 – 5 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 – 7:30 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 – 10 p.m. – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Sunday, May 21
Game 6 – 7 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 – 9:30 p.m. – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
Players Mentioned
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