Lehigh claims league-opening series with 3-1 win over Colgate

Monday, March 26

Bethlehem, Pa.

1 PM

Lehigh University

6-16, 2-1

Colgate

4-20, 1-2

Colgate

Lehigh

Lehigh claims league-opening series with 3-1 win over Colgate

3/26/2018 4:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh senior Cassie Lajeunesse picked an opportune time for her first hit of the season. Her two-out, pinch-hit, two-run single capped a three run fourth inning and broke a 1-1 as the Mountain Hawks topped Colgate 3-1 Monday at Leadership Park to win the three-game league-opening series from the Raiders.

The Mountain Hawks scored the three unearned runs to overcome an early 1-0 deficit, while sophomore Parker Boyd delivered another strong effort in the pitcher's circle to claim her second win of the weekend.

Lehigh finishes the first weekend of league play at 6-16 overall and 2-1 in the league, while Colgate falls to 4-20 overall and 1-2 in the league.

"Colgate game to play," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "Everyone in the league is getting better and better. I was disappointed yesterday in our performance in the second game and challenged our team a little bit last night. I thought we did all the little things that we needed to do to win today."

Boyd struck out seven and walked two while scattering a run on six hits to improve to 5-8 on the season. She successfully navigated a bases loaded, no-out jam in the top of the second by inducing a fly out to shallow right field followed by a pair of strikeouts.

Colgate grabbed the lead in the top of the third as Virginia Irby led off with a triple into the right field corner and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Nicole Rounsavill.

In the fourth, Boyd worked out of another jam with a pair of strikeouts allowing Lehigh to take the lead with three runs in the bottom of the frame.

Senior Carolyn Wright reached on an error to lead off the inning and after pinch runner Lindsay Phillips was sacrificed into scoring position, freshman Allyson Dibsie singled through the left side to bring Phillips home with the tying run. Back-to-back two out singles by junior Brie Gerhardt and senior Katie Schultz loaded the bases and Lajeunesse, batting for Nicole Yozzo, lined a two-run single to left center to bring in the go-ahead runs.

(3/26/2018) Softball vs. Colgate, 3/26/2018

"I was very happy for Cassie," Troyan said. "It was a big hit to knock in two those runs. Their pitcher was throwing pretty hard and (Cassie) likes those fast speeds. We need to have everybody ready to go at a moment's notice and she didn't know she was pinch hitting until right before… we needed to have somebody step up in that situation and she came up big."

Staked to a two-run lead, Boyd allowed just two singles over the final three innings and was helped out by a leaping catch at the warning track in deep center by junior Ashley Rabago as part of a perfect sixth inning.

"What I was most pleased about was second inning, bases loaded jam, she got out of it," Troyan said of Boyd. "Fourth inning. First and second, one out. She got out of it. It was really a good thing to see.

"She's an even keel kid," Troyan continued. "We need her to get a little more fiery, a little more competitive, but she's doing a great job in those moments."

Bella Crow, who limited Lehigh to a run on two hits in Sunday's second game, took the loss for the Raiders, allowing three unearned runs on eight hits.

Dibsie led the Mountain Hawks with two hits.

Lehigh will travel to Penn for a single midweek game Tuesday with first pitch set for 3:30 p.m. from Penn Park in Philadelphia. The Mountain Hawks will resume league play when they host Lafayette for three games at Leadership Park March 31-April 1.