Pitching powers Lehigh to doubleheader sweep of Lafayette

Saturday, March 31

Bethlehem, Pa.

12 PM

Lehigh University

7-17, 0

Lafayette

4-23, 0

Lafayette

Lehigh

Pitching powers Lehigh to doubleheader sweep of Lafayette

3/31/2018 4:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The Rivalry: Lehigh vs. Lafayette

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh's pitching duo of sophomore Parker Boyd and junior Emily Sorem combined to allow just one run over 14 innings as the Mountain Hawks swept a series opening doubleheader from rival Lafayette Saturday at Leadership Park. Boyd allowed a run on three hits as Lehigh took game one 5-1 while Sorem followed with the Mountain Hawks' first shutout of the season, going the distance on a five-hitter as Lehigh scored four runs in the sixth to win 4-0.

The two victories mark the first time Lehigh has won back-to-back games this season as the Mountain Hawks improve to 8-17 overall and 4-1 in the Patriot League.

"Parker pitched a great game and honestly nothing made me happier than seeing Emily Sorem pitch a shutout," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "She hasn't pitched to her ability level, but she was certainly in control. The ball was moving nicely today and it was just nice to see her finish a shutout."

Seniors Nicole Yozzo and Katie Schultz each had three hits over the two games while junior Brie Gerhardt and freshman Allyson Dibsie each knocked in two runs. Yozzo stole three bases in game one to tie a school single-game record.

Game one saw Lafayette race to an early 1-0 lead as Boyd hit Samantha Sweigart to open the game and then with two outs, Miranda Skurla brought Sweigart home with a double to right center.

Lehigh responded with two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead. Yozzo led off with an infield single, stole second, and scored on a single to left by junior Ashley Rabago. Three batters later, freshman Allyson Dibsie delivered a two-run single to left, plating Rabago.

Boyd limited Lafayette to just two Paige Grover singles and three base runners total the rest of the way. She improved to 6-8 on the season after allowing a run on three hits with six strikeouts.

The Mountain Hawks used a two-out rally in the sixth to plate three insurance runs. Dibsie led off by reaching on an error and after two quick outs, back-to-back singles by Schultz and Gerhardt brought home pinch runner Payton Alsobrooks. Yozzo added a RBI infield single, while Gerhardt came home with Lehigh's fifth run on a wild pitch.

"Good teams take advantage of other teams' mistakes," Troyan said. "I think we're on our way to being a good team, so we needed to do that. Even though we only scored those two early runs, I thought our overall approach was pretty good."

Stacy Gordon started for Lafayette and allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits in 3.2 innings before giving way to Alexis Randall.

Sorem navigated base runners in each of the first three innings of game two but kept Lafayette off the board, while Randall held the Mountain Hawks hitless through 4.2 innings.

Sophomore Emily Preble recorded Lehigh's first hit of the nightcap, a two-out double to right center, but was stranded at second base.

Lafayette's biggest threat came in the sixth as Sweigart led off with a double and a one-out single by Brooke Wensel put runners at the corners, but Sorem got Skurla to pop out to third and Maddie Wensel to foul out to first, keeping the game scoreless.

In the home sixth, Rabago drew a leadoff walk and stole second. Sophomore Mary-Hannah Smith followed with a double down the right field line to bring home Rabago and put Lehigh in front. Lehigh added a second run on a Lafayette error following a sacrifice attempt by senior Carolyn Wright. Dibsie followed with a run-scoring double to left, while Gerhardt drove in Lehigh's fourth run with a ground out.

Sorem set down the Leopards in order in the seventh to close out the doubleheader sweep. She finished with a walk and two strikeouts on the way to her second victory of the season and her eighth career shutout.

Lehigh recorded just four hits in game two and were robbed of several others by an impressive Lafayette defense.

"You can't control where the defense is playing," Troyan said. "You just try to hit the ball hard somewhere. On a couple of those times we hit it hard and they made some great plays.

"These last two days were the first two days all season that we were able to practice outside, on our field in back-to-back days," Troyan added. "Just with the experience we have on our coaching staff, I feel like we can make a difference. I feel like we've gotten better with our last two days of practice. They've bought into it. If we continue to have good practice opportunities we'll continue to get better and better."

The Mountain Hawks and Leopards will wrap-up their series with a single game Sunday at Leadership Park with first pitch set for noon. Video for the contest will be available on the Patriot League Network.