Wednesday, May 1
Villanova, Pa.
3:00 PM
Lehigh University
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Villanova
27-22
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Lehigh
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Villanova
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Villanova comes back in seventh to down Mountain Hawks
5/1/2019 5:39:00 PM | Softball
VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Lehigh softball team led 1-0 and 2-1, but Villanova stormed back with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, capped off by a walk-off three-run home run to down the Mountain Hawks, 5-2 on Wednesday. Senior Ashley Rabago led Lehigh's offense, going 3-for-4 with a run while freshman Gabriella Nori started in the circle and pitched three hit-less innings. The Mountain Hawks will look to bounce back this weekend when they travel to Colgate for the final regular-season series of 2019. Lehigh needs one win to clinch a berth into the Patriot League Tournament.
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The Mountain Hawks quickly got on the board on Wednesday as Rabago and junior Mary-Hannah Smith opened the game with singles, with Rabago scoring on a wild pitch.
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From there, the teams exchanged zeroes until the bottom of the fourth when Villanova pulled even. The Wildcats led off the inning with a single and came around to score.
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Lehigh regained the lead in the seventh inning as junior Emily Preble opened with an infield single then a batter later, sophomore Payton Alsobrooks doubled to left-center, plating Preble all the way from first.
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However, the bottom of the inning saw Villanova get three hits, with two errors helping keep the inning alive. The Wildcats made it count, scoring the tying run on an error. Two batters later, Paige Rauch hit a three-run walk-off home run for the 5-2 final.
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Along with Rabago's three hits, five other Mountain Hawks tallied one hit apiece – Smith, freshman Carley Barjaktarovich, freshman Karsen O'Rourke, Preble and Alsobrooks. Junior Parker Boyd relieved Nori and allowed five runs in 3.2 innings, but only one of the runs was earned.
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The Mountain Hawks will return to action at Colgate Saturday, playing a doubleheader on Saturday and single game Sunday, needing one win to clinch a Patriot League Tournament berth.
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Like Lehigh Softball on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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The Mountain Hawks quickly got on the board on Wednesday as Rabago and junior Mary-Hannah Smith opened the game with singles, with Rabago scoring on a wild pitch.
Â
From there, the teams exchanged zeroes until the bottom of the fourth when Villanova pulled even. The Wildcats led off the inning with a single and came around to score.
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Lehigh regained the lead in the seventh inning as junior Emily Preble opened with an infield single then a batter later, sophomore Payton Alsobrooks doubled to left-center, plating Preble all the way from first.
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However, the bottom of the inning saw Villanova get three hits, with two errors helping keep the inning alive. The Wildcats made it count, scoring the tying run on an error. Two batters later, Paige Rauch hit a three-run walk-off home run for the 5-2 final.
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Along with Rabago's three hits, five other Mountain Hawks tallied one hit apiece – Smith, freshman Carley Barjaktarovich, freshman Karsen O'Rourke, Preble and Alsobrooks. Junior Parker Boyd relieved Nori and allowed five runs in 3.2 innings, but only one of the runs was earned.
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The Mountain Hawks will return to action at Colgate Saturday, playing a doubleheader on Saturday and single game Sunday, needing one win to clinch a Patriot League Tournament berth.
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Like Lehigh Softball on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: KENNEDY, S. (10-2)
L: Boyd, Parker (11-11)
Batting:
2B: Alsobrooks, Payton 1
RBI: Alsobrooks, Payton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rabago, Ashley 1 ; Preble, Emily 1
SB: Rabago, Ashley 1 ; Barjaktarovich, Carley 1
Batting:
2B: RAUCH, P. 1
HR: RAUCH, P. 1
RBI: RAUCH, P. 3 ; HANNA, L. 1 ; OLIVAREZ, J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GIAMPOLO, A. 1 ; RAUCH, P. 2 ; RUIZ, M. 1 ; HAYES, S. 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
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/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballIF
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