Thursday, May 9
Boston, Mass.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
26-26
7
vs
2
Bucknell
27-23
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Lehigh
2
1
0
3
0
0
1
7
15
0
Bucknell
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
7
1
Photo by: Jim Pierce
Big offensive days from Rabago, Smith power Lehigh past Bucknell in PLT opener
5/9/2019 5:13:00 PM | Softball
BOSTON – With the top of the lineup leading the way, the Lehigh softball team opened the Patriot League Tournament with a 7-2 victory over Bucknell Thursday at BU Softball Field. Junior Mary-Hannah Smith went 4-for-5 with a three-run home run and four RBIs, while senior Ashley Rabago tied a school record with four runs scored. Lehigh finished with 15 hits on the day and freshman Gabriella Nori preserved the Mountain Hawks' lead with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
The victory moves Lehigh back to .500 on the season at 26-26. The Mountain Hawks will face host and defending champion Boston University in a winner's bracket game Friday at 10 a.m.
"First of all we played great defense behind Parker (Boyd) and Gabi," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "Scoring some runs early in the game was very important to build momentum. Ashley Rabago did a great job, scoring four runs, getting on base and setting the table for us. Mary-Hannah was great. Lexi van Ooyen had a great game. Gabi came in and closed the door on Bucknell. We're excited for the opportunity to play an outstanding Boston University team tomorrow."
Rabago led off the game with a single through the right side and stole second. Smith was retired on a fly ball for the only time Thursday, but freshman Jaelynn Chesson followed with a single to right center, scoring Rabago to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks then loaded the bases against Raeanne Geffert, who no-hit Lehigh back on March 30. A bases-loaded walk to sophomore Payton Alsobrooks scored pinch runner Karsen O'Rourke to put Lehigh up 2-0 after half an inning.
Bucknell (27-23) put two of its first three batters on base in the bottom of the first, with Lauren Hadley's RBI ground out bringing the Bison within 2-1 after one inning.
Lehigh extended its lead to 3-1 in the second as Rabago and Smith delivered consecutive one-out singles. Two batters after Smith it was junior Lexi van Ooyen singling to left to score Rabago to put the Mountain Hawks back up by two.
Bucknell again pulled back within a run on a Taylor Wolfgang sacrifice fly in the third, but Smith helped Lehigh extend the lead in the top of the fourth.
Senior Jennifer Stoll led off the fourth with a single through the left side and then Rabago reached on a fielder's choice. With two on and nobody out Smith drilled a Geffert 3-2 pitch over the fence in left for her third home run of the season, which put the Mountain Hawks up 6-2.
"That was big, to get some separation and give the team even more confidence," Troyan said of Smith's home run. "Any time you can get a three-run home run in a close game like that it's going to give everybody a little bit of confidence and that's exactly what happened."
Junior Parker Boyd started in the circle for Lehigh but gave way to Nori with one out and two on in the fourth. Nori got Allyse Volpe to ground out and then struck out Marisa Alemany to strand two. Nori retired 11 of the 12 batters she faced, allowing only a one-out bunt single to Volpe in the seventh. She struck out seven of the 12 batters, including Anna Gimmestad to end the game. Nori improved to 9-12 on the season with the victory. Boyd allowed two runs on six hits over 3.1 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
Lehigh tacked on a seventh run in the top of the seventh as Rabago drew a one-out walk and came around to score on a double to center by Smith. The four-hits are a career-high for Smith and the four RBI mark the second time this season and the fourth time in her career that she accomplished the feat.
In addition to Smith's four hits, Rabago, Chesson and van Ooyen plus freshmen Addie Kittel and Carley Barjaktarovich all had two hits Thursday against the Bison.
Rabago is the sixth Mountain Hawk on record to score four runs in a game and the first Alexis Watanabe, MacKenzie Velasquez and Cassie Waggy all scored four in a 26-1 win over Colgate in 2014.
Earlier this season, Bucknell became the first team in league history to sweep Lehigh in a series of three games or more. The Mountain Hawks turned the tables, however, to advance to day two of the tournament.
"Ashley Rabago was only available to pinch run the first time we played Bucknell," Troyan said. "Having her makes a big difference. She sets the table. We were not very confident at that point in time. We were coming off a number of losses over spring break and now we're starting to hit our stride. Hopefully we're peaking at the right time. We have a long way to go but we're fighting in every game that we're in."
Gallery: (5/9/2019) Softball vs. Bucknell PLT, 5/9/19
Lehigh and Boston University will meet in the first of two games scheduled for Friday with first pitch set for 10:05 a.m. The winner will move onto Saturday's championship round while the loser will face the winner of Thursday's third game between Bucknell and Colgate in an elimination game at approximately 12:30 p.m. Every game of the Patriot League Tournament will be streamed on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Softball on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
The victory moves Lehigh back to .500 on the season at 26-26. The Mountain Hawks will face host and defending champion Boston University in a winner's bracket game Friday at 10 a.m.
"First of all we played great defense behind Parker (Boyd) and Gabi," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "Scoring some runs early in the game was very important to build momentum. Ashley Rabago did a great job, scoring four runs, getting on base and setting the table for us. Mary-Hannah was great. Lexi van Ooyen had a great game. Gabi came in and closed the door on Bucknell. We're excited for the opportunity to play an outstanding Boston University team tomorrow."
Rabago led off the game with a single through the right side and stole second. Smith was retired on a fly ball for the only time Thursday, but freshman Jaelynn Chesson followed with a single to right center, scoring Rabago to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks then loaded the bases against Raeanne Geffert, who no-hit Lehigh back on March 30. A bases-loaded walk to sophomore Payton Alsobrooks scored pinch runner Karsen O'Rourke to put Lehigh up 2-0 after half an inning.
Bucknell (27-23) put two of its first three batters on base in the bottom of the first, with Lauren Hadley's RBI ground out bringing the Bison within 2-1 after one inning.
Lehigh extended its lead to 3-1 in the second as Rabago and Smith delivered consecutive one-out singles. Two batters after Smith it was junior Lexi van Ooyen singling to left to score Rabago to put the Mountain Hawks back up by two.
Bucknell again pulled back within a run on a Taylor Wolfgang sacrifice fly in the third, but Smith helped Lehigh extend the lead in the top of the fourth.
Senior Jennifer Stoll led off the fourth with a single through the left side and then Rabago reached on a fielder's choice. With two on and nobody out Smith drilled a Geffert 3-2 pitch over the fence in left for her third home run of the season, which put the Mountain Hawks up 6-2.
GONE! See ya! Mary-Hannah Smith drives one out to left for a three-run homer. Her third of the year puts Lehigh up 6-2 in the fourth.
— Lehigh Softball (@Lehighsoftball) May 9, 2019
Watch @PatriotLeagueTV: https://t.co/jXFao7I7UQ pic.twitter.com/fnQ5qgFeWP
"That was big, to get some separation and give the team even more confidence," Troyan said of Smith's home run. "Any time you can get a three-run home run in a close game like that it's going to give everybody a little bit of confidence and that's exactly what happened."
Junior Parker Boyd started in the circle for Lehigh but gave way to Nori with one out and two on in the fourth. Nori got Allyse Volpe to ground out and then struck out Marisa Alemany to strand two. Nori retired 11 of the 12 batters she faced, allowing only a one-out bunt single to Volpe in the seventh. She struck out seven of the 12 batters, including Anna Gimmestad to end the game. Nori improved to 9-12 on the season with the victory. Boyd allowed two runs on six hits over 3.1 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
E4 | With two in scoring position, Nori gets Alemany swinging to keep Lehigh ahead 6-2.
— Lehigh Softball (@Lehighsoftball) May 9, 2019
Watch @PatriotLeagueTV: https://t.co/jXFao7I7UQ pic.twitter.com/wCupO258MV
Lehigh tacked on a seventh run in the top of the seventh as Rabago drew a one-out walk and came around to score on a double to center by Smith. The four-hits are a career-high for Smith and the four RBI mark the second time this season and the fourth time in her career that she accomplished the feat.
In addition to Smith's four hits, Rabago, Chesson and van Ooyen plus freshmen Addie Kittel and Carley Barjaktarovich all had two hits Thursday against the Bison.
Rabago is the sixth Mountain Hawk on record to score four runs in a game and the first Alexis Watanabe, MacKenzie Velasquez and Cassie Waggy all scored four in a 26-1 win over Colgate in 2014.
Earlier this season, Bucknell became the first team in league history to sweep Lehigh in a series of three games or more. The Mountain Hawks turned the tables, however, to advance to day two of the tournament.
"Ashley Rabago was only available to pinch run the first time we played Bucknell," Troyan said. "Having her makes a big difference. She sets the table. We were not very confident at that point in time. We were coming off a number of losses over spring break and now we're starting to hit our stride. Hopefully we're peaking at the right time. We have a long way to go but we're fighting in every game that we're in."
Lehigh and Boston University will meet in the first of two games scheduled for Friday with first pitch set for 10:05 a.m. The winner will move onto Saturday's championship round while the loser will face the winner of Thursday's third game between Bucknell and Colgate in an elimination game at approximately 12:30 p.m. Every game of the Patriot League Tournament will be streamed on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Softball on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nori, Gabriella (9-12)
L: Geffert, Raeanne (15-13)
Batting:
2B: Smith, Mary-Hannah 1
HR: Smith, Mary-Hannah 1
RBI: Smith, Mary-Hannah 4 ; Chesson, Jaelynn 1 ; van Ooyen, Lexi 1 ; Alsobrooks, Payton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rabago, Ashley 4 ; Smith, Mary-Hannah 1 ; O'Rourke, Karsen 1 ; Stoll, Jennifer 1
SB: Rabago, Ashley 1
CS: Rabago, Ashley 1
Batting:
2B: Volpe, Allyse 1
3B: Gimmestad, Anna 1
RBI: Hadley, Lauren 1 ; Wolfgang, Taylor 1
SH: Alemany, Marisa 1
SF: Wolfgang, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Volpe, Allyse 1 ; Gimmestad, Anna 1
SB: Hadley, Lauren 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
4
AB
3
R
4
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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P
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IF
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IF
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OF
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IF
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IF
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