Saturday, February 22
Richmond, Va.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
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Richmond
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Lehigh
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Richmond
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Photo by: Josh Liddick
Black, Sweeney star, but Mountain Hawks falter at Richmond
2/22/2020 7:29:00 PM | Baseball
RICHMOND, Va. — Sophomore third baseman Gerard Sweeney had a career game with four hits in five at-bats, but Lehigh baseball came up empty Saturday afternoon in the first game of the three-game set, falling 9-4 to Richmond at Pitt Field.
The Mountain Hawks (0-4) start the 2020 campaign on a four-game skid, still searching for that elusive first victory. The offense had some pop to kick off the game, but the Spiders battled back with a big inning to run away with it.
"Offensively, we showed some major strides from last weekend's performance," said head coach Sean Leary. "Gerard had a tremendous day at the plate, however, we can and will improve our situational hitting.
"Tomorrow we'll look to get back to Lehigh baseball by playing sound defense, pounding the zone and putting more consistent pressure on the opponent."
Sophomore right-hander Mason Black was cruising on the mound, as he mowed through the Richmond lineup through two full innings, racking up four strikeouts, two in the first and two in the second. He got his fifth to start the third inning, but the Spiders got some baserunners, eventually getting the first run of the ballgame after Dominic Toso singled up the middle to collect the RBI. Black struck out his sixth batter to end the inning.
The top of the fourth is where the Mountain Hawks showed the most life, where Sweeney singled to lead-off the inning. Tony Gallo singled to left field, advancing Sweeney to second and freshman Adam Retzbach singled to score Sweeney, making it 1-1. The next batter, sophomore Casey Rother, doubled to left center, scoring Gallo to give Lehigh a 2-1 advantage.
Richmond took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning after two runners scored on an error by Gallo in right field.
Lehigh tied the game up at 3-3 in the top of the fifth after Tyler Schreiner singled up the middle, scoring Jake Kochmansky.
The Spiders took a commanding lead in the bottom of that inning with a three-run home run to give Richmond an 8-3 lead.
The Mountain Hawks added a run in the top of the eighth inning after Zack Miles walked with the bases loaded, but Richmond was able to hold on for the 9-4 win.
Black had a strong start in his second outing of the season, striking out a career-high nine batters, while allowing six runs, three earned over five hits with two walks in four innings of work. Yash Rane took over in relief, throwing two innings of three-run, three-hit ball, with three strikeouts. Cameron Van Hoorebeke pitched the final two innings for Lehigh, allowing just one hit with a punchout.
"Mason pitched very well for us today," said Leary. "He set the tone for our team early in the game.
"But we had a tough day on defense and ultimately Mason's pitching line was not reflective of how well he pitched. We definitely need to provide better support for our ace."
Sweeney went 4-for-5 to pace the Lehigh offense, while Gallo was 2-for-5, starting the 2020 campaign on a four-game hitting streak. Rother went 2-for-4 with a double, while Kochmansky also finished with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Schreiner and Retzbach each tallied a single hit, as Lehigh out-hit Richmond, 12-9 on the day.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The Mountain Hawks (0-4) start the 2020 campaign on a four-game skid, still searching for that elusive first victory. The offense had some pop to kick off the game, but the Spiders battled back with a big inning to run away with it.
"Offensively, we showed some major strides from last weekend's performance," said head coach Sean Leary. "Gerard had a tremendous day at the plate, however, we can and will improve our situational hitting.
"Tomorrow we'll look to get back to Lehigh baseball by playing sound defense, pounding the zone and putting more consistent pressure on the opponent."
Sophomore right-hander Mason Black was cruising on the mound, as he mowed through the Richmond lineup through two full innings, racking up four strikeouts, two in the first and two in the second. He got his fifth to start the third inning, but the Spiders got some baserunners, eventually getting the first run of the ballgame after Dominic Toso singled up the middle to collect the RBI. Black struck out his sixth batter to end the inning.
The top of the fourth is where the Mountain Hawks showed the most life, where Sweeney singled to lead-off the inning. Tony Gallo singled to left field, advancing Sweeney to second and freshman Adam Retzbach singled to score Sweeney, making it 1-1. The next batter, sophomore Casey Rother, doubled to left center, scoring Gallo to give Lehigh a 2-1 advantage.
Richmond took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning after two runners scored on an error by Gallo in right field.
Lehigh tied the game up at 3-3 in the top of the fifth after Tyler Schreiner singled up the middle, scoring Jake Kochmansky.
The Spiders took a commanding lead in the bottom of that inning with a three-run home run to give Richmond an 8-3 lead.
The Mountain Hawks added a run in the top of the eighth inning after Zack Miles walked with the bases loaded, but Richmond was able to hold on for the 9-4 win.
Black had a strong start in his second outing of the season, striking out a career-high nine batters, while allowing six runs, three earned over five hits with two walks in four innings of work. Yash Rane took over in relief, throwing two innings of three-run, three-hit ball, with three strikeouts. Cameron Van Hoorebeke pitched the final two innings for Lehigh, allowing just one hit with a punchout.
"Mason pitched very well for us today," said Leary. "He set the tone for our team early in the game.
"But we had a tough day on defense and ultimately Mason's pitching line was not reflective of how well he pitched. We definitely need to provide better support for our ace."
Sweeney went 4-for-5 to pace the Lehigh offense, while Gallo was 2-for-5, starting the 2020 campaign on a four-game hitting streak. Rother went 2-for-4 with a double, while Kochmansky also finished with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Schreiner and Retzbach each tallied a single hit, as Lehigh out-hit Richmond, 12-9 on the day.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tim Miller (1-0)
L: Black, Mason (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Rother, Casey 1
RBI: Schreiner, Tyler 1 ; Retzbach, Adam 1 ; Rother, Casey 1 ; Miles, Zack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Gallo, Tony 2 ; Kochmansky, Jake 1
CS: Sweeney, Gerard 1
Batting:
2B: Anthony Forte 1 ; Daniel Little 1
HR: Justin Cook 1
RBI: Dominic Toso 1 ; Drew Blakely 1 ; Dan Leckie 1 ; Justin Cook 3 ; Daniel Little 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Dominic Toso 1 ; Anthony Forte 2 ; Drew Blakely 2 ; Jordan Schulefand 2 ; Justin Cook 1 ; Daniel Little 1
SB: Jordan Schulefand 1
HBP: Johnny Hipsman 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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LHP
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