Friday, February 28
Raleigh, N.C.
12:30 PM
Lehigh University
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NC State
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6
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Lehigh
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NC State
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Mountain Hawks earn split on opening day of NC State Invitational
2/28/2020 8:58:00 PM | Softball
RALEIGH, N.C. – Lehigh opened action at the NC State Invitational with a split of its action Friday at Dail Softball Stadium. The Mountain Hawks rebounded from a 12-2, six-inning loss to host NC State in their first game of the day with a 13-1, six-inning victory over North Carolina A&T.
Freshman Emily Cimino went 4-for-7 on the day with a home run, three runs scored and three RBIs. Sophomore Carley Barjaktarovich added two hits and three runs scored against North Carolina A&T, while junior Lainey Stephenson went 2-for-3 against the Aggies and allowed a run on five hits with nine strikeouts in the circle to earn her first career victory.
Friday's split leaves Lehigh at 4-3 on the season.
Lehigh rebounded from its NC State loss by recording five consecutive hits to open the game against North Carolina A&T. Barjaktarovich led off with a triple and scored on a single by senior Mary-Hannah Smith. An RBI single by sophomore Addie Kittel, a sacrifice fly by senior Reva Alderman and a run-scoring fielder's choice by junior Payton Alsobrooks put the Mountain Hawks up 4-0 before the Aggies came to bat.
The Mountain Hawks added two runs in the second and one in the fourth to go up 7-0, with Cimino driving in a run in each frame. Lehigh put the game out of reach with a six-run sixth inning. Cimino led off with a triple and came around to score on an error. The Mountain Hawks tacked on five more behind bases loaded walks to Alsobrooks and Stephenson, an RBI single by sophomore Karsen O'Rourke, an RBI fielder's choice by Barjaktarovich and a Smith sacrifice fly.
Staked to a 4-0 lead before she even threw a pitch, Stephenson enjoyed one of the best outings of her career. Stephenson kept the Aggies (2-12) without a kit until Vivica Boyd's infield single with two outs in the fourth inning. North Carolina A&T finally pushed a run across in the sixth on Jocelyn Bennett's RBI ground out.
Stephenson's final line was one run allowed on five hits. She walked four and struck out a career-high nine to earn her first victory.
Cimino had three hits, while Barjaktarovich, Smith and Stephenson each added two.
Lehigh's first game of the day against NC State featured six home runs. The host Wolfpack hit five of the six on the way to their 12th victory of the season.
Sam Russ led off the home first with a home run and Randi Farricker's RBI double put NC State up 2-0 after one inning. Catcher Sam Sack led off the second with a home run to put the hosts up 3-0.
Barjaktarovich drew a leadoff walk to spark a Lehigh rally in the third. She took second on an error off a fielder's choice. Sophomore Jaelynn Chesson made her season debut against the Wolfpack and singled in her second at-bat, with a Wolfpack error in center field allowing Barjaktarovich to score.
Cimino led off the fifth inning with her second home run of the season, to bring Lehigh within 3-2, but NC State broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Angie Rizzi homered with one out and Carson Shaner added the big blow with a three-run pinch-hit home run.
The Wolfpack ended the game with four runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single and Sack's second home run of the game, a three-run blast that ended the contest.
Sydney Nester earned the win for NC State with 3.1 innings of one run relief. Lehigh mustered just three hits, with senior Lexi van Ooyen leading off the fourth inning with a double, in addition to Chesson's single and Cimino's home run.
The Mountain Hawks will continue action at the NC State Invitational when they face North Carolina A&T again, Saturday at 10 a.m. and then No. 24/25 James Madison at 12:30 p.m.
Like Lehigh Softball on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Freshman Emily Cimino went 4-for-7 on the day with a home run, three runs scored and three RBIs. Sophomore Carley Barjaktarovich added two hits and three runs scored against North Carolina A&T, while junior Lainey Stephenson went 2-for-3 against the Aggies and allowed a run on five hits with nine strikeouts in the circle to earn her first career victory.
Friday's split leaves Lehigh at 4-3 on the season.
Lehigh rebounded from its NC State loss by recording five consecutive hits to open the game against North Carolina A&T. Barjaktarovich led off with a triple and scored on a single by senior Mary-Hannah Smith. An RBI single by sophomore Addie Kittel, a sacrifice fly by senior Reva Alderman and a run-scoring fielder's choice by junior Payton Alsobrooks put the Mountain Hawks up 4-0 before the Aggies came to bat.
The Mountain Hawks added two runs in the second and one in the fourth to go up 7-0, with Cimino driving in a run in each frame. Lehigh put the game out of reach with a six-run sixth inning. Cimino led off with a triple and came around to score on an error. The Mountain Hawks tacked on five more behind bases loaded walks to Alsobrooks and Stephenson, an RBI single by sophomore Karsen O'Rourke, an RBI fielder's choice by Barjaktarovich and a Smith sacrifice fly.
Staked to a 4-0 lead before she even threw a pitch, Stephenson enjoyed one of the best outings of her career. Stephenson kept the Aggies (2-12) without a kit until Vivica Boyd's infield single with two outs in the fourth inning. North Carolina A&T finally pushed a run across in the sixth on Jocelyn Bennett's RBI ground out.
Stephenson's final line was one run allowed on five hits. She walked four and struck out a career-high nine to earn her first victory.
Cimino had three hits, while Barjaktarovich, Smith and Stephenson each added two.
Lehigh's first game of the day against NC State featured six home runs. The host Wolfpack hit five of the six on the way to their 12th victory of the season.
Sam Russ led off the home first with a home run and Randi Farricker's RBI double put NC State up 2-0 after one inning. Catcher Sam Sack led off the second with a home run to put the hosts up 3-0.
Barjaktarovich drew a leadoff walk to spark a Lehigh rally in the third. She took second on an error off a fielder's choice. Sophomore Jaelynn Chesson made her season debut against the Wolfpack and singled in her second at-bat, with a Wolfpack error in center field allowing Barjaktarovich to score.
Cimino led off the fifth inning with her second home run of the season, to bring Lehigh within 3-2, but NC State broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Angie Rizzi homered with one out and Carson Shaner added the big blow with a three-run pinch-hit home run.
The Wolfpack ended the game with four runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single and Sack's second home run of the game, a three-run blast that ended the contest.
Sydney Nester earned the win for NC State with 3.1 innings of one run relief. Lehigh mustered just three hits, with senior Lexi van Ooyen leading off the fourth inning with a double, in addition to Chesson's single and Cimino's home run.
The Mountain Hawks will continue action at the NC State Invitational when they face North Carolina A&T again, Saturday at 10 a.m. and then No. 24/25 James Madison at 12:30 p.m.
Like Lehigh Softball on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nester (7-3)
L: Boyd, Parker (2-2)
Batting:
2B: van Ooyen, Lexi 1
HR: Cimino, Emily 1
RBI: Cimino, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Barjaktarovich, Carley 1 ; Cimino, Emily 1
HBP: Smith, Mary-Hannah 1 ; Kittel, Addie 1
Batting:
2B: Rizzi 1 ; Farricker 1
HR: Russ 1 ; Rizzi 1 ; Shaner 1 ; Sack 2
RBI: Russ 1 ; Forbes 1 ; Rizzi 1 ; Farricker 1 ; Johnston 1 ; Shaner 3 ; Sack 4
SH: Visser 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Russ 1 ; Morris 1 ; Rizzi 2 ; Farricker 2 ; Johnston 1 ; Shaner 2 ; Sack 3
HBP: Sack 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
cf/dp
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
lf/cf
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
/ Softball
C/IF
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballP/UT
/ SoftballIF/UT
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ SoftballIF/UT
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