Sunday, May 9
Worcester, Mass.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
21-15, 17-9
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Holy Cross
9-20, 8-15
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Lehigh
0
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Holy Cross
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Photo by: Lisa Stamford
Lehigh splits doubleheader at Holy Cross, clinches regular season title
5/9/2021 7:10:00 PM | Baseball
Program's first Patriot League regular season championship since 2006
WORCESTER, Mass. – Looking to conclude the 2021 regular season on a high note, the Lehigh baseball team split a doubleheader with Holy Cross Sunday at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field. The Mountain Hawks (21-16, 17-10 PL) won the first game over the Crusaders (10-20, 9-15 PL), 4-1 to claim the series victory, before falling in the second game, 9-7.
By virtue of Army West Point's loss to Navy in the first game of its doubleheader, the Mountain Hawks have clinched the Patriot League Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 overall seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2006. The road to the program's third league title in history will officially go through Bethlehem, Pa. and J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park.
"We had a difficult task this weekend to come on the road and win another series and we were able to accomplish that," said head coach Sean Leary. "The end result is that it's the first time we've ever had sole possession of a regular season title.
"I was as proud as I could be after this weekend's performances, we battled game in and game out and was able to get the job done."
The first game was a mix of gutsy pitching performances and clutch at bats for the offense as the Mountain Hawks used a three-run seventh to steal the opener of the doubleheader and get the series victory over the Crusaders.
Lehigh scored first in the top of the second inning after Quinn McKenna reached on a throwing error by the third baseman, as Joe Gorla came around to score, giving the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Holy Cross answered back in the fifth inning on an RBI single, tying the game at 1.
The top of the seventh inning started with a leadoff triple for Riley Davis and with one out in the inning Gerard Sweeney launched his fourth home run of the season, scoring Davis to put Lehigh ahead, 3-1. Casey Rother walked the very next at bat and Adam Retzbach reached on a fielding error, scoring Rother to take a 4-1 lead.
Sophomore right-hander Will Grisack pitched a phenomenal two innings of relief to earn his third win of the season, striking out five of the six batters he faced, as Lehigh battled back for the 4-1 win.
The Mountain Hawks totaled six hits, led by Gorla with two of them. Despite not factoring into the decision, senior righty Matt Svanson had a solid day, allowing just one run on seven hits with six strikeouts over five innings of work.
"We got a solid performance out of Matt and obviously got the big hit from Sweeney late," said Leary. "We were competing really well all game and just didn't push any across. Good teams find a way late and that was a pretty playoff-level win for our guys."
In game two, it was a powerhouse affair between both offenses that went back and forth especially in the later innings.
The Mountain Hawks scored the first five runs of the game between the first two innings. A Casey Rother grounder to shortstop followed by an RBI triple for Adam Retzbach put Lehigh in front, 2-0. Gerard Sweeney had a two-RBI single bring the score to 4-0 as Rother singled to center, scoring Sweeney to take a 5-0 lead.
The Crusaders battled back with two runs in the second, one in the third and two more in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5. The Mountain Hawks took a 6-5 lead in the seventh on a Joe Gorla single that scored Rother on a fielding error.
With Ryan Deom in the game in relief of Tyler Thompson, the Crusaders rallied in the eighth inning, scoring four runs to take a 9-6 lead heading into the final frame.
Rother tallied his fourth hit of the game on a solo homer in the top of the ninth to bring the score to 9-7, but Holy Cross retired the side to salvage the final game of the series.
"We fought to the end like we have done all season, but we had chances to extend the lead early and we didn't but kept pushing," Leary said. "Honestly, they had one really big inning this weekend and they wound up getting a victory. But even in the ninth, our team kept fighting back.
"That's evident of what kind of team we have been all season. I liked the way we competed and now we're rewarded by having a banner added to our outfield fence and a chance to host throughout the Patriot League Tournament."
Rother was the offensive star of the game, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and three RBIs. Adam Retzbach went 3-for-5 with a triple and Gerard Sweeney was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, a double and two RBIs.
Matt Stamford got the start and went four innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts, but Thompson was excellent in relief, going 3.1 strong frames, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts. Deom was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on four hits.
The Mountain Hawks await results around the league for their opponent in the Patriot League Semifinals next weekend. Those games will be played at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park with times and streaming information to be determined.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
By virtue of Army West Point's loss to Navy in the first game of its doubleheader, the Mountain Hawks have clinched the Patriot League Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 overall seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2006. The road to the program's third league title in history will officially go through Bethlehem, Pa. and J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park.
"We had a difficult task this weekend to come on the road and win another series and we were able to accomplish that," said head coach Sean Leary. "The end result is that it's the first time we've ever had sole possession of a regular season title.
"I was as proud as I could be after this weekend's performances, we battled game in and game out and was able to get the job done."
The first game was a mix of gutsy pitching performances and clutch at bats for the offense as the Mountain Hawks used a three-run seventh to steal the opener of the doubleheader and get the series victory over the Crusaders.
Lehigh scored first in the top of the second inning after Quinn McKenna reached on a throwing error by the third baseman, as Joe Gorla came around to score, giving the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Holy Cross answered back in the fifth inning on an RBI single, tying the game at 1.
The top of the seventh inning started with a leadoff triple for Riley Davis and with one out in the inning Gerard Sweeney launched his fourth home run of the season, scoring Davis to put Lehigh ahead, 3-1. Casey Rother walked the very next at bat and Adam Retzbach reached on a fielding error, scoring Rother to take a 4-1 lead.
Sophomore right-hander Will Grisack pitched a phenomenal two innings of relief to earn his third win of the season, striking out five of the six batters he faced, as Lehigh battled back for the 4-1 win.
The Mountain Hawks totaled six hits, led by Gorla with two of them. Despite not factoring into the decision, senior righty Matt Svanson had a solid day, allowing just one run on seven hits with six strikeouts over five innings of work.
"We got a solid performance out of Matt and obviously got the big hit from Sweeney late," said Leary. "We were competing really well all game and just didn't push any across. Good teams find a way late and that was a pretty playoff-level win for our guys."
In game two, it was a powerhouse affair between both offenses that went back and forth especially in the later innings.
The Mountain Hawks scored the first five runs of the game between the first two innings. A Casey Rother grounder to shortstop followed by an RBI triple for Adam Retzbach put Lehigh in front, 2-0. Gerard Sweeney had a two-RBI single bring the score to 4-0 as Rother singled to center, scoring Sweeney to take a 5-0 lead.
The Crusaders battled back with two runs in the second, one in the third and two more in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5. The Mountain Hawks took a 6-5 lead in the seventh on a Joe Gorla single that scored Rother on a fielding error.
With Ryan Deom in the game in relief of Tyler Thompson, the Crusaders rallied in the eighth inning, scoring four runs to take a 9-6 lead heading into the final frame.
Rother tallied his fourth hit of the game on a solo homer in the top of the ninth to bring the score to 9-7, but Holy Cross retired the side to salvage the final game of the series.
"We fought to the end like we have done all season, but we had chances to extend the lead early and we didn't but kept pushing," Leary said. "Honestly, they had one really big inning this weekend and they wound up getting a victory. But even in the ninth, our team kept fighting back.
"That's evident of what kind of team we have been all season. I liked the way we competed and now we're rewarded by having a banner added to our outfield fence and a chance to host throughout the Patriot League Tournament."
Rother was the offensive star of the game, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and three RBIs. Adam Retzbach went 3-for-5 with a triple and Gerard Sweeney was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, a double and two RBIs.
Matt Stamford got the start and went four innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts, but Thompson was excellent in relief, going 3.1 strong frames, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts. Deom was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on four hits.
The Mountain Hawks await results around the league for their opponent in the Patriot League Semifinals next weekend. Those games will be played at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park with times and streaming information to be determined.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Grisack, Will (3-0)
L: Chudy,Nate (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Gorla, Joe 1 ; McKenna, Quinn 1
3B: Davis, Riley 1
HR: Sweeney, Gerard 1
RBI: Sweeney, Gerard 2 ; Retzbach, Adam 1
SH: McKenna, Quinn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Rother, Casey 1 ; Gorla, Joe 1 ; Davis, Riley 1
HBP: Sweeney, Gerard 1
Batting:
RBI: Dudunakis,Peter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Latham,Thomas 1
SB: Dellacono,Ben 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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RHP
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