Saturday, May 21
Seattle, Wash.
7:30 PM (ET)
Lehigh University
31-19-1
5
vs
4
Weber State
38-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Lehigh
0
0
0
0
1
1
3
5
8
0
Weber State
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
4
7
0
Photo by: Richard McEnery
Lehigh Rallies For 5-4 NCAA Win Over Weber State Before Falling To No. 13 Washington
5/22/2022 3:29:00 AM | Softball
SEATTLE – Trailing 4-2 in the seventh and down to its final strike, Lehigh rallied to top Weber State 5-4 in an elimination game Saturday at Husky Softball Stadium. Senior Jaelynn Chesson's infield single brought home the tying runs and then a bases loaded walk to sophomore Brooke Cannon plated the go-ahead run. The Mountain Hawks' regional run came to an end with a 6-1 loss to host and No. 13 seed Washington in their second game Saturday.
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Lehigh's season comes to an end at 31-20-1.
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"We battled in the first game against Washington (Friday)," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "It got away a little bit from us at the end. We showed incredible resiliency against Weber State. We had adversity and we fought through it. We were the comeback kids. We battled really hard against Washington. It was a close game until that last inning or so, I could not be more pleased."
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Chesson went 3-for-4 with three RBIs against Weber State while senior Karsen O'Rourke and first-year Rory Dudley both added two hits.
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Weber State (38-12) went in front with two runs in the fourth inning on RBI singles by McKell McCuistion and Lauren Hoe.
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Lehigh pulled a run back in the top of the fifth as O'Rourke singled, moved to second on a ground out and scored on a single to right center by Dudley.
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A sacrifice fly by Faith Hoe and an RBI double by Arissa Henderson left Lehigh down 4-1 after five innings.
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Chesson led off the sixth with a home run to right center, her 15th of the season and 35th of her career.
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The seventh-inning rally began with a walk to sophomore Amanda Greaney and a Dudley single to center. A ground out moved runners into scoring position. Senior Carley Barjaktarovich drew a walk to load the bases. Henderson got junior Emily Cimino to ground into a fielder's choice with a force play at home. Chesson then singled to second with Dudley scoring and then Barjaktarovich raced around and slid in with the tying run. Senior Addie Kittel was intentionally walked to re-load the bases and then Cannon took a 3-2 pitch low, to bring home Cimino with the go-ahead run.
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"We've been doing it all year," Troyan said. "We have shown the ability when we get down to not let it get to us. To work really hard and have a tremendous fighting spirit. I'm not quite sure where it comes from but I'm glad that they have it."
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Senior Gabriella Nori set down the Wildcats in order in the seventh to close out Lehigh's first NCAA regional win since a 3-0 triumph over Central Arkansas in 2015.
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"It shows we can compete on a national stage," Troyan said. "Weber State had 38 wins, they won their league, they were a three seed and had an RPI around 50. So it shows we can compete at a really high level. We have the program in a good spot right now and we're looking to take it from being a really strong program to being an outstanding program and we're hoping this will be a great springboard for us for recruiting in the future."
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Nori earned her 12th victory of the season with 2.2 innings of hitless relief. She struck out four of the nine batters she faced. Sophomore Katelyn Young started for Lehigh and allowed four runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings.
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The Mountain Hawks' run came to an end against a Washington team that hit four home runs against Lehigh for the second straight day. Madison Huskey put the Huskies (37-16) ahead in the top of the first and Sarah Willis and Kinsey Fiedler added solo shots in the fifth.
Brooke Nelson set down the first 13 Mountain Hawks she faced before Cannon reached on an infield single in the fifth inning. Junior Josie Charles reached on an infield single in the sixth and scored Lehigh's lone run on a Cimino RBI single.
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Washington added three more runs in the seventh, including a Kelley Lynch home run.
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Nori pitched the whole game against Washington, allowing six runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
ÂGallery: (5-21-2022) Softball NCAA Day Two, 5/21/22
"For our seniors, the pandemic started when they were sophomores so they had a couple of bad years," Troyan said. "Their sophomore year was canceled and their junior year was not normal at all. They've taken the program from where it was before the pandemic to a whole new level and I could not be more grateful for all of the hard work that they have put in and the effort they have given for the sake of the program."
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The Mountain Hawks are now 8-22 all-time in regional competition. Saturday's win was the first regional win for any Patriot League team since Lehigh's win over Central Arkansas in 2015.
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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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Lehigh's season comes to an end at 31-20-1.
Â
"We battled in the first game against Washington (Friday)," Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan said. "It got away a little bit from us at the end. We showed incredible resiliency against Weber State. We had adversity and we fought through it. We were the comeback kids. We battled really hard against Washington. It was a close game until that last inning or so, I could not be more pleased."
Â
Chesson went 3-for-4 with three RBIs against Weber State while senior Karsen O'Rourke and first-year Rory Dudley both added two hits.
Â
Weber State (38-12) went in front with two runs in the fourth inning on RBI singles by McKell McCuistion and Lauren Hoe.
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Lehigh pulled a run back in the top of the fifth as O'Rourke singled, moved to second on a ground out and scored on a single to right center by Dudley.
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A sacrifice fly by Faith Hoe and an RBI double by Arissa Henderson left Lehigh down 4-1 after five innings.
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Chesson led off the sixth with a home run to right center, her 15th of the season and 35th of her career.
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The seventh-inning rally began with a walk to sophomore Amanda Greaney and a Dudley single to center. A ground out moved runners into scoring position. Senior Carley Barjaktarovich drew a walk to load the bases. Henderson got junior Emily Cimino to ground into a fielder's choice with a force play at home. Chesson then singled to second with Dudley scoring and then Barjaktarovich raced around and slid in with the tying run. Senior Addie Kittel was intentionally walked to re-load the bases and then Cannon took a 3-2 pitch low, to bring home Cimino with the go-ahead run.
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"We've been doing it all year," Troyan said. "We have shown the ability when we get down to not let it get to us. To work really hard and have a tremendous fighting spirit. I'm not quite sure where it comes from but I'm glad that they have it."
Â
Senior Gabriella Nori set down the Wildcats in order in the seventh to close out Lehigh's first NCAA regional win since a 3-0 triumph over Central Arkansas in 2015.
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"It shows we can compete on a national stage," Troyan said. "Weber State had 38 wins, they won their league, they were a three seed and had an RPI around 50. So it shows we can compete at a really high level. We have the program in a good spot right now and we're looking to take it from being a really strong program to being an outstanding program and we're hoping this will be a great springboard for us for recruiting in the future."
Â
Nori earned her 12th victory of the season with 2.2 innings of hitless relief. She struck out four of the nine batters she faced. Sophomore Katelyn Young started for Lehigh and allowed four runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings.
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The Mountain Hawks' run came to an end against a Washington team that hit four home runs against Lehigh for the second straight day. Madison Huskey put the Huskies (37-16) ahead in the top of the first and Sarah Willis and Kinsey Fiedler added solo shots in the fifth.
ÂKarsen O'Rourke BODIES this catch 🤯
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 22, 2022
💻 @ESPNPlus #RoadToWCWS #SCTop10 x 🎥 @Lehighsoftball pic.twitter.com/nGkXxjjusL
Brooke Nelson set down the first 13 Mountain Hawks she faced before Cannon reached on an infield single in the fifth inning. Junior Josie Charles reached on an infield single in the sixth and scored Lehigh's lone run on a Cimino RBI single.
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Washington added three more runs in the seventh, including a Kelley Lynch home run.
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Nori pitched the whole game against Washington, allowing six runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
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"For our seniors, the pandemic started when they were sophomores so they had a couple of bad years," Troyan said. "Their sophomore year was canceled and their junior year was not normal at all. They've taken the program from where it was before the pandemic to a whole new level and I could not be more grateful for all of the hard work that they have put in and the effort they have given for the sake of the program."
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The Mountain Hawks are now 8-22 all-time in regional competition. Saturday's win was the first regional win for any Patriot League team since Lehigh's win over Central Arkansas in 2015.
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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: Nori, Gabriella (12-11)
L: HENDERSON, Arissa (16-3)
Batting:
HR: Chesson, Jaelynn 1
RBI: Chesson, Jaelynn 3 ; Cannon, Brooke 1 ; Dudley, Rory 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Barjaktarovich, Carley 1 ; Cimino, Emily 1 ; Chesson, Jaelynn 1 ; O'Rourke, Karsen 1 ; Dudley, Rory 1
SB: O'Rourke, Karsen 1
CS: Barjaktarovich, Carley 1
Batting:
2B: HENDERSON, Arissa 1
RBI: HOE, Faith 1 ; HENDERSON, Arissa 1 ; McCUISTION, McKell 1 ; HOE, Lauren 1
SH: CAMARERO, Chloe 1
SF: HOE, Faith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CERDA, Marissa 1 ; FOSTER, Noelle 1 ; DONAHOO, Makayla 1 ; RUSHTON, Mia 1
SB: DONAHOO, Makayla 1 ; RUSHTON, Mia 1
HBP: WHITING, KC 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
IF/UT
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ SoftballP/UT
/ Softball
IF/UT
/ SoftballC/UT
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
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