Friday, February 21
Charlotte, N.C.
11:30 AM
Lehigh University
1-5
0
vs
2
Ball State
4-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Lehigh
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
Ball State
1
0
1
0
0
0
X
2
5
0
Photo by: Mario Terrana
Mountain Hawks Drop Pair On Opening Day Of Charlotte Invitational
2/21/2025 10:29:00 PM | Softball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In its first action since Feb. 9, the Lehigh softball team dropped its first two games at the Charlotte Invitational Friday at Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium. The Mountain Hawks began the day with a tightly-contested 2-0 loss to Ball State and then fell 13-4 in five innings to host Charlotte with the 49ers scoring 11 unanswered runs after Lehigh took a 1-0 lead.
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In game one of the day against Ball State (5-1), Lehigh was limited to just two hits, a fourth inning double by sophomore Gracie Smith and a sixth inning single by first-year Kelly Fricker.
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Ball State's Ella Whitney walked one and struck out one in the complete-game shutout effort. Both of the Cardinals' runs came on sacrifice flies, with McKenna Mulholland delivering one in the first inning and Whitney helping herself with one in the third.
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Junior Chloe Hess went the distance in the circle for Lehigh allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over six innings. Hess walked two and struck out seven.
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Against Charlotte (4-9), Lehigh broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the third inning when sophomore Peyton Sward plated Fricker with a sacrifice fly, but the 49ers answered with four runs in the third and seven in the fourth to take an 11-1 lead.
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London Dirks had a key two-run single for the 49ers in the third inning, while the seven-run fourth was capped by a two-run Emma Shoemaker double and a two-run Savannah Nguyen single.
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Lehigh kept fighting, pulling two runs back on a pinch-hit two-RBI double by senior Maddy Schmeiser, who later came around to score on an error, but Charlotte's Teagan Ritchie ended the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth.
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The Mountain Hawks mustered four hits, with Smith going 2-for-3 at the plate. Shoemaker and Olivia Williams both had two hits to lead Charlotte, while Dirks and Shoemaker both drove in three runs. Lehigh did muster multiple base runners in its final four turns at-bat.
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First-year Madison Finnerty started in the circle, allowing six runs on six hits over three-plus innings, with two walks and four strikeouts. Senior Maria Urban was also charged with six runs in an inning-plus, before giving way to sophomore Maddy Clark.
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The Mountain Hawks (1-6) will continue action at the Charlotte Invitational with games against Ball State (10 a.m.) and UAlbany (12:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
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Follow Lehigh Softball on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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In game one of the day against Ball State (5-1), Lehigh was limited to just two hits, a fourth inning double by sophomore Gracie Smith and a sixth inning single by first-year Kelly Fricker.
Â
Ball State's Ella Whitney walked one and struck out one in the complete-game shutout effort. Both of the Cardinals' runs came on sacrifice flies, with McKenna Mulholland delivering one in the first inning and Whitney helping herself with one in the third.
Â
Junior Chloe Hess went the distance in the circle for Lehigh allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over six innings. Hess walked two and struck out seven.
Â
Against Charlotte (4-9), Lehigh broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the third inning when sophomore Peyton Sward plated Fricker with a sacrifice fly, but the 49ers answered with four runs in the third and seven in the fourth to take an 11-1 lead.
Â
London Dirks had a key two-run single for the 49ers in the third inning, while the seven-run fourth was capped by a two-run Emma Shoemaker double and a two-run Savannah Nguyen single.
Â
Lehigh kept fighting, pulling two runs back on a pinch-hit two-RBI double by senior Maddy Schmeiser, who later came around to score on an error, but Charlotte's Teagan Ritchie ended the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth.
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The Mountain Hawks mustered four hits, with Smith going 2-for-3 at the plate. Shoemaker and Olivia Williams both had two hits to lead Charlotte, while Dirks and Shoemaker both drove in three runs. Lehigh did muster multiple base runners in its final four turns at-bat.
Â
First-year Madison Finnerty started in the circle, allowing six runs on six hits over three-plus innings, with two walks and four strikeouts. Senior Maria Urban was also charged with six runs in an inning-plus, before giving way to sophomore Maddy Clark.
Â
The Mountain Hawks (1-6) will continue action at the Charlotte Invitational with games against Ball State (10 a.m.) and UAlbany (12:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
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Follow Lehigh Softball on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: WHITNEY (3-0)
L: Hess, Chloe (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Smith, Gracie 1
Base Running:
CS: Sward, Peyton 1
HBP: Sward, Peyton 2
Batting:
2B: URBAN 1
RBI: WHITNEY 1 ; MULHOLLAND 1
SF: WHITNEY 1 ; MULHOLLAND 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GUNTER 1 ; PIETRZAK 1
SB: PIETRZAK 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
lf/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P/IF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P
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