Thursday, May 8
West Point, N.Y.
1:30 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Boston U.
Photo by: Lucas Morrell
Mountain Hawks Set For PLT Beginning Thursday At Army
5/7/2025 5:31:00 PM | Softball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh heads to West Point, N.Y. for the 2025 Patriot League Tournament, beginning Thursday, as Army hosts for just the second time in 34 years and the first time since 2010. The Mountain Hawks enter the tournament having won five consecutive games after winning the last two games of their final league series against Boston University and then claiming three non-league wins against Villanova and Mount St. Mary's. Lehigh was swept by Army in its league-opening series but has gone 16-5 since dropping the March 23 series finale to the Black Knights. Thirteen of those 16 wins came against league opponents.
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The only team to qualify for all 34 Patriot League Tournaments, Lehigh has won a league-best 15 tournament titles, most recently in 2022. The Mountain Hawks had six All-Patriot League selections led by Patriot League Rookie of the Year Kelly Fricker. The third seeded Mountain Hawks will open the double elimination tournament against No. 2 seed Boston U., with No. 1 Army West Point facing No. 4 Bucknell in the other first round matchup.
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The threat of inclement weather has forced schedule changes for the tournament. Thursday's opening day will now begin with Army-Bucknell at 11 a.m., followed by Lehigh-Boston University at approximately 1:30 p.m. Friday's action has been postponed due to expected rain. Saturday will feature games three, four and five with action beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday's championship round, featuring game six and if necessary, game seven, will begin at 10 a.m.
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Six Mountain Hawks were selected to the All-Patriot League teams, announced earlier this week following a vote of the league's head coaches. Senior Rory Dudley and sophomore Peyton Sward earned first team honors in their second career all-league plaudits. Dudley and Sward were joined on the first team by senior designated player Maddy Schmeiser and first-year outfielder Kelly Fricker. Lehigh's second-team honorees are senior second baseman Julia Mrochko and first-year outfielder Helen Woloshyn. Lehigh had two first-years garner all-league recognition for the third consecutive season (Sward and Holly Lovett in 2024 and Chloe Hess and Sydney Parlett in 2023).
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First-year Kelly Fricker is enjoying one of the finest single seasons in program history. One of two Mountain Hawks to start all 50 games, Fricker enters the Patriot League Tournament with a league-best .437 batting average and 76 hits, while adding 40 runs scored, 16 doubles, two home runs, 26 RBIs and seven stolen bases. She ranks 34th in the nation in batting average, 11th in hits and 28th in doubles. Fricker was a first team All-Patriot League honoree as an outfielder and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year, the fifth Lehigh player to win the award and the first since Nicole Yozzo in 2015. In league play, Fricker hit a ridiculous .529 (36-for-68) with 21 runs scored, eight doubles and 12 RBIs. The West Chester, Pa., native needs four hits to break Lehigh's single season record of 79, set by Carley Barjaktarovich in 2023.
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On Wednesday, Mrochko and Sward were named to the Academic All-Patriot League team. Both student-athletes are also All-Patriot League honorees for their performance on the diamond. Mrochko is a finance major with a 3.65 GPA and Sward holds a 3.77 GPA majoring in accounting.
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While first-year Kelly Fricker's offensive numbers have made headlines, Lehigh's offensive success in 2025 has been a total team effort. The Mountain Hawks have a .307 team batting average and Lehigh's nine players expected to be in the batting order for the PLT are hitting a combined .323 with all nine players having at least 25 hits. Lehigh hitters have 107 multi-hit games this season, including five four-hit games, with those games coming from five different players. Sophomore Holly Lovett had the first four-hit game at Lafayette on Mar. 30. Senior Maddy Schmeiser had four hits at Princeton on Apr. 2, with Fricker following against Bucknell two days later. Senior Julia Mrochko had a four-hit game at Colgate on Apr. 13 and classmate Lindsey Martin celebrated senior day with a 4-for-5 game against Boston University on Apr. 27. Martin was a robbed home run away from a school record-tying five hit game.
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Lehigh is the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for just the fourth time in now 34 tournament appearances. The Mountain Hawks were the No. 3 seed in 1998, 2018 and 2019 and reached the championship round on all three occasions, falling to Holy Cross in 1998 and Boston University in 2018 and 2019. Thursday's opening round game against BU marks the first time the Mountain Hawks and Terriers will meet in the tournament's first round. All 14 previous PLT meetings between Lehigh and BU have come in either the winner's bracket game three or the championship round (games six and seven).
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Two-time defending Patriot League champion Boston University enters the tournament at 36-17 overall and 14-4 in the Patriot League. The Terriers are the No. 2 seed after losing series 2-1 to both Army and Lehigh. BU boasts the league's Pitcher of the Year in Kasey Ricard and the Defensive Player of the Year in Brooke Deppiesse.
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Army won its first regular season title in 15 years, going 16-2 in league play with losses to Holy Cross and Boston University. The Black Knights are led by Patriot League Coach of the Year Jen Consaul and Player of the Year Ashton White. Army took three games from Lehigh at Leadership Park in March to open league play.
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Bucknell made the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 4 seed, bouncing back from an 0-10 league start with eight consecutive victories. The Mountain Hawks swept three games from the Bison in early April, outscoring Bucknell 22-1 over those three games. Bucknell has two second team all-league players in Brooke Popella and Savannah Jones.
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Streaming video of all Patriot League Tournament action will be available on ESPN+.
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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (Revised Wednesday afternoon)
Thursday May 8
Game 1: No. 1 Army vs. No. 4 Bucknell, 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Boston U. vs. No. 3 Lehigh, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday May 10
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 4:Â Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m.
Sunday May 11
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 10 a.m.
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 12:30 p.m.*
* - if necessary
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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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The only team to qualify for all 34 Patriot League Tournaments, Lehigh has won a league-best 15 tournament titles, most recently in 2022. The Mountain Hawks had six All-Patriot League selections led by Patriot League Rookie of the Year Kelly Fricker. The third seeded Mountain Hawks will open the double elimination tournament against No. 2 seed Boston U., with No. 1 Army West Point facing No. 4 Bucknell in the other first round matchup.
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The threat of inclement weather has forced schedule changes for the tournament. Thursday's opening day will now begin with Army-Bucknell at 11 a.m., followed by Lehigh-Boston University at approximately 1:30 p.m. Friday's action has been postponed due to expected rain. Saturday will feature games three, four and five with action beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday's championship round, featuring game six and if necessary, game seven, will begin at 10 a.m.
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Six Mountain Hawks were selected to the All-Patriot League teams, announced earlier this week following a vote of the league's head coaches. Senior Rory Dudley and sophomore Peyton Sward earned first team honors in their second career all-league plaudits. Dudley and Sward were joined on the first team by senior designated player Maddy Schmeiser and first-year outfielder Kelly Fricker. Lehigh's second-team honorees are senior second baseman Julia Mrochko and first-year outfielder Helen Woloshyn. Lehigh had two first-years garner all-league recognition for the third consecutive season (Sward and Holly Lovett in 2024 and Chloe Hess and Sydney Parlett in 2023).
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First-year Kelly Fricker is enjoying one of the finest single seasons in program history. One of two Mountain Hawks to start all 50 games, Fricker enters the Patriot League Tournament with a league-best .437 batting average and 76 hits, while adding 40 runs scored, 16 doubles, two home runs, 26 RBIs and seven stolen bases. She ranks 34th in the nation in batting average, 11th in hits and 28th in doubles. Fricker was a first team All-Patriot League honoree as an outfielder and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year, the fifth Lehigh player to win the award and the first since Nicole Yozzo in 2015. In league play, Fricker hit a ridiculous .529 (36-for-68) with 21 runs scored, eight doubles and 12 RBIs. The West Chester, Pa., native needs four hits to break Lehigh's single season record of 79, set by Carley Barjaktarovich in 2023.
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On Wednesday, Mrochko and Sward were named to the Academic All-Patriot League team. Both student-athletes are also All-Patriot League honorees for their performance on the diamond. Mrochko is a finance major with a 3.65 GPA and Sward holds a 3.77 GPA majoring in accounting.
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While first-year Kelly Fricker's offensive numbers have made headlines, Lehigh's offensive success in 2025 has been a total team effort. The Mountain Hawks have a .307 team batting average and Lehigh's nine players expected to be in the batting order for the PLT are hitting a combined .323 with all nine players having at least 25 hits. Lehigh hitters have 107 multi-hit games this season, including five four-hit games, with those games coming from five different players. Sophomore Holly Lovett had the first four-hit game at Lafayette on Mar. 30. Senior Maddy Schmeiser had four hits at Princeton on Apr. 2, with Fricker following against Bucknell two days later. Senior Julia Mrochko had a four-hit game at Colgate on Apr. 13 and classmate Lindsey Martin celebrated senior day with a 4-for-5 game against Boston University on Apr. 27. Martin was a robbed home run away from a school record-tying five hit game.
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Lehigh is the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for just the fourth time in now 34 tournament appearances. The Mountain Hawks were the No. 3 seed in 1998, 2018 and 2019 and reached the championship round on all three occasions, falling to Holy Cross in 1998 and Boston University in 2018 and 2019. Thursday's opening round game against BU marks the first time the Mountain Hawks and Terriers will meet in the tournament's first round. All 14 previous PLT meetings between Lehigh and BU have come in either the winner's bracket game three or the championship round (games six and seven).
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Two-time defending Patriot League champion Boston University enters the tournament at 36-17 overall and 14-4 in the Patriot League. The Terriers are the No. 2 seed after losing series 2-1 to both Army and Lehigh. BU boasts the league's Pitcher of the Year in Kasey Ricard and the Defensive Player of the Year in Brooke Deppiesse.
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Army won its first regular season title in 15 years, going 16-2 in league play with losses to Holy Cross and Boston University. The Black Knights are led by Patriot League Coach of the Year Jen Consaul and Player of the Year Ashton White. Army took three games from Lehigh at Leadership Park in March to open league play.
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Bucknell made the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 4 seed, bouncing back from an 0-10 league start with eight consecutive victories. The Mountain Hawks swept three games from the Bison in early April, outscoring Bucknell 22-1 over those three games. Bucknell has two second team all-league players in Brooke Popella and Savannah Jones.
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Streaming video of all Patriot League Tournament action will be available on ESPN+.
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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (Revised Wednesday afternoon)
Thursday May 8
Game 1: No. 1 Army vs. No. 4 Bucknell, 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Boston U. vs. No. 3 Lehigh, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday May 10
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 4:Â Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m.
Sunday May 11
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 10 a.m.
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 12:30 p.m.*
* - if necessary
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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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Players Mentioned
C/UT
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IF/OF
/ Softball
P
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IF
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OF
/ Softball
IF
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UT
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
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