May 7, 2008
Patriot League Softball Tournament Notes 
2008 Patriot League Softball Championship Page
Center Valley, Pa. - Lehigh University's Kaufman Field in Bethlehem, Pa., will be the site of the Patriot League Softball Tournament for the seventh-straight year. The Mountain Hawks earned the right to host the tournament by earning the top seed for the 10th time in school history. The three-day, double-elimination tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10. Lafayette will serve as the No. 2 seed, Bucknell the No. 3 seed and Army the No. 4 seed.
No. 1 Lehigh will take on No. 4 Army at 2 p.m. on Thursday, while No. 2 Lafayette will play No. 3 Bucknell at 4 p.m. Three games will take place on Friday, while one or two (if necessary) games will be played on Saturday.
Lehigh (35-14-1, 14-6 PL) reached 35 or more wins in eight straight years on its way to being the top seed of the Patriot League Tournament. One of Lehigh's 35 wins came over nationally-ranked Maryland in mid-March. In overall games, Lehigh paces the Patriot League in batting (.313), pitching (2.34) and fielding percentage (.961). The Mountain Hawks are led by double threat Lisa Sweeney, who was named both the 2008 Patriot League Player and Pitcher of the Year. Sweeney is first in the Patriot League in batting average (.407), RBI (45) and home runs (13) and ERA (1.44), wins (22) and strikeouts (260). Six other Mountain Hawks are batting over .300 for the season, including First-Team All-Patriot League selections Alisha Gonzales (.352) and Kate Marvel (.338). Lehigh has won a League-high eight Patriot League Tournament titles, including three in the last four years.
Lafayette (24-22, 13-7 PL) was tied for second in the Patriot League standings with Bucknell and earned the higher seed by winning two games against Lehigh (the top seed), while Bucknell only won one contest versus the Mountain Hawks. The Leopards' 24 victories this year is a single-season best, surpassing the program's previous mark of 21 that the team set last year. Lafayette is making its third-straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament and 11th all-time. Lafayette placed a League-high six student-athletes on the All-Patriot League team, highlighted by Kasey Karr who was named first team as a designated hitter and second team as a pitcher. Karr hit .315 with 33 RBI and 26 runs, while going 10-8 in the circle with a 3.23 ERA. Christina Giambrone and Kristen Ruckno were also First-Team All-Patriot League members, who batted .381 and .317, respectively. Lafayette is the only current Patriot League team without a championship win.
Bucknell (22-27, 13-7 PL) returned to the Patriot League Tournament after a two-year absence and is making their 13th overall appearance. In Patriot League games, Bucknell was first in both team batting (.344) and team pitching (2.59) and second in fielding percentage (.965). Bucknell tied Lafayette with six All-Patriot League mentions this season, including the 2008 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Lauren Fry, while Heather Rakosik earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors. Fry ranked fifth in the Patriot League in overall batting average at .343 and recorded 32 runs and a Patriot League freshman-high 30 RBI. Joining Fry on the First-Team All-Patriot League squad were Christie Wiest, Elyse Colmenero and Cassie Lloyd. Wiest has gone 12-12 on the year thus far and was second in the Patriot League in ERA in both overall (2.32) and Patriot League game (1.96). Colmenero ranked first in batting average in League games (.468) and collected 20 RBI and 16 runs overall. Lloyd also posted 20 RBI and 16 runs with a .306 batting average in Patriot League play. Bucknell won its only Patriot League Tournament title in 1997.
Army (13-37, 8-12 PL) will be playing in its ninth-straight and 16th overall Patriot League Tournament. Army is second only to Lehigh in Patriot League Championship titles, winning the tournament in 1991, 1992, 2000 and 2002. Veronica Barth was a First-Team All-Patriot League honoree for Army as a utility player. Barth won a team-high 10 games in the circle and struck out 97 batters, while owning a 3.54 ERA. At the plate, she contributed an Army-best 11 doubles and added two home runs as she collected 24 hits. Laura Baranek is the Black Knights' top hitter with a .313 batting average and a team-high 45 hits, including six doubles, three triples and two home runs. She paces the Patriot League in stolen bases with 12
Results and box scores for this weekend's competition can be found on the Patriot League web site on the main page as well as on the Softball Championship Page which can be accessed by clicking here.
2008 Patriot League Softball Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 8
Game 1: No. 1 Lehigh vs. No. 4 Army, 2 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Lafayette vs. No. 3 Bucknell, 4 p.m.
Friday, May 9
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 11 a.m.
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, Noon
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 2:30 p.m. (if necessary)
