May 10, 2007

2007 Patriot League Softball Championship Page

Bethlehem, Pa. - The top two seeds in the 2007 Patriot League Tournament, No. 1 Lehigh and No. 2 Colgate, won their opening games on Thursday at Lehigh University's Kaufman Field. Lehigh defeated No. 4 Army, 4-0, in the first game of the day, while Colgate followed with a 9-1 victory over No. 3 Lafayette.

Lehigh (34-16-1) got on the board early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning - without registering a hit. Patriot League Player of the Year Kate Marvel drew a walk to open Lehigh's half of the inning, then advanced to second on a ground out. Back-to-back walks followed with Heather Hamasaki and Lauren Haney receiving free passes. During Hamasaki's at-bat Marvel moved to third on a wild pitch. A throwing error down at first intended to get Mendy Martin out allowed both Marvel and Hamsaki to score.

Hamasaki then delivered a two-out double to score Whitney Lowe in the bottom of the second, making it 3-0 over Army (15-35). Marvel tacked on the fourth and final run of the game with a single that allowed pitch runner Kristyn Kubiak to cross the plate. Kubiak was put in for Alisha Gonzales, who doubled with two outs.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Lisa Sweeney earned a one-hit victory for her 19th win of the season. Sweeney notched her fifth shutout of the year and posted a career-high 14 strikeouts.

Army freshman Erin McClain provided the Black Knights with their only hit of the game with a single in the top of the second. Senior pitcher Chris Stauffer was saddles with the loss.

The second game of the day between Colgate (23-22) and Lafayette (20-24) was wrapped up in five innings, with the Raiders earning the 9-1 win.

Colgate senior Kelsey Nordstrom won her 15th game of the season and moved to second all-time on the Colgate strikeout chart with three on the day and 359 in her four years. Nordstrom allowed just one run and three hits.

Sophomore Vicky Ortengren started the scoring for the Raiders with a two-run single in the bottom of the first frame, driving in Calla Yee and LaPorscha Albert, who reach on a single and a hit by pitch, respectively.

Colgate scored five runs in the very next inning to go up 7-0, knocking out Lafayette starting pitcher Kasey Karr, who was replaced by Megan Averbuch after three hits were recorded. The second inning featured five singles (Tiana Tyeskey, Kortney Hannah, Yee, Ashley Rowe, and Albert) and one double (Ortengren).

The Raiders posted one run in both the third and fourth innings. Tyesky scored in the third on an error by the centerfielder, while Albert provided the final run of the day after tripling to get on base.

Lafayette managed a run in the top of the fifth when junior Kristen Ruckno came through with a RBI single to score Jill Masterton, who walked to start off the frame.

Three Raiders recorded a two-hit game, highlighted by Ortengren's 2-for-3 outing that included three RBI.

Friday's Patriot League Tournament action will feature No. 1 Lehigh and No. 2 Colgate at 11:30 a.m. to start the day, followed by No. 3 Lafayette and No. 4 Army. The loser of the first game will play the winner of the second game after the Lafayette-Army contest. Two teams will be going home after tomorrow's play due to the Patriot League Tournament's double-elimination format. Saturday's play will pit the winner of game three versus the winner of game five, with a second game between the two teams to be played right after if necessary, beginning at Noon.

Service Electric 2 Sports will televise the Patriot League Tournament game(s) that involve Lehigh on Saturday, May 12. The games will also be available off of Lehigh's web site by clicking here.

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.

Thursday, May 10
Game 1: No. 1 Lehigh 4, vs. No. 4 Army 0
Game 2: No. 2 Colgate 9, vs. No. 3 Lafayette 1 (5)

Friday, May 11
Game 3: Lehigh vs. Colgate, 11 a.m.
Game 4: Army vs. Lafayette, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 12
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)