May 11, 2007
2007 Patriot League Softball Championship Page
Bethlehem, Pa. - Top seeded-Lehigh and second-seeded Colgate will meet on Saturday to determine the winner of the 2007 Patriot League Championship. Friday's action played at Lehigh University's Kaufman Field saw Colgate defeat Lehigh, Lafayette earn a win over Army, and Lehigh coming back to knock out Lafayette.
Colgate (24-22) and Lehigh (35-17-1) will play game six at Noon on Saturday. If Colgate defeats Lehigh in the first game of the day it will be crowned champion, by virtue of two Lehigh losses in this year's tourney. If Lehigh wins the first game, a second and final game will be played following the first to determine the 2007 Patriot League champion.
Service Electric 2 Sports will televise the Patriot League Tournament game(s) on Saturday, May 12. The games will also be available off of Lehigh's web site by clicking here.
Both Army (15-36) and Lafayette (21-25) were knocked out of the tourney, both losing twice in the double-elimination format.
The first game of the day between Colgate and Lehigh was deadlocked 0-0 until the top of the seventh when Colgate scored the only two runs of the game to earn the 2-0 victory. Senior Kelsey Nordstrom threw a one-hit, complete game, striking out five Lehigh batters.
Colgate loaded the bases in the top of the final frame with Tiana Tyesky singling, Meg Mylan reaching on an error and two back-to-back walks by Kortney Hannah and Kimberly Spinks. Lehigh pitcher Lisa Sweeney, who replaced starter Tiffany Curtis in the fourth, then walked in the first run of the game. Sophomore Ashley Rowe delivered a sacrifice fly to push ahead the final run to make it 2-0.
Lehigh's Whitney Schenbeck came up with Lehigh's lone hit in the bottom of the fifth, while Sweeney was given the pitching loss.
Game two saw Lafayette jump out to an early 3-0 lead over Army after the first inning when junior Kristen Ruckno blasted her fifth home run of the season, scoring Jill Masterton and Christina Giambrone, who singled and walked, respectively, to get on base.
The Leopards added another run in the bottom of the fifth off a Kasey Karr double that brought in Giambrone. Karr was also the winning pitcher of the day,
Army mounted a comeback effort in the top of the seventh inning, scoring three runs, but was unable to catch up with Lafayette. Senior Lindsey Gerheim provided a three-run double with two outs.
Ruckno went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored for Lafayette, and moved into a tie for fourth all-time in home runs in Patriot League history (21). Masterton and Karr each collected two hits as well.
Gerheim ends her career at Army ranked ninth on the Patriot League career charts with 194 hits and tied for sixth in career home runs (20).
In the final game on Friday, Lehigh handed Lafayette its second loss of the tourney in a 13-0 game decided in five innings. Freshman Tiffany Curtis recorded the win on the mound for Lehigh with her third shutout of the season, allowing just one hit and notching seven strikeouts.
Lehigh put five runs on the board in the top of the first, playing as the designated visiting team. Alisha Gonzales knocked in the first two runs of the game with a single to leftfield, while Whitney Schenbeck, Mendy Martin and Brooke Lewis each provided one-run singles.
The Mountain Hawks tacked on three runs in the third. Taryn Hanley scored one run with a single, while Megan Conrad came up with a sacrifice fly for another. Heather Hamasaki drove in the final run of the inning with a single.
In the top of the fifth Lehigh added its final five runs of the game. Kate Marvel, Whitney Lowe, Lauren Haney, Schenbeck and Martin each came up with an RBI.
For Lehigh, Hamasaki was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate, while Marvel, Martin and Hanley also recorded a three-hit game.
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.
2007 Patriot League Softball Tournament Schedule/Results
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: Colgate 2, Lehigh 0
Game 4: Lafayette 4, Army 3
Game 5: Lehigh 13, Lafayette 0 (5)
Saturday, May 12
Game 6: Colgate vs. Lehigh, Noon
Game 7: Colgate vs. Lehigh, 2:30 p.m. (if necessary)
