March 31, 2003
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - The Lafayette baseball team notched two more wins over Lehigh in Patriot League action on Monday afternoon at Metzgar Field. The Leopards used a four-run fifth inning to win the opener, 9-4, and received a four-hit shutout from Joe Saporetti to claim the 2-0 victory in the night cap.
Game one was more of an offensive affair, with the two teams combining for 17 in the sub-freezing temperatures. Lafayette played catch up through the opening innings. Lehigh took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third on a solo home run by Jeremy Mack.
The Leopards responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run on a wild pitch to tie the game 2-2 before junior Craig Alexander doubled to center to give Lafayette a 3-2 lead.
Lehigh (8-12, 0-3) tied the game in the fourth inning on a Forrest Doane RBI-single. The Mountain Hawks had a chance to do a lot of offensive damage in the top of the fifth inning. Lafayette starter Marcus Ward retired the first batter, but then gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases. Drew Moyer replaced Ward (4.1 IP, 4R, 4K, 7H) on the mound and got a sac fly for the second out of the inning. The lefty Moyer walked the next batter and was replaced by right-handed reliever Hank Fichtner. Fichtner ended the Lehigh rally by getting Jeff Baker to ground out to the shortstop with Lehigh leading 4-3.
Lafayette was undaunted, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take control of the game. Sophomore Rob Fioretti led off the inning with a single. After a groundout and a fly out, the rest of the Lafayette offense came alive as the Leopards batted around. Fioretti came plateward on an Alexander single to tie the game. Alexander stole second and later scored on Adam Bucci's single that also chased Lehigh starter Jack Lyons from the game. The Leopards scored two more runs on a combination of RBI-singles by Matt Tambellini and Rob Kulish and two hit batsmen to take a 7-4 lead.
The Leopards added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Rosenberg led off with a double and scored when Jason Boyd drove him in with a single to center. The Leopards scored their final run of the game when the Lehigh pitcher Kyle Collina balked as Boyd was attempting to steal home.
Fichtner (1-0) got the win on the hill, throwing one and a third innings and not allowing a hit. Lyons threw four and two third innings and surrendered six runs (five earned) on six hits in the loss.
Game two was more a pitchers' duel and lasted just an hour and a half. Lafayette starter Joe Saporetti scattered four hits en route to his second shutout win of the season.
In the home half of the third, Lafayette scored what would wind up as the game-winning run. Jeff Rodgers led off the inning with a two-bagger down the rightfield line. Eric Vacca's attempted sacrifice bunt that dropped for a base hit left runners on the corners with no outs. Kulish hit a potential double-play ball to shortstop, but the Lehigh defense managed only a force out at second. The run scored to put Lafayette up 1-0.
Lafayette tacked on a run in the bottom of the fourth. Boyd led off the inning and reached on an error. He promptly stole second and later scored when Bucci singled to center. After a sac bunt put runners on second and third with one out, the rally came to an end when Rodgers lined out into a double play.
Meanwhile, Saporetti (2-1) continued to cruise to his second win of the season. No Lehigh baserunner made it past second base the entire game. Saporetti faced just nine batters over the final three innings and did not allow a hit in that span. For the game, he struck out five and walked one in the complete-game victory. Adam Marr took the loss, surrendering two runs (one earned) on four hits over six innings. Marr struck out five and walked two as he moved to 1-2.
Monday's action likely closes out the Lafayette-Lehigh regular-season series for 2003, despite the two teams having played only three of the four scheduled games. No makeup date has been planned for the final game that most likely won't be played unless it has playoff implications.
Currently 3-0 in the Patriot League, Lafayette evened its overall record at 5-5 with the wins Monday. The Leopards return to action with a pair of mid-week games, hosting Long Island on Wednesday at 3 p.m. before traveling to Wagner on Thursday for a 3:30 game. Lafayette returns home this weekend to host Holy Cross for a four-game series.
