April 26, 2014

4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Lafayette 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 1 Lehigh 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 x 4 10 1 Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) 2

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lafayette brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning, but Lehigh held on to beat the Leopards 4-2 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. The Mountain Hawks won game one by a 7-2 final to sweep the twinbill.

Lafayette dropped to 11-25 on the year and 4-12 in conference games, and Lehigh moved to 22-19 overall and 9-8 in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks secured a place in the Patriot League Tournament, while Lafayette was eliminated from postseason contention.

Leading 4-2 heading into the ninth, Lehigh sent closer Nick Cassell back to the mound for his third inning of work. After Cassell got the first two outs, pinch hitter Toby Schwartz singled through the right side to bring the tying run to the dish in the form of Andrew Santomauro. The Leopards' centerfielder scored Lafayette's eighth-inning run to pull the Leopards' within two on an RBI single by Parker Hills and had doubled earlier in the contest. This time, though, Cassell closed the game by striking out Santomauro to seal the victory for the Mountain Hawks.

Lehigh built its lead with a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings after Lafayette went ahead 1-0 in the third. Lafayette's run was a result of a walk by Lehigh starting pitcher Mike Burke to right fielder Matt Lawrence. Lawrence stole second base to move into scoring position for Jackson Kramer, who singled him home two batters later. Kramer registered two hits for Lafayette in the loss.

Right-hander David Bednar ran into trouble in the fifth after limiting Lehigh to three hits through the first four innings. Three straight base hits by Brandon Wilt, Justin Pacchioli and Mike Garzillo tied the score at 1-1 before Bednar hit Joe Abeln to load the bases with nobody out. A sacrifice fly from John Elson put Lehigh in the lead, before Bednar escaped the jam without any further damage.

The lead increased in the sixth after Burke worked around Kramer's leadoff single in the top half of the inning. Alex Farina came on in relief of Bednar for Lafayette, but he was only able to get one out as Lehigh scored on an RBI single by Pacchioli and a double steal where Lehigh's centerfielder stole home. Connor McMahon entered the game at that point and allowed one hit over 2 3/3 scoreless innings, while striking out four.

Burke collected his third win of the season (3-3) for the Mountain Hawks after surrendering one run on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Cassell gave up a run on two hits, punched out four and walked one to earn his seventh save of 2014.

Lafayette and Lehigh resume the series on Sunday in Bethlehem with a doubleheader slated to begin at noon.