BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Two big innings in game one and a quick start in game two propelled Lafayette softball to a Saturday sweep of Lehigh, winning 12-9 and 5-4. The conference victories qualified Lafayette for the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2012.
In game one, Lafayette banged out a season-high 17 hits. Trailing 1-0, the Leopards exploded for five runs in the top of the third.
Kylee Sweet knotted the game at 1-1, driving in
Olivia Catalina with a single. The next batter,
Regan Dillon, gave the Leopards' their first lead of the day by delivering a run-scoring double that chased Lehigh starter Chloe Hess from the game. Two more runs came home via an error before
Maggie Klug's RBI-single stretched the advantage to 5-1.
In the fifth, the Leopards loaded the bases with no outs. Catalina drew a five-pitch walk to turn over the batting order via a 6-1 lead. The next batter,
Caroline Hall smashed a 1-1 offering over the wall in leftfield as Lafayette jumped to a 10-1 advantage. Hall is currently in the midst of a 16-game hitting streak.
In the sixth, Catalina and Hall each plated runs again for a 12-4 lead. Lafayette took a 12-5 lead into the seventh when
Jordan Goedel ran into a bit of trouble, allowing two runs to score before giving way to
Makayla Lecky with no outs in the inning. Lehigh scored two more runs with
Makayla Lecky in the game before she got a groundout to end the game.
Marisa Powell collected the win, allowing just one earned run on seven hits over five innings with a pair of strikeouts. The victory for the Leopards snapped a 22-game win streak by Lehigh in the series, dating back to the first game of the 2018 series.
In game two, Lafayette jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first inning. With two outs in the inning and a runner on second, Dillon smacked an RBI-double to score
Dani Rosner from second. The next batter,
Ava Butler, hit a 1-0 pitch over the wall in centerfield two put two more tallies on the scoreboard.
The Mountain Hawks finally reached Leopard starter
Parker Rowden for a run in the bottom of the fifth on Kelly Fricker's two-out solo home run. A flyout two batters later limited the damage.
Sweet procured some insurance for the Leopards in the top of the sixth. With Rosner aboard, Sweet hit a ball to center that kept carrying and glanced off the centerfielder's glove and over the wall for a two-run home run and a 5-1 Leopard advantage.
Syndey Parlett snapped Lehigh back into the game in the bottom of the sixth via a three-run home run that sent Rowden from the game in favor of
Sophia Alvarez-Backus.
Alvarez-Backus was up to the challenge. The Mountain Hawks loaded the bases before she calmly gobbled up a ground ball for a force out at home to end the inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Alvarez-Backus struck out the last two batters to end the game and collect her second save of the season. Rowden secured the win, scattering three earned runs on six hits over five innings.
The Leopards will close out the series with Lehigh on Sunday at noon.
