Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Lehigh
Softball Splits Twinbill At Lehigh
April 24, 2011 | Softball
Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Freshman hurler Haley Pypes threw a three-hitter and doubled home a pair of runs in a come-from behind fifth inning rally in the first game of a Patriot League doubleheader as Army defeated host Lehigh, 6-4, at Kaufman Field. Catcher Liz Lucas blasted a walk-off grand slam with two outs to cap a seven-run fifth inning as the Mountain Hawks (24-19, 9-4 PL) downed the Black Knights (23-19, 6-8 PL) 14-5 in the nightcap to earn a split of the opening day twinbill.
In the opener, Army capitalized for a run in the top of the first inning when Rachael Duval's rip to right field was misjudged allowing leadoff batter Amanda Nguyen (2-for-3) to score from third base. Nguyen, who was 2-for-3 and scored twice, reached on a hit to the shortstop and moved around on a fielder's choice and stolen base. Starter Rebecca Bliss (11-8) got out of that inning without further damage after stranding runners at first and second.
Lehigh answered back with three runs in the home half of the first inning off Pypes, capitalizing on a hit, an error and three walks to pull ahead 3-1. After giving up her lone hit with two outs, Pypes retired the side on a groundout to the second baseman and threw shutout ball over the next five innings, along with helping key Army's comeback win in the fifth inning.
Coming up short after threatening with runners on base in the fourth inning, the Black Knights rallied in the fifth inning in exploding for five runs on six hits as Army sent 10 batters to the plate. Meghan McGowan and Nguyen ignited that rally leading off with back-to-back hits, then Ortenzo loaded the bases when she reached on an error by the shortstop. Sophomore second baseman Alex Reynolds knocked in a pair of runs with a single up the middle to tie the game 3-3.
Junior first baseman Alexis AuBuchon delivered April Ortenzo for the tie-breaking run, and Pypes' two-run double knocked in Reynolds and AuBuchon for what would prove the winning margin after providing the Black Knights with a 6-3 lead.
Pypes' double also knocked out Bliss, while reliever Kelsey Lee, who got out of that inning on a groundout and foul ball popup, held Army to one hit over the 2.2 innings she pitched.
Pypes, who stranded a pair of runners in the fifth after issuing a pair of walks, retired the side in the sixth being getting into a jam in the seventh after being touched for a pair of hits and two walks. She nipped Lehigh's rally and ended the threat after yielding a pair of runs with two outs and bases loaded on a lineout to the shortstop to record her team-leading 11th win of the season. The freshman right-hander's mark is just one shy of breaking into Army's top 10 single-season chart.
The win is Army's second straight over the Mountain Hawks and fourth in the last six meetings dating back to 2010.
The Black Knights collected 11 hits with two each by Nguyen, AuBuchon and Pypes. Nguyen's stolen base in the first game tied the school's single-season mark, which she broke in the first inning of the nightcap to become the all-time leader with 23. The freshman speedster broke the mark of 22 set by Michelle Schmidt in 1992.
The Black Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the nightcap with Nguyen, who led off with a single to left field, stealing second base and scoring on a fielding error by the shortstop. Ortenzo, who reached on that error and moved to second on the throw home, advanced to third base on Reynolds' single to left field, then stole home.
Lehigh erased that 2-0 deficit in the home where Pypes (11-9) started the second game, but was battered as the Mountain Hawks exploded for seven runs on five hits along with a pair of walks. She turned over the circle to Shawna Bleyl with one out. After being touched for a walk and hit, Bleyl retired the side on a sacrifice fly to right field and infield groundout.
While Bleyl was keeping Lehigh off the scoreboard over the next three innings, Army added three runs in the top of the second to cut Lehigh's lead to 7-5. Ortenzo's two-out, two-run double scored McGowan, who reached on a fielder's choice, and Nguyen, who beat out bunt to close to two runs. Pypes, who doubled and moved to third on a fielder's choice, scored the first run on a passed ball.
After yielding her fourth hit in that frame to Reynolds, winner Ashley Quigley (10-9) closed the door on Army on a strikeout and went on to retire 10 straight batters.
Lehigh put the game out of reach, along with forcing the mercy rule, in parlaying four hits, two walks and a hit batsman into seven runs keyed by Lucas' grand slam.
Nguyen and Reynolds had two of Army's seven hits in the nightcap and hit in both games along with AuBuchon and Pypes. Nguyen was 4-for-7 with four runs scored, Pypes was 3-for-6 with a run and two RBI, Reynolds was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run, and AuBuchon was 3-for-6 with an RBI and run.
Nguyen boosted her team-leading mark to 57 hits and 34 runs to move into fifth place and tied for seventh, respectively, on Army's single-season chart. Reynolds, Army's single-season leader in RBI (39), has 56 career runs batted in which is nine shy of breaking into the Black Knights' top 10 all-time chart. Orentzo, who ranks second on the team in RBI, is tied for second place on the single-season chart with 34.
The Black Knights and Mountain Hawks will close out their four-game series Monday with a twinbill starting at 1 p.m.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Leader Colgate clinched a playoff berth after holding on to defeat Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., 2-0 and 2-1, to improve to 12-1 ... Holy Cross slipped to 8-6 ... Lehigh is in second place at 9-4 followed by the Crusaders ... Bucknell split with Lafayette, bowing 5-4 in the first game and holding on for a 1-0 decision in the nightcap to stand fifth at 4-10 and two games behind Army (6-8) ... following Monday's twinbill, just one weekend remains in the battle for one of four post-season tournament berths.
DIAMOND NOTES: The softball team had their annual Easter Egg hunt Sunday morning at 9:30 and the players were kept busy finding the 69 plastic eggs hidden by the staff ... it has been a tradition for years and one that everyone enjoys ... Haley Pypes' youngest brother Brad joined in the festivities and came away with a fair share of the eggs.
