Army Set for Patriot League Tournament

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The third-seeded Army West Point softball team is set to travel to Lehigh for this weekend's Patriot League Championships, which will take place at Leadership Park from Thursday to Saturday.

HOW TO FOLLOW
VIDEO • Patriot League Network
LIVE STATS • http://www.sidearmstats.com/lehigh/softball/
TWITTER • ArmyWP_Softball

No. 3 ARMY (35-19, 10-8 Patriot League)
• Army has captured the league title five times in program history, most recently in 2013.
• Lacey Swafford was named the league's rookie of the year, while landing on the all-league second team.
• Co-captain Alee Rashenskas earned her second straight All-Patriot League First Team recognition as a second baseman.
• Ashley Yoo was also honored by the league, earning second team honors as the at-large player.
• Yoo leads the Black Knights with a .348 average (48-for-138) and is tied with Swafford for the most hits on the squad.
• Rookie Emily Ballesteros provides the power in the middle of Army's lineup with team highs in extra-base hits (14) and runs batted in (30).
• In the circle, Renee Poirier and Caroline Smith have guided the Cadets with records of 13-7 and 12-6, respectively.
• Poirier sports a team-best 2.26 earned run average, while recording the most complete games (14), saves (4), innings (139.2) and strikeouts (77).

No. 1 LEHIGH (32-17, 16-2 Patriot League)
• Lehigh has won the league tournament 13 times, the most of any school.
• The Mountain Hawks last claimed the title in 2015.
• Lehigh will host the tournament for the 14th time since the league moved the tournament from a neutral site in 2002.
• The regular season champions collected two major awards from the league: pitcher of the year Christine Campbell and coach of the year Fran Troyan.
• Additionally, Lehigh earned four nods on both the first and second teams.
• Ashley Cole, who was honored on the first team as a designated player and second team as an outfielder, is one of the Mountain Hawks' best bats in the lineup as she leads the team in runs (35), hits (52) and home runs (5).
• Nicole Yozzo, a second-team outfielder, paces the Mountain Hawks' offense with a .339 average (43-for-127).
• In the circle, Campbell has shouldered the bulk of the workload, tossing 149.2 innings.
• She is currently 18-5 on the season with a 2.24 ERA and 99 strikeouts.

No. 2 BOSTON U. (23-25, 14-3 Patriot League)
• Boston U., the reigning champion, came away with the championship trophy in two of its first three years in the Patriot League.
• The Terriers won their first title in 2014.
• Jilee Schanda was named the Patriot League Player of the Year, while being one of three unanimous first team selections.
• BU notched four first team players and two on the second team.
• Schanda captained the Terriers' offense with a .353 average (53-for-150), along with eight doubles, two triples, four homers and 22 RBI.
• Alex Heinen, voted to the second team as a catcher, provides the pop for BU with the most doubles (12), home runs (7), total bases (81) and RBI (31).
• On the rubber, Makinna Akers (first team) and Kali Magane combine for the Terriers' 1-2 punch, having thrown 173 of the team's 320.2 innings on the year.
• Akers is 12-9 with a 2.15 ERA and four shutouts, while Magane's record stands at 11-10 to accompany her 3.03 ERA.

No. 4 HOLY CROSS (13-28, 8-10 Patriot League)
• Holy Cross won its only Patriot League Tournament in 1998.
• The Crusaders earned second team honors from Mandy McCarthy and Taylor Wahler.
• McCarthy carries a .365 batting average (42-for-115) into the tournament with six doubles, three long balls, 14 runs scored and 23 RBI.
• Emily Krisanda has been one of the most consistent players for Holy Cross, tallying 44 hits in 134 at-bats (.349 avg.), seven doubles and four homers.
• Alexandra Held has shouldered the bulk of the workload for the Crusaders, tossing more than half of the team's 260 innings on the year.
• She sports a record of 9-10 with five complete games and a 4.17 ERA.

Army vs. The Field in 2017
Army vs. Lehigh: L, 10-6; April 29
Army vs. Lehigh: L, 8-1; April 29
Army vs. Lehigh: L, 5-2; April 30

Army vs. Boston U.: L, 5-0; April 15
Army vs. Boston U.: L, 7-0; April 15
Army vs. Boston U.: L, 11-1 (5 Innings); April 16

Army vs. Holy Cross: W, 7-6; April 1
Army vs. Holy Cross: L, 4-2; April 2
Army vs. Holy Cross: L, 5-2; April 2

The third-seeded Black Knights open the double-elimination tournament with a 2:30 p.m. matchup against No. 2 Boston U. Thursday at Lehigh's Leadership Park.

For more information on Army West Point softball, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_Softball on Twitter.

Army Set for Patriot League Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Emily Ballesteros

Renee Poirier

Alee Rashenskas

Caroline Smith

Lacey Swafford

Ashley Yoo

Army West Point Athletics