BETHLEHEM, PA (4/23/06) – League-leading Lehigh swept a Patriot League softball doubleheader against Colgate Sunday afternoon defeating the Raiders 8-0 and 4-2 at Kaufman Field.

 

Lehigh (31-11, Pl 13-1) extended its winning streak over Colgate (13-20, PL 6-8) to seventh straight games.

 

In the opener, freshman Lisa Sweeney (21-3) pitched a three-hitter for the Mountain Hawks.  She struck out six and walked none in six innings for her sixth shutout of the season.

 

Lehigh took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Lauren Hanley’s sacrifice fly which scored Kate Marvel, who led off with a walk.  The Mountain Hawks scored once more in the second inning when Julie Sterrett singled, moved to second on a throwing error, and came home on Sweeney’s single up the middle.

 

Lehigh put the contest away with a five-run outburst in the fifth inning for a 7-0 lead.  With two outs, Marvel tripled to center field, and scored on Heather Hamasaki’s single.  Hanley singled Hamasaki home before Sterrett cracked a three-run homer.

 

The Mountain Hawks scored their final run in the sixth inning on Hamasaki’s single ending the contest under the eight-run mercy rule.

 

Freshman Ashley Rowe (Tampa, FL) (1-7) started for the Raiders in the circle.  She worked five innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs, while walking two and striking out one.  Freshman Calla Yee (Salinas, CA) hurled the final inning.

 

Kim Olmstead (Spring Hill, FL), Kortney Hannah (Vacaville, CA) and Tiana Tyeskey (Granite Bay, CA) had one hit apiece.

 

In the nightcap, Colgate jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  Yee led off with a walk, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Olmstead.  After moving to third on a wild pitch, Yee scored when she beat a throw to the plate on LaPorscha Albert’s (Lewisville, TX) ground out.  Albert scored the second run on Hannah’s RBI single.

 

Lehigh scored in the second inning, after Sterrett tripled to center, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Hanley.  The Mountain Hawks scored twice in the third inning for a 3-2 lead.  Mary Wieder hit her seventh homer of the season for the first tally, and Sterrett would later score on a single by Whitney Schenbeck.

 

Lehigh scored once more in the fourth inning when Marvel walked, stole second and after being sacrificed to third, scored on Haney’s sacrifice fly.

 

Senior Kate Howard (Wheaton, IL) started for the Raiders, working the first four innings.  She allowed nine hits, four runs, walked two and struck out none.  Junior Kelsey Nordstrom (Salina, KS) pitched the final two frames giving up one hit, no runs and walking two.

 

Lehigh’s Kate Arico went the distance for the Mountain Hawks for her eighth win of the season.  She allowed three hits while walking none and striking out three.

 

Albert, Hannah and Meg Mylan (Upper Montclair, NJ) had Colgate’s hits.

 

Colgate and Lehigh will conclude their four-game series on Monday with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.