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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League season has arrived for the Lehigh softball team as the Mountain Hawks will open their 18-game league slate this weekend with three games at Army West Point. The Mountain Hawks and Black Knights will play a doubleheader Saturday that has been moved up an hour to 11 am and then a single game Sunday at noon. All three games are slated to be broadcast on ESPN+.
Lehigh enters league play at 7-11 overall after a strong 4-2 trip to Tampa, Fla., to close out spring break. The Mountain Hawks picked up victories over Niagara, Purdue, Canisius and St. Thomas and battled nationally-ranked USF in a tight 2-0 contest.
Earlier this week the Mountain Hawks swept the Patriot League weekly awards, with senior Jaelynn Chesson named Player of the Week, sophomore Katelyn Young earning Pitcher of the Week and first-year Rory Dudley capturing Rookie of the Week.
Dudley leads the Mountain Hawks with a .405 average, having played in 16 of Lehigh’s 18 games thus far. Her 17 hits are second on the team to senior Carley Barjaktarovich, who leads Lehigh with 18 hits, 11 runs scored and seven stolen bases, to go along with a .316 average.
An 8-for-16 showing with seven extra base hits last week raised Chesson’s batting average to .300. She has a team best four home runs this season. Chesson and junior Emily Cimino are tied for the team lead with five doubles and 12 RBIs.
Young was Lehigh’s top pitcher last week, going 3-0 with a 1.81 ERA over four appearances in Florida. Senior Gabriella Nori leads Lehigh overall with a 3.90 ERA to go along with a 3-6 record. Nori has struck out 44 in 41.1 innings of work, while Young has a team-leading four victories and has struck out 38 in 44.2 innings.
Army enters Patriot League play with an 8-19 record. The Black Knights went 3-3 at last weekend’s Maryland Invitational before falling 5-4 at UConn Wednesday. Kayla Edwards leads the Black Knights with 25 hits and 13 runs scored to go along with a .284 average, while Leila Hurst has a team-leading 14 RBIs and two home runs. Infielder Angelina Bebek and pitcher Jolie Duong were preseason All-Patriot League selections. Duong has been Army’s top pitcher thus far, with a 4-5 record, 4.30 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 66.2 innings of work. The Black Knights were the No. 4 seed in last year’s Patriot League Tournament, going 0-2.
Lehigh leads the all-time series versus Army 94-41. The teams split four games last season, as they split doubleheaders in Bethlehem on April 3 and at West Point the following day. Then first-year Brooke Cannon had the fourth five-hit game in school history as Lehigh won the series finale 12-10 in nine innings on April 4.
Following the Army West Point series, Lehigh will visit Penn for a doubleheader on Wednesday before opening his home schedule against Lafayette April 2-3 in the Rivalry, presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute.
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