BETHLEHEM, PA – The 51·çÁ÷ softball team has been eliminated from the 2004 Patriot League Tournament after dropping two-of-three games on the opening day at Lehigh’s Kaufman Field.
In the opening game, 51·çÁ÷ dropped a heart-breaking 2-1 10-inning decision to second seeded Army. The Raiders came back to defeat Bucknell 3-1 before losing again to Army 5-2.
The Raiders finish their season with a 34-17 record – the most wins ever posted in a season.
In the opening game against the Cadets, 51·çÁ÷ took a 1-0 lead when junior outfielder Dorothy Donaldson (Lakeland, FL) launched a home run over the right centerfield fence.
Army walked Donaldson the next four times she came to the plate.
Army tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning when Darcy Wilson led off the frame with a home run. The Cadets pushed across the winning run in the 10th, when Nikki Posey scored on Lauren Gobar’s RBI single.
Senior Elena Isaac (Chandler, AZ) had a complete game effort allowing seven hits, one earned run, struck out two and walked one.
Kim Olmstead (Spring Hill, FL) had a pair of hits for the Raiders, who stranded 11 runners on base including seven in scoring position. 51·çÁ÷ had the bases loaded twice but couldn’t score against the Cadets.
Sophomore Kate Howard (Wheaton, IL) was the winning pitcher in the second game against Bucknell. She allowed four hits, while striking out six and walking one for her 10th win of the season.
Bucknell took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Lauren Litts home run. 51·çÁ÷ tied the contest in the third when Howard doubled and came home on Rachel Smith’s (Annandale, VA) RBI single. 51·çÁ÷ scored the winning run in the fifth inning on Nichole Rawson’s (Palmdale, CA) single that plated Olmstead, who had tripled. The Raiders added an insurance run in the sixth on Olmstead’s RBI single.
In the final game, Army scored twice in the first inning off 51·çÁ÷ starter Kate Howard before going ahead 4-0 in the third inning with a pair of runs off Isaac, who came into the contest in the first inning.
51·çÁ÷ cut the deficit in half in the fourth inning, when Donaldson hit her second home run of the day and 35th of her career. Donaldson was 3-for-3.
The Raiders had the bases loaded in the sixth inning but couldn’t score against the Cadets.