Lehigh softball breaks eight game win streak

Lehigh softball fell to the Delaware Blue Hens 20-2 in five innings Wednesday, on a gray afternoon at Leadership Park. 

This was Lehigh’s first loss since March 18, ending an eight game winning streak, and its fourth straight against the Blue Hens. 

Delaware came out swinging, with two home runs in the first inning alone. The score at the end of the first inning was 4-0 in favor of the visitors. 

The Blue Hens’ explosive second inning started with three early walks by sophomore pitcher Katelyn Young, who was replaced by freshman Maria Urban. 

Urban gave up seven runs, and walked five batters in her second inning stint at the mound .

The Blue Hens broke open the game when Delaware hit a grand slam off of Young, beginning a long half-inning which would end with 16 Delaware runs.

The Mountain Hawks scored their first of two runs in the bottom of the second when freshman Lindsey Martin grounded into a double play, allowing senior Karsen O’Rourke, who was on third base, to score easily. 

The team’s change in mindset allowed them to put some runs on the board.

“Halfway through the game we took a switch and said this is going to be a 0-0 game and we’re going to treat it like that,” said junior Emily Cimino.

Young pitched a scoreless third inning, allowing no hits. Cimino scored in the bottom of the third inning from first base, on a double from freshman Rory Dudley. 

“We’re going to throw punches back and deal with what’s in the past. We’ll accept it and move on,” Cimino said. 

The last two innings of the game were scoreless for both teams.

“Previously in the year we talked about being able to take punches and get back up and obviously today was a large punch,” O’Rourke said. “But, they scored zero runs in the last three innings and we got some. It had been a minute since we’d taken a punch and it was a little bit humbling and it’s going to drive us to work harder at the next two practices before the weekend.”