Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"May 10, 2002
Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"
May
10, 2002
Army softball team earns 2nd NCAA bid
By Mady Salvani
Asst. Director, Athletic Media Relations
Senior Melissa Parrish doubled home the tying run and scored on classmate Bianca Brito’s single into the gap in left field in the bottom of the seventh as No. 2 seeded Army rallied with two outs in the second game to defeat top-seeded Lehigh 2-1 for the 2002 Patriot League Softball title and automatic NCAA bid Sunday afternoon in Bethlehem, Pa.
Army (30-15-1) moved through the winners’ bracket into the championship round of the double-elimination tournament and needed just one win to claim its second title in three years and fourth overall. Defending champion Lehigh, coming up through the losers’ bracket, had to defeat Army twice to defend its title.
In a wild championship run, Lehigh avoided elimination in the first game after rallying for a 4-2 win in 11 innings to force the second game where the Mountain Hawks led 1-0 after scoring in the top of the fourth.
That lead stood until the bottom of the seventh when Army rallied with two outs to steal the game from Lehigh. Hitless in both games heading into their final at-bat, Parrish and Brito ignited the Black Knights’ title-clinching run.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, freshman Lauren Gobar drew a walk and was sacrificed to second. Parrish’s double down the third base line scored Gobar with the game-tying run as the Army fans went wild.
Army wasn’t finished with the top of the order coming to bat. Brito, second on the team in hits with 51, ripped a hard shot between third and short into the gap in left field in lifting Army to the title. Parrish didn’t stop running until her teammates jumped on top of her in wild jubilation after scoring the winning run.
Senior Shauna Evans, the league’s "Pitcher of the Year," picked up the decision in relief after being tagged with the loss in the first game. Yielding one hit over three innings, Evans (18-7) retired the side in the final two frames after working out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth.
Emily Ling (14-5), who spun a six-hitter in going the distance in leading Lehigh to the first game victory, suffered the loss in relief after taking over the circle when Army threatened in the fifth. The Black Knights chased starter Stephanie Howell after leading off the fifth with back-to-back hits by freshman Lindsay March and senior Nicki Robbins, but both runners were gunned down at home plate.
"Player of the Year" Robbins was also the league’s tournament MVP. She is the second Black Knight to garner that honor, joining Sheri Schweiker who was named in 1992. The outfielder was 2-for-2 in the second game win and 3-for-5 in the doubleheader, while batting .455 in four games in the tournament.
Army’s 30 wins are the most since the Black Knights moved to the Division I level as a member of the fledgling Patriot League in 1991. It is also the second-highest in school history and three off the mark of 33 set in 1988 when the Black Knights competed at the Division II level. The Lehigh win was also head coach Jim Flowers’ 250th-career victory at Army.
In the first game loss, Army capitalized on a Lehigh error for a pair of unearned runs in jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second. The Mountain Hawks plated single runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game at 2-all, and after that it became a pitcher’s duel.
Evans, pitching 14 innings in the twinbill, retired 17 straight batters in allowing just three hits over the final three frames while yielding 10 hits overall. She equaled her career high with 11 strikeouts.
In the top of the seventh with runners at second and third with one out, pinch hitter Shannon Long’s two-run single in the eleventh lifted the Mountain Hawks to the victory.
The Black Knights threatened in the home half with runners at first and second and two outs when Ling got out unscathed to prevent Lehigh from being eliminated.
Army will be making its second appearance in the 48-team national tournament field, having competed at the 2000 West Regionals The bracket and seedings will be announced Sunday at 9 p.m.