The softball team delivered its biggest weekend in more than a decade, earning a series win over Lehigh University and clinching its first Patriot League tournament berth since 2012.
The Leopards (7-11 Patriot League, 16-34 overall) combined aggressive offense with timely hitting and steady late-inning composure against the Mountain Hawks (5-13 Patriot League, 26-28 overall) to sweep Saturday’s doubleheader, locking up the fourth seed in head coach Kelliner Croushore’s second season.
“I’m just so proud of them,” Croushore said. “Seeing their growth and the way they’ve trusted the process has been phenomenal.”
After falling behind 1-0 early, the Leopards flipped game one with a five-run third inning. Senior infielder Kylee Sweet tied the game with an RBI single, and classmate infielder Dani Rosner helped extend the inning as Lafayette built pressure on Lehigh’s defense. Junior infielder Regan Dillon followed with a go-ahead double that shifted control to the Leopards.
Sophomore infielder Caroline Hall delivered the game’s defining swing in the fifth, crushing a grand slam over the left-field fence to stretch the lead to 10-1. Lehigh’s offense mounted a late push, but the Leopard bullpen stayed firm to seal a 12-9 victory.
“When I went out and talked to them, I told them to just remember who you are, you are more than enough and you’ve got this,” Croushore said. “Them switching to that calm mindset, I think has been a huge, huge deal for us this year.”
Lafayette carried the energy into game two and struck immediately, seizing a three-run lead in the first inning. Rosner opened with a single, Dillon followed with an RBI double and freshman outfielder Ava Butler capped the surge with a two‑run home run that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
“I think it was really important for us to jump out and be aggressive,” Rosner said. “We just wanted to carry our momentum and focus from game one into game two.”
Lehigh crossed the plate in the bottom of the fifth, but Sweet answered in the sixth with a two-run homer to push the margin to 5-1. The Mountain Hawks countered with a three-run homer in the bottom to trim the deficit to one, but the Leopards held their ground to take the series win over Lehigh.
Junior pitcher Parker Rowden earned her eighth win of the season after working five innings, and sophomore pitcher Sophia Alvarez-Backus pitched two scoreless frames in relief.
“I distinctly remember yelling from the dugout at AB,” Croushore said. “I saw her take a deep breath, and I knew she had it.”
The Maroon and White dropped Sunday’s regular-season finale 8-1 to Lehigh, but the series win secured the long-awaited return to the Patriot League tournament. It also snapped a drought against the Mountain Hawks, who had not lost a game to the Leopards since 2017.
“I didn’t even know it had been that long,” Rosner said. “Being part of this team and this moment feels amazing.”
Croushore pointed to the bigger picture of the program’s direction.
“This is just the first step,” she said. “When they go into what I call ‘gremlin mode,’ I know we’re doing really well. It’s very high energy, a lot of cheering, a lot going on.”
The Leopards faced off against top-seeded Boston University on Thursday in the opening game of the Patriot League tournament.
“BU’s a great team, but we’re a great team too, and people are starting to see that,” Croushore said. “Let’s go to war, we’ve got this.”