BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Holy Cross softball team defeated Lehigh, 9-5, on May 6 in the final game of the season. Senior Mandy McCarthy went 3-4 with a three-run home run in her final at bat as a Crusader in the top of the eighth inning to give Holy Cross an 8-5 lead. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Junior Olivia Sloane pitched five innings with two strikeouts.
• Senior Katy Watson pitched the last three innings of her career. Watson ended her four years with 266 strikeouts, which ranks third overall in program history. 

Second Inning:

•  The Crusaders tallied one run in the second inning from senior Taylor Moss' first homerun of the season. 

Fifth Inning:

• Sophomore Sydney Behrens started things off in the fifth with a single to center field. Sophomore Molly Neil pinch ran for Behrens.
• Junior Jackie Brewster added a single to left field, and Neil advanced to second. 
• Freshman Bella Jankowski hit a sacrifice bunt to allow Neil and Brewster to advance one base. 
• A fielding error by Lehigh's shortstop allowed senior Mandy McCarthy to advance to first and record and RBI to send Neil home. 
• Senior Savannah Young hit a single to left field recording an RBI as Neil scored. 

Seventh Inning:

• With the score in favor of the Mountain Hawks, 5-2, the Crusaders tied the game up with two runs in the seventh inning.
• Brewster hit a single to left field and later scored on a double from McCarthy. 
• With freshman Alyssa Gutierrez pinch running for McCarthy, Young hit a single to right center and Gutierrez scored.
• With the score tied, 5-5, the game went into one extra inning.

Eighth Inning:

• In the top of the eighth, the Crusaders took a 9-5 lead after scoring four runs.
• Brewster got on base with a single through the left side.
• Jankowski also singled to left center, and Brewster advanced to second. 
• In her last at bat as a Crusader, McCarthy smashed a three-run homerun to record three RBIs and give the Crusaders an 8-5 lead. 
• Young hit a double to left center, and Moss hit a double of her own recording an RBI to send Young home. 
• Holy Cross held Lehigh to two hits and no runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and secured the win, 9-5.

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