LAFAYETTE TODAY
Softball Rises
Patriot League Coach of the Year Jeanine Gunther helped
engineer a remarkable turnaround for Lafayette softball in
2006. The Leopards reached the Patriot League Tournament for the first
time in six years and posted the program’s most wins in 20 years.
In Gunther’s first year at the helm, Lafayette finished the season with a
20-28 mark. Gunther led her shortened roster, which included four first-year players in the starting lineup and just 13 players overall, to a 10-10 league record and a first-ever No. 2 seed going into the tournament.
Lafayette closed the regular season by winning four of its final five games, including taking 3-of-4 from Bucknell  to knock the Bisons out of tournament contention. Lafayette finished in a two-way tie with Colgate for second place in the league standings, and the Leopards held
the No. 2 seeding after winning the regular-season series, 3-1.
A muggy early morning set the backdrop for Lafayette and Colgate to open the Patriot League Tournament on May 12. The Leopards squeezed out a 1-0 win over the Raiders, their first tournament victory since 1994, before falling just short against Lehigh and Army in succeeding rounds.
Gunther, who spent four years as a player at North Carolina, returns eight starters for 2007. The Leopards lost All-Patriot League Second Team selection Lauren Belowich ’06 and third baseman Gianna Lopreato ’06 to graduation, but Gunther’s expectations are rising quickly, as six rookies will join a squad that features All-Patriot League First Team honoree Jill Masterton ’07 at second base.
|
