Patriot League Announces Corvias Baseball Weekly Awards (3.28.17)
 
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Lehigh senior first baseman Connor Donovan was named the Patriot League Baseball Corvias Player of the Week after batting .471 with three home runs to help the Mountain Hawks go 4-1 last week. Bucknell left-handed pitcher Mike Castellani earns Corvias Pitcher of the Week honors after allowing just one earned run over 14.0 innings, including a complete-game shutout of Cornell on Sunday. Holy Cross freshman outfielder Austin Masel was named the Corvias Rookie of the Week after batting .389 and driving in seven runs for the Crusaders.
 
Patriot League play begins this Saturday with Bucknell at Lehigh, Army West Point at Lafayette and Navy at Holy Cross in a rematch of last season’s Patriot League Championship Series. All three League matchups will be four-game series’ with Sunday’s Bucknell at Lehigh and Navy at Holy Cross games scheduled to be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
 
NAVY ATOP PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS PRIOR TO LEAGUE PLAY
Navy has won eight of its last 10 games after splitting a four-game series with Princeton over the weekend to sit at 15-9 overall. Junior outfielder Logan Knowles has transitioned nicely into the leadoff, leading the Patriot League in batting (.394) and on-base percentage (.508). He also leads the League in runs scored (30), total bases (52) and stolen bases (12). Senior outfielder Leland Saile leads the League with 30 RBIs, while sophomore starting pitcher Noah Song is sixth with a 3.76 earned-run average (ERA) and second in holding opposing hitters to a .211 average.
 
LEHIGH SWEEPS FOUR-GAME SERIES FROM NJIT
The Mountain Hawks took four-straight games from the Highlanders, outscoring them 36-15 over the weekend. Corvias Player of the Week Connor Donovan went 7-of-13 with two home runs and seven RBIs during the series, while a pair of freshmen right-handers earned victories on the mound with Levi Stoudt and Jason Reynolds combining to allow just three earned runs over 11.2 innings over two games. Reynolds earned his first career win, while striking out 11.
 
NCAA LEADERS IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
*Navy is 33rd in NCAA Division I with a team batting average of .306.
*Logan Knowles is 63rd, batting .394. 11th in the nation with 30 runs and 20th with 12 stolen bases.  
*The Mids are also second in the nation with 15 triples. Knowles has four triples to place seventh in the nation.
*Army West Point is 37th in NCAA Division I, having turned 22 double plays.  
*Lehigh is 20th in the nation, averaging 1.21 home runs per game. They have a total of 23 this season. Connor Donovan and Jacen Nalesnik both have five.
*Bucknell’s Mike Castellani became the fourth League pitcher to toss a complete game, joining Navy’s Kyle Condry, Lafayette’s Trevor Houck and Holy Cross’s Brendan King.
*Navy outfielder Leland Saile is 17th in the nation with 30 RBIs.
*Lehigh freshman pitcher Levi Stoudt is 65th in NCAA Division I with a 1.71 ERA.  
*Bucknell’s Connor Van Hoose is 48th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (11.73), while Navy’s Noah Song is 31st with 48 strikeouts.
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE/NCAA BASEBALL WEEKLY AWARDS
CORVIAS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CONNOR DONOVAN, Lehigh, Sr., 1B, Yardley, Pa.
Donovan batted .471 (8-for-17) with three home runs, eight RBIs and six runs to help the Mountain Hawks go 4-1 last week. The senior first baseman slugged 1.058 during the week, while also allowing just one earned run in 5.1 innings pitched to earn win on went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Lehigh’s only loss of the week to Penn. He had multi-hit games in his next three against NJIT, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs in game one on Saturday, before going 2-for-4 with a home run in game two. Donovan hit his third home run of the week, while going 3-for-4, driving in three runs in Sunday’s 15-4 victory over the Highlanders.
 
CORVIAS PITCHER OF THE WEEK
MIKE CASTELLANI, BUCKNELL, Sr., LHP, Avon, Conn.
Castellani combined to pitch 14.0 innings over two starts, while allowing just one earned run on five hits, walking two and striking out nine during a 1-0 week for the Bison. The senior lefty took a no decision after working 5.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out five against Penn State. Castellani tossed a complete-game shutout to earn a victory over Cornell on Sunday, allowing just three hits, while striking out four and walking one. It was Castellani’s first career complete game and the first complete game shutout in the Patriot League this season. He was also the first pitcher to hold Cornell scoreless this season.

CORVIAS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
AUSTIN MASEL, HOLY CROSS, Fr., OF, Stoneham, Mass.
Masel batted .389 (7-for-18) with three runs and seven RBIs during the Crusaders 2-3 week. Masel posted two multi-hit games to give him a team-leading 10 for the season. The freshman outfielder went 3-for-5 with his first career home run in a 15-5 over UMass. He also drove in two runs and scored twice, while going 1-for-2 with three walks in an 8-7 victory over Yale on Sunday. Masel leads Holy Cross, batting .355 with 12 runs scored.
 
HONORABLE MENTION
LOGAN KNOWLES, NAVY Jr., OF, Port Orchard, Wash.
Knowles batted .500 (10-for-20) with three multi-hit games, reaching base at a .600 clip, while slugging .700 in the Mids 3-2 week. The junior leadoff hitter walked four times, scored four runs and stole two bases and drove in the eventual game winner in Navy’s 8-6 comeback win over Princeton. Knowles went 3-for-5 with a double and triple in the Sunday meeting with the Tigers.
 
KEIFER RAWLINGS, BUCKNELL, Jr., Utility, Bel Air, Md.
Rawlings batted .375 (6-for-16) with four runs and two RBIs during the Bison’s 1-4 week. The junior utility player went 2-for-4 with two runs and two doubles in a 4-3 10-inning loss to Penn State earlier in the week. On Sunday, Rawlings extended his seven-game hitting streak with a game-winning home run in a 1-0 victory over Cornell.
 
LEVI STOUDT, LEHIGH, Fr., RHP, Pennsburg, Pa.
Stoudt combined to toss 9.0 innings, while allowing two runs, just one earned, on seven hits. The rookie righty also struck out seven and walked three in two appearances. Against Penn, Stoudt tossed 3.0 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just two hits and striking out three but did not earn a decision in an eventual loss to the Quakers. He earned a victory against NJIT, tossing 6.0 innings, while allowing one earned run on five hits, while striking out four. Stoudt leads Lehigh with a 1.71 ERA.
 
JETT MEENACH, NAVY, Sr., Flower Mound, Texas
Meenach combined to throw 4.1 innings of scoreless relief while earning one save and one win for Navy. In his first appearance against Princeton, Meenach came on in a two-on, one-out situation against the Tigers and induced a double-play to earn the save. He also earned a win against Princeton, tossing 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits and striking out three.
 
2017 Patriot League Baseball Corvias Weekly Honors

Corvias Player of the Week
3.21.17 – Evan Lowery, Navy, Fr., DH, Williamsburg, Va.
3.14.17 – Logan Knowles, Navy, Jr., OF, Port Orchard, Wash.
3.7.17 – Leland Saile, Navy, Sr., OF, Land O’Lakes, Fla.
2.28.17 – Stephen Born, Navy, OF, Jr., Strafford, Pa.
2.21.17 – Alex Dickerson, Army, DH, Sr., Roswell, Ga.
 
Corvias Pitcher of the Week
3.21.17 – Levi Stoudt, Lehigh, Fr., RHP, Pennsburg, Pa.
3.14.17 – George Capen, Holy Cross, Sr., RHP, Gainesville, Va.
3.7.17 – Ethan Frohman, Lehigh, So., LHP, Berkeley Heights, N.J.
2.28.17 – Noah Song, Navy, RHP, So., Claremont, Calif.
2.21.17 – Trevor Houck, Lafayette, RHP, Sr., Westminster, Md.
 
Corvias Rookie of the Week
3.21.17 – Levi Stoudt, Lehigh, Fr., RHP, Pennsburg, Pa.
3.14.17 – Zach Biggers, Navy, Fr., LF/2B, Walhalla, S.C.
3.7.17 – JohnPaul Bell, Bucknell, Fr., OF, Downingtown, Pa.
2.28.17 – Jacob Williamson, Navy, 3B, Fr., Sims, N.C.
2.21.17 – Brett Kreyer, Lafayette, LHP, Fr, Ashburn, Va.