Feb. 24, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - The 2009 Patriot League Baseball season opened up for five teams over the weekend, with Lafayette, Army and Navy each posting their first victory. All three schools were honored with a student-athlete earning one of the first weekly awards of the season.

Patriot League Baseball Release - 2.24.09

Player of the Week

Daniel Bierce, Lafayette Sr., SS, Virginia Beach, Va.

Bierce helped the Leopards to a 2-1 record over the weekend by posting multiple-hit performances in each outing. He opened the season by going 2-for-4 with a run scored and the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the eighth of a 2-1 win over Ohio on Saturday. Later in the day, Bierce posted a perfect 3-for-3 game at the plate with a home run, three RBI, two runs scored and two doubles as Lafayette beat Davidson, 10-6. Bierce concluded his weekend with a 2-for-5 day in a loss to Davidson on Sunday. He posted a .583 batting average (7-for-12) on the season's first weekend, with four runs scored, a home run and four RBI in the three games.

Pitcher of the Week

Matt Fouch, Army Jr. P, Stafford, Va.

Fouch led Army to a season-opening win with a strong six-inning outing against Ohio on Saturday. He scattered three hits, all singles, and allowed only two unearned runs in the contest. Fouch did not walk a batter while striking out five to pick up the victory. He retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced and did not allow a runner to reach scoring position until the fifth inning. He helped lead Army to its second season-opening win in the last 14 years, and extended his personal winning streak to five games dating back to last season.

Rookie of the Week

Zach Sipe, Navy Fr., P, Huffman, Texas

Sipe picked up a victory in his first collegiate appearance as he pitched 5.2 innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. He retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced. Sipe allowed two hits, both in the second inning, and three walks with seven strikeouts in the outing. Sipe did not allow a hit in the last 4.1 innings that he worked, holding the Panthers to a .111 batting average.

Patriot League Notebook

2009 Season Underway in Patriot League

Five of the six Patriot League teams opened their 2009 campaign over the weekend, and three squads earned their first victory. Lafayette was the only team to emerge with a winning record, as the Leopards swept Ohio and Davidson on Saturday and posted a 2-1 record for the weekend. Army won its second season opener in four seasons by beating Ohio in a 1-2 weekend, while Navy got its first win against Pittsburgh on Sunday as it split games in the Service Academy Classic. Lehigh and Bucknell were swept in series against teams receiving votes in the national rankings, with the Mountain Hawks dropping three games to Southern Mississippi and the Bison falling in four to Virginia.

Every Team With At Least Three Games This Week

The weekly schedule includes the first home game for a Patriot League team, and the final League squad opening its season. Navy becomes the first Patriot League squad to play on its home field when it takes on Delaware State on Wednesday, and the Mids stay home for four games against Cornell over the weekend. Holy Cross opens its season out west with three games at Loyola Marymount over the weekend. Lehigh plays five contests, with a Wednesday doubleheader at Maryland Eastern-Shore and weekend set at George Washington. Bucknell plays four total games at Virginia Tech and VMI, while Lafayette (James Madison) and Army (USC-Upstate) are on the road for three-game series.

Army Takes First Place in Preseason Poll

Army has been selected as the favorite to claim the 2009 Patriot League Baseball title in a preseason poll of the League's head coaches and sports information directors. The Black Knights claim the top spot with 48 points and eight first-place votes after finishing first in the regular season last year with a 13-7 mark in League games. Navy followed in second place with 37 points and two first-place votes. Holy Cross claimed a first-place vote and came in third position with 30 points. Defending champion Bucknell and Lafayette shared fourth place in the poll with 24 points, with the Leopards also claiming a first-place vote. Lehigh rounds out the poll with 17 points. Head coaches and sports information directors were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

Players to Watch

Army's Clint Moore and Navy's Michael Speciale and JD Melton all have national eyes watching them at the beginning of the 2009 season. Moore and Speciale were named to the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List, while Melton is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch list.

One Milestone Down, One To Go

Two Patriot League head coaches were nearing milestone wins going into the 2009 campaign, and one hit the mark over the weekend. Navy Head Coach Paul Kostacopoulos earned his 100th victory at the school with a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. He became the fourth Navy head coach with at least 100 wins at the Academy, and has 604 career victories. Bucknell was swept over the weekend, leaving Head Coach Gene Depew two wins shy of 500 for his career in Lewisburg. Depew is in his 28th season with the Bison.

Patriot League Tournament

For the second year in a row, the Patriot League Baseball Tournament will include four teams and be played over two weekends. The best-of-three semifinals will be at the site of the top two seeds on May 9 and 10, with the best-of-three Patriot League Championship at the site of the highest remaining seed on May 16-17.

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights played at Davidson on opening weekend, posting a 1-2 record against the host and Ohio University. Army opened the season with a 14-5 win over Ohio, its second season-opening win in the last 14 years. Matt Fouch picked up the victory after not allowing an earned run in six innings. It was his fifth straight win going back to last year. Kyle Fleming had three hits and his first-career home run in the win, equaling his hit total from all of last season. Army heads south again this weekend to take on South Carolina-Upstate in a three-game series beginning Friday. The teams are playing for the first time.

Bucknell The defending champion Bison were unable to emerge with a win in a four-game series at Virginia. Freshman Alex Cillo had a strong start to his career, holding the potent Cavaliers to just one run in four innings out of the bullpen on Sunday. Andrew Brouse hit his fourth-career home run on Sunday, and has both of Bucknell's RBI this season. Ben Allen had a pair of two-hit games and batted .313 for the weekend. Both Allen and Brouse have three-game hitting streaks. Bucknell is back to the state of Virginia over the weekend, facing Virginia Tech in a three-game set on Friday and Saturday and going to VMI on Sunday. Head Coach Gene Depew remains two wins shy of 500 for his career.

Holy Cross The Crusaders open their 2009 season on Saturday when they head west to face Loyola Marymount for a three-game set. The west coast trip continues with two games at Arizona and three at No. 6 Arizona State the next week.

Lafayette Lafayette won two of three games over the weekend, with victories over Ohio and Davidson on Saturday. Daniel Bierce was the hitting star in both contests, driving home the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth in a 2-1 win over Ohio and going 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in the 10-6 triumph over Davidson. Zach Fritz held Ohio scoreless for 6.2 innings to help Lafayette get the win. The Leopards play a three-game series at James Madison over the weekend, with single games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks were swept in their season-opening three-game series at Southern Mississippi, scoring three total runs in the contests. Lehigh tries to get in the win column with five road games this week, playing a doubleheader at Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday and a three-game series at George Washington over the weekend.

Navy The Mids split a pair of games in the Service Academy Classic over the weekend, falling to Air Force, 2-0, on Friday before beating Pittsburgh, 3-1, on Sunday. The victory over Pittsburgh was Head Coach Paul Kostacopoulos' 100th win at Navy. He became the fourth Navy skipper to record at least 100 victories in Annapolis. Freshman Zach Sipe made his first collegiate start and picked up the win by allowing just one run over 5.2 innings of work. Sipe and Chris Murray combined to hold the Panthers hitless over the final 6.2 innings of the contest. The game was finished after eight innings due to travel requirements for both squads. The Navy pitching staff did not allow an extra base hit the entire weekend and held the opposition to a .151 batting average. The contest against Air Force started at 11 a.m. on Friday, the third-earliest start to a game in the country on opening day. Navy becomes the first Patriot League team to play at home this week as it hosts five games at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Mids take on Delaware State on Wednesday, and play Cornell in doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.