March 2, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - Each Patriot League Baseball team has started the 2010 season, and all but one has recorded its first victory of the year. Navy and Bucknell each recorded a 3-1 mark last week, while Lehigh and Holy Cross picked up their first wins of the year. The Patriot League Player and Pitcher of the Week awards went to Navy student-athletes, while Lehigh's Alex Jacquez was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week.

Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.2.10

Patriot League Baseball Player of the Week (Feb. 22-28)

Matthew Curley, Navy Sr., IF, Boston, Mass.
Curley posted a .500 batting average during a 3-1 week for the Mids, notching multiple hits, runs and RBIs in each of the victories. He started off by going 3-for-6 with three RBIs and two runs scored in a 12-10 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore in the home opener on Wednesday. Curley had two big games as Navy won two of three against service academy rival Air Force over the weekend. He went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs in a 17-5 victory on Friday, and batted a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in a 10-9, 11-inning triumph on Sunday. The hit total was a career high, and Curley reached base safely in all six plate appearances in the game. Curley wins his first Player of the Week award.

Patriot League Baseball Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 22-28)

Sam Long, Navy Jr. P, Newnan, Ga.
Long tossed six strong innings in Navy's 17-5 win over Air Force on Friday to earn the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week award for the first time this season and second in his career. He allowed just four hits and two runs in the outing, and walked one to go with nine strikeouts in picking up the win. Long is the second straight Navy starting pitcher to win the award after Wes Olson claimed the inaugural honor of the 2010 season last Tuesday.

Patriot League Baseball Rookie of the Week (Feb. 22-28)

Alex Jacquez, Lehigh Fr., C, Dunn Loring, Va.
Jacquez helped Lehigh get its first season-opening victory since 2005 by going 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs in a 5-4 win at UNC-Wilmington on Friday. He finished 3-for-8 in Lehigh's four games over the weekend to start the season with a .375 batting average. He also had a .500 on-base percentage while playing four error-free games.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week (Feb. 22-28)

B.J. LaRosa, Bucknell Sr., C, Jacksonville, Fla.
LaRosa batted .533 with five runs scored and three RBIs to help the Bison win three of four games at Old Dominion over the wekeend.

Matt Hall, Lafayette Sr., OF, Stuart, Fla.
Hall went 6-for-9 with a double and five RBIs in Lafayette's three-game series at VMI.

Billy Goldman, Lehigh Jr., OF, Narberth, Pa.
Goldman hit .529 with three runs and three RBIs in Lehigh's four games last weekend, with a 5-for-6 effort to tie a career high in hits on Sunday against Morehead State.

Brendan McCrea, Holy Cross Jr., OF, Hicksville, N.Y.
McCrea went 5-for-9 with four runs scored in Holy Cross' first two games at Georgia Southern on Saturday and Sunday, matching a career high with four hits in Sunday's 13-10 defeat.

Patriot League Notebook

Everyone Underway Now
Each Patriot League team has started the 2010 season, and all but one has recorded its first victory of the year. Navy is off to the fastest start at 6-1 overall, as the Mids went 3-1 last week by defeating Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday and winning two of three games from Air Force over the weekend. Bucknell had a strong weekend as well, winning three of four games at Old Dominion to improve to 3-4 for the year. Lehigh won its season opener for the first time since 2005 by defeating UNC-Wilmington before dropping three straight, while Holy Cross closed its three-game series at Georgia Southern with a victory on Monday. Lafayette could not get in the win column, as the Leopards were swept at VMI. Army is off to its best start since 1989 at 2-1, but did not see action last week after two scheduled series had to be called off.

Heading South for Competition
With winter weather hopefully starting to go away in the region, Patriot League teams continue to head south to get their game action early in March. After playing three games at Georgia Southern, Holy Cross continues its stay in the area by facing the College of Charleston on Tuesday and playing three games at Charleston Southern over the weekend. Lafayette and Navy each play four games as well. The Leopards are scheduled at La Salle on Wednesday before a three-game series at Richmond, while the Mids are far enough south to stay at home when they face Coppin State Wednesday and three games against Central Connecticut State over the weekend. Army has a three-game series scheduled at UNC-Greensboro, while Bucknell plays in the Elon Tournament against the host, Radford and Princeton. Lehigh has a doubleheader at Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday, then starts the four-day, five-game RussMatt Tournament in Davenport, Fla. by facing Butler Sunday.

Army Takes First Place in Preseason Poll
Defending Patriot League Baseball champion Army was selected by coaches and sports information directors to claim the crown again in 2010. Army garnered 46 points and eight first-place votes to take the spot in the League's preseason poll. The Black Knights were followed by Bucknell, which had 39 points and the remaining four first-place votes. Holy Cross was picked third with 35 points, and followed in order by Navy (27), Lafayette (21) and Lehigh (12). Patriot League Baseball head coaches and sports information directors voted in the poll, and were not eligible to vote for their own teams.

Plenty of Top Returnees Around the League
Each Patriot League squad has reason for optimism with at least one returning player that earned All-League honors last season. Army returns five of its six players that earned First-Team All-League honors a year ago, while Bucknell has five of its eight All-League players back. Holy Cross, Navy, Lafayette and Lehigh all have at least one All-League player from a year ago. Ten of last year's 12 First-Team All-League players are back in 2010, and 16 of the 25 return overall. The major award winners are all back, too, with Patriot League Player of the Year Matt Perry manning third base for Holy Cross, Pitcher of the Year Ben Koenigsfeld still on the mound and at the plate for Army and Rookie of the Year Zach Price back on the Black Knights' infield.

Keeping Their Average Up
Army's junior class has already helped the program to the 2009 Patriot League Baseball Championship and back-to-back regular-season crowns. Now, the group of four players that all earned First-Team All-League recognition a year ago is creeping up on categories in the Patriot League record book. Shortstop Clint Moore (.373) is fifth and first baseman KevinMcKague (.364) is eighth in League annals in career batting average, while designated hitter Joey Henshaw (.353) is just outside the top 10 as all three players move up on more career lists soon.

2010 Patriot League Tournament
The 2010 Patriot League Baseball Tournament will include four teams and be played over two weekends for the third straight season. The best-of-three semifinals will be at the site of the top two seeds on May 15 and 16, with the best-of-three Patriot League Championship at the site of the highest remaining seed on May 22-23.

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights twice tried to play a weekend series, but were called off both times. Their original three-game set at UMBC was cancelled due to field conditions, and a subsequent series scheduled at George Mason had to be called off due to the inclement weather that affected travel from West Point. The Black Knights will head to North Carolina this weekend for a three-game series at UNC-Greensboro.

Bucknell The Bison put together an impressive weekend by winning three of four games at CAA member Old Dominion. After losing the opener, 9-5, on Friday, Bucknell swept a Saturday doubleheader by scores of 13-7 and 13-4 and closed the series with a 7-4 victory on Sunday. B.J. LaRosa batted .533 with a .733 slugging percentage for the weekend, going 8-of-15 with three doubles, five runs scored and three RBIs. He leads the team with a .520 batting average for the season, and has a seven-game hit streak going back to last year. Andrew Clarke pitched 4.1 scoreless innings in the series, picking up the save in Sunday's win. The Bison hit the road again this weekend, playing in the Elon Tournament against the host on Friday, Radford on Saturday and Princeton on Sunday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders won one of three games to open their season on the road at Georgia Southern. After dropping 19-7 and 13-10 decisions over the weekend, Nate Koneski fired 7.2 strong innings to pick up the win in a 3-2 triumph in the series finale on Monday. He gave up three hits and the two runs in his performance. Ryan George pitched 1.1 hitless inning to pick up the save. Brendan McCrea went 6-for-13 with five runs scored and four RBIs in the series, tallying a career high in hits with a 4-for-5 effort with three runs in the 13-10 defeat on Sunday. The Crusaders remain in the south with a game at College of Charleston on Tuesday and three versus Charleston Southern on Friday and Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards are off to an 0-3 start after getting swept in a weekend series at VMI. Despite the results, Matt Hall had an outstanding weekend by going 6-for-9 with with five RBIs. He drove in five of Lafayette's 16 runs. The Leopards nearly picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, but squandered a 6-5 seventh-inning lead and gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth in a 7-6 loss. Lafayette heads for another three-game road series at Richmond this weekend.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks won their season opener for the first time since 2005 by taking down host UNC-Wilmington, 5-4, on Friday. Lehigh went on to lose its next three contests in Wilmington, falling once to Liberty and twice to Morehead State. Billy Goldman had a strong opening weekend by going 9-of-17 with three RBIs and three runs scored in the games. He tied a career high in hits on a 5-for-6 day with two runs and two RBIs in a 12-9 loss to Morehead State in the weekend finale. Lehigh plays a doubleheader at Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday, then opens the four-day, five-game RussMatt Tournament in Davenport, Fla. by facing Butler on Sunday.

Navy The Mids continued their strong start to the season by winning three of four games last week to improve to 6-1 overall. Navy knocked off Maryland-Eastern Shore,12-10, on Wednesday at home before winning two of three games over the weekend against Air Force in Savannah, Ga. Matthew Curley went 10-of-20 with six runs scored and seven RBIs in the four games, notching multiple hits , runs and RBIs in each of the three victories. Navy had two thrilling wins, coming back from an 8-5 eighth-inning deficit to beat Air Force, 10-9, in 11 innings on Sunday and rallying from an 8-1 hole to beat Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday. Mike Guadagnini has hit safely in each of the first seven games, and has a 22-game hit streak going back to last season. The 22-game streak is tied for the longest in school history, and is six off the Patriot League mark. He'll try to set the prorgam record when Navy hosts Coppin State onWednesday, while the Mids then welcome Central Connecticut State for a three-game weekend series.