March 10, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Three Patriot League Baseball teams recorded winning marks last week. Lafayette continued its strong play early in the season by sweeping four games at Maryland-Eastern Shore, while Navy came away with three victories in four contests at home. Bucknell won the first two games of its spring trip to Florida, giving Head Coach Gene Depew his 500th career victory. Student-athletes from Lafayette and Navy captured the Patriot League weekly honors.

Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.10.09

Patriot League Player of the Week (March 2-8)

Rob Froio, Lafayette So., CF, Midlothian, Ill.

Froio gives Lafayette its third consecutive Player of the Week honoree after an outstanding weekend to help the Leopards to a four-game sweep at Maryland-Eastern Shore. Froio was nearly perfect in Saturday's doubleheader sweep, going 10-for-12 with six runs scored and seven RBI in the two games. He was 6-for-6 with six RBI and three runs in Lafayette's 17-5 victory. Froio capped a strong weekend with a 3-for-4 performance with two runs and three RBI as the Leopards completed the sweep. Froio batted .722 (13-for-18) in the four games, with 11 RBI, eight runs scored and three stolen bases while batting leadoff in each contest. Froio is second in the Patriot League to teammate Daniel Bierce with a .477 batting average for the year, and leads all players with 16 runs scored. Bierce won the previous two Player of the Week honors for Lafayette.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (March 2-8)

Zach Fritz, Lafayette So., P, Pottsville, Pa

Fritz had a brilliant effort in Lafayette's series-opening 14-0 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. He tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. He faced only two batters over the minimum for his first win of the season. The 10 strikeouts were the most for a Lafayette player this season. Fritz leads the Patriot League in ERA (1.37), innings pitched (19.2), strikeouts (19) and opponent batting average (.191) for the season. He is the only player in the League with an ERA under two and an opponent batting average under .200.

Patriot League Rookie of the Week (March 2-8)

TJ Kerins, Navy Fr., P, Marietta, Ga.

Kerins had two strong performances out of the bullpen to pick up a win and a save for the Mids over the weekend. He tossed 2.1 perfect innings with two strikeouts to close out a 7-4 win over Iona on Friday, then allowed just one run over five innings to earn the win in Navy's 14-7 triumph over Central Connecticut State on Sunday. Kerins pitched 7.1 innings for the week and allowed just the one run on six hits and no walks while striking out three. He has not allowed a walk or hit batsmen in 10.1 innings pitched for the year, and has a 2.61 ERA on the season.

Patriot League Notebook

Lafayette, Navy, Bucknell Post Winning Weekends

Lafayette continued its strong play early in the season, while Navy came away with three victories in four contests over the weekend. The Leopards pulled off a dominating four-game sweep at Maryland-Eastern Shore, holding a 52-12 advantage on the scoreboard in the four contests. Navy won three of four at home against Iona and Central Connecticut State, erupting for its most runs in a doubleheader since 1998 with wins of 14-7 over Central Connecticut State and 15-3 over Iona on Sunday. Bucknell started off its spring trip in style, knocking off Miami (Ohio) on Sunday and Bowling Green on Monday to give Head Coach Gene Depew his 500th win. Army, Holy Cross and Lehigh were not as successful. The Black Knights were swept in three games at George Mason, while the Crusaders lost all five contests of their daunting road trip at Arizona and No. 5 Arizona State. Lehigh was kept out of the win column in six games on its Florida trip.

Bucknell's Spring Trip Highlights Upcoming Action

With spring break in Lewisburg, Bucknell takes a seven-game jaunt in Winter Haven and Lakeland, Florida this week. The Bison have already opened with wins on Sunday and Monday, and continue with single games on Tuesday through Saturday. Navy and Lafayette each play four games this week. The Mids visit No. 26 Virginia on Tuesday before single games on Friday through Sunday against Monmouth and Massachusetts. The Leopards will attempt to open their home schedule against East Stroudsburg on Wednesday, then visit Gardner-Webb for a three-game weekend series. Holy Cross (Towson) and Lehigh (George Mason) go on the road for a three-game series against a Colonial Athletic Association foe over the weekend. Army begins its spring trip in Lakeland by taking on Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.

Bucknell's Depew Notches 500th Win

Bucknell Head Coach Gene Depew entered elite company on Monday with his 500th career victory in the Bison's 10-7 triumph over Bowling Green. Depew has been a head coach for 28 years, all with the Bison. He has a 500-579-7 career mark, and has led the Bison to four Patriot League titles. He's not the only Patriot League coach to hit or approach a milestone. Navy Head Coach Paul Kostacopoulos earned his 100th victory at the school with a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh on Feb. 22. Lafayette Head Coach Joe Kinney is six wins away from 200 for his career, while Army's Joe Sottolano is 13 victories shy of 250.

Lafayette Leading the Way

In addition to holding the best record among Patriot League teams at 7-3, Lafayette has the advantage in most statistical categories as well. The Leopards have a .341 batting average, which is nearly .80 points ahead of second-place Navy. Daniel Bierce (.550) and Rob Froio (.477) are the top two hitters in the League, while Zach Fritz (1.37) and Corey Shea (2.25) hold the best two earned run averages. Bierce or Froio lead the Patriot League in runs, doubles, stolen bases and on-base percentage, while Matt Hall and Jeff Butler share the advantage in home runs. Fritz leads the Patriot League in innings pitched, strikeouts and opponent batting average in addition to ERA. Lafayette is second to Navy in team pitching and fielding percentage.

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 were followed in the poll by Navy, Holy Cross, Bucknell and Lafayette (tied for fourth) and Lehigh.

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.

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 fell to 2-5 on the season in dropping three games against George Mason over the weekend. Army held an early 5-2 lead during Sunday's finale before suffering an 8-6 defeat. Ben Koenigsfeld drilled his first collegiate home run in the game, and went 4-for-11 (.364) at the plate during the three-game series. Koenigsfeld paces Army in batting at .370. Senior Matt Fouch saw his personal six-game winning streak dating back to last year snapped during a loss on Saturday. Army is idle until this weekend when the Black Knights begin their spring trip to Florida with a game against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday in Lakeland. The Black Knights are scheduled to play seven games during their nine-day stay in the Sunshine State.

Bucknell The Bison opened their spring trip in Winter Haven and Lakeland, Florida in fine fashion, knocking off Miami (Ohio), 6-2, on Sunday and beating Bowling Green, 10-7, on Monday. The Bison notched their first two wins of the year, giving Head Coach Gene Depew 500 career victories in his 28th season at the helm. Andrew Brouse homered in each of the games, with a 4-for-4 showing at the plate against Miami (Ohio). It was his first-ever four-hit game. Brouse has three home runs on the season after entering the year with three in his career. Trey Frahler pitched six innings of two-run ball to pick up the win on Sunday. Bucknell held Bowling Green without a run for the last four innings to rally for Monday's victory. Doug Shribman's pinch-hit two-run home run in the seventh put the Bison ahead for good. Bucknell continues its spring trip with single games on Tuesday through Saturday of this week.

Holy Cross The Crusaders were not able to come away with a win on their very difficult season-opening road trip, falling in two games at Arizona and three games at No. 5 Arizona State last week. Holy Cross dropped all eight of its games on the road trip, previously losing a three-game set at Loyola Marymount. Bobby Holmes struck out six in 5.1 innings against Arizona State. Holy Cross' scheduled home opener against Marist was postponed on Tuesday. The Crusaders return to action with a three-game set at Towson over the weekend.

Lafayette Lafayette swept a four-game series at Maryland-Eastern Shore over the weekend to improve to 7-3 for the season. The Leopards held a 52-12 advantage in runs scored for the series, and won each contest by at least four runs. Lafayette erupted for wins of 14-0 and 17-5 in Saturday's doubleheader. Rob Froio went 10-for-12 with six runs scored and seven RBI in the two games, including a 6-for-6 effort with three runs and six RBI in game two. Zach Fritz pitched seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in the opener. Fritz leads the Patriot League with a 1.37 ERA and 19 strikeouts. Freshman Ehtan Perro earned his first collegiate start in the finale and pitched five scoreless innings to pick up the win. Lafayette has its home opener scheduled for Wednesday against East Stroudsburg, then hits the road for three games at Gardner-Webb over the weekend.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks lost all six games of their spring trip in Palm Beach, Florida last week. Four of the losses were by three runs or less, including an extra-inning affair against SIU-Edwardsville. Lehigh returns to action with a three-game series at George Mason over the weekend.

Navy The Mids recorded a 3-1 record at home over the weekend, winning two games against Iona and splitting their contests with Central Connecticut State. Navy swept the squads on Sunday, knocking off CCSU, 14-7, before beating Iona, 15-3. The 29 runs were the most in a doubleheader for Navy since scoring 35 against Army in 1998. Navy scored 10 runs in consecutive games for the first time since 2006. Kendall Bolt was 8-for-17 with five runs scored and 11 RBI for the weekend. He tied a career-high with five RBI in the win over Iona. TJ Kerins came out of the bullpen to pick up the save against Iona on Friday and win over Central Connecticut State on Sunday. Navy takes on a challenging week, visiting No. 26 Virginia on Tuesday and hosting Monmouth and Massachusetts for three games over the weekend (two Monmouth, one Massachusetts).