March 16, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Bucknell and Army each had winning weeks under the sun in Florida, with the Bison finishing their spring trip with a 5-2 record and the Black Knights opening theirs with two wins in three contests. Each school was honored with a weekly award winner, with Bucknell's Andrew Brouse earning Patriot League Baseball Player of the Week honors, Army's Ben Koenigsfeld named Pitcher of the Week and Bucknell's Bob Donato taking Rookie of the Week recognition.

Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.16.09

Patriot League Player of the Week (March 9-15)

Andrew Brouse, Bucknell Jr., OF, Kreamer, Pa.

Brouse had an outstanding week as the Bison completed their spring trip with a 5-2 record by winning four of six contests from Monday-Saturday. He recorded multiple RBI in five of the six contests, with four games of at least three runs batted in. He also tallied four multiple-hit games and recorded at least one base knock in all six contests. Brouse batted .423 (11-for-26) for the week, with eight runs scored, two home runs, 17 RBI, five doubles and two stolen bases. He had a major role in all four of Bucknell's victories, including a 2-for-5 effort with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in a 10-7 win over Bowling Green on Monday and a 3-for-5 showing with a home run, five RBI and three runs in a 14-8 win over Toledo on Wednesday. Brouse concluded the week in style, coming up with a game-winning, three-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning for an 11-10 win over Connecticut on Saturday. Brouse has four home runs and leads the Patriot League with 21 RBI this season, and is riding a career-long eight-game hitting streak.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (March 9-15)

Ben Koenigsfeld, Army So., P, New Port Richey, Fla.

Koenigsfeld pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Black Knights to a 3-0 shutout win over Northern Iowa on Sunday. He allowed just three hits and three walks in the game while striking out six to pick up the victory. Koenigsfeld allowed four baserunners, with just two in scoring position, in the first six innings. He has now had a hand in five shutouts during his career. Koenigsfeld also started in the outfield and batted .444 (4-for-9) for the week.

Patriot League Rookie of the Week (March 9-15)

Bob Donato, Bucknell Fr., OF, Williamsport, Pa.

Donato became the third player in Bucknell history to hit for the cycle, and the first freshman to pull off the feat, in the Bison's 14-8 win over Toledo on Wednesday. He went 4-for-5 in the game with three runs scored an an RBI coming on his solo home run. Donato is the first Bucknell player to record a cycle since 2003. He also went 2-for-5 with a run scored and a triple in Bucknell's 10-7 win over Bowling Green on Monday, and batted .318 (7-for-22) with five runs scored, a pair of triples and the home run in Bucknell's six games last week. The Bison were 4-1 in Donato's starts last week.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Sam Long, Navy So., P, Newnan, Ga.

Long recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts, the top mark for a Navy player this decade and five shy of the school record, while allowing just one run in 5.1 innings against Monmouth on Friday.

Eric Oxford, Holy Cross So., 1B, Danvers, Mass.

Oxford belted three home runs and recorded eight RBI as Holy Cross dropped two of three at Towson over the weekend. He had two home runs and four RBI in a 10-9 extra-inning loss on Saturday.

Kevin McKague, Army So., 1B, Fayetteville, N.C.

McKague was 6-for-12 with three runs scored and four RBI as Army opened its spring trip with two victories in three games over the weekend. He also registered a save in each of Army's victories by throwing three scoreless innings.

Chris Yamaguchi, Bucknell Sr., P, Lincroft, N.J.

Yamaguchi picked up the win against Vermont on Thursday by allowing just one earned run in eight innings of work in the 11-2 triumph.

Patriot League Notebook

Bucknell, Army Shining in Sunshine State

Bucknell and Army criss-crossed paths on their spring trips in Winter Haven andLakeland, Florida this week, but both found the games in the Sunshine state to their liking. The Bison completed their spring trip on Saturday with a 5-2 record, and posted a double-digit run total in each of their four victories last week. Army has opened its spring trip with a 2-1 record, sweeping a Sunday doubleheader against Sacred Heart and Northern Iowa. Holy Cross earned its first victory of the year by taking the final contest of a three-game series at Towson. Navy posted one win in its four contests, while Lehigh was swept. Lafayette had all of its scheduled games rained out.

Three Patriot League Schools To Open Home Slate

Each Patriot League team has a busy week on the schedule coming up, and three squads have their home opener on the agenda. Holy Cross will take on Bryant in a doubleheader on Tuesday in its home opener, and play six of its seven games for the week in Worcester. Lehigh also begins its home schedule on Tuesday against Temple, and plays five of six games at home for the week as it hosts Binghamton in a four-game weekend series. Bucknell has four of its five contests at home, as it plays a four-game set against Canisius beginning Friday in Lewisburg. Navy, the only Patriot League team to play at home thus far, hosts a four-game weekend series against Princeton after a pair of midweek road games. Army continues its spring trip with four more games in Florida, while Lafayette has seven road contests including a make-up doubleheader at Gardner-Webb on Monday.

Bucknell's Depew Notches 500th Win

Bucknell Head Coach Gene Depew entered elite company on March 9 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 503-581-7 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 11 victories shy of 250.

Leopards Have Their Bags Packed

With both of their scheduled home games rained out thus far this season, Lafayette is now looking at a daunting stretch of road games before it plays a contest in Easton. The Leopards are set to play their first 27 games away from home, with 26 true road contests before the home opener on April 7. That stretch includes four-game series at Navy and Bucknell in Patriot League play.

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 .50 points ahead of second-place Army. Their 5.12 earned run average is the top mark in the League. Daniel Bierce (.550) and Rob Froio (.477) are the top two hitters in the League, while Zach Fritz (1.37) has the top earned run average. Bierce or Froio lead the Patriot League in runs, doubles, stolen bases and on-base percentage. Fritz leads the Patriot League in opponent batting average in addition to ERA. Lafayette is second to Navy in 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.

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 won two of their first three games on their spring trip to Florida, as they swept a split-doubleheader against Sacred Heart and Northern Iowa on Sunday. Army also carried a lead into the eighth inning before losing against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. Army recorded its first shutout of the season in a 3-0 triumph over Northern Iowa, with Ben Koenigsfeld going seven innings for the win and Kevin McKague completing the final two to save the victory. McKague also threw a perfect inning for a save in the 12-11 win against Sacred Heart. Both players excelled at the plate as well. Koenigsfeld was 4-for-9 in the three games, while McKague went 6-for-12 with three runs scored and four RBI. Army recorded 31 hits in the two victories on Sunday. Army completes its spring trip by playing Central Florida, Illinois and a doubleheader against Ohio State this week.

Bucknell The Bison finished an impressive spring trip with a 4-2 record last week to wrap up a 5-2 stretch in games in Winter Haven and Lakeland, Florida. Bucknell scored double-digit runs in all of its victories last week. The Bison ended the week in dramatic fashion, with Andrew Brouse hitting a game-winning three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to take out Connecticut, 11-10, on Saturday. Brouse batted .423 with two home runs and 17 RBI last week. He has a career-long eight-game hitting streak and recorded at least one RBI in all seven of Bucknell's contests in Florida. He had multiple RBI in five of six contests last week, with at least three runs batted in four times. Brouse has four home runs and 21 RBI this year. Ben Yoder hit two home runs and had six RBI in the win over Connecticut, and is riding a seven-game hitting streak. Bob Donato hit for the cycle in a 4-for-5 day with three runs scored against Toledo on Wednesday. Chris Yamaguchi pitched eight innings and allowed one earned run in an 11-2 triumph over Vermont on Thursday. It was Yamaguchi's third career start, and he has not allowed more than one earned run in any of the outings. Both of Bucknell's losses on the trip were by one run, as the Bison went 5-2 after going 2-5 on the Florida trip last year. Bucknell plays at Mt. St. Mary's on Wednesday before opening its home schedule with a four-game series against Canisius beginning on Friday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders picked up their first win of the year on Sunday, winning at Towson, 6-3. Holy Cross had dropped the first two games of the series on Saturday as it lost its first 10 contests to begin the year. Eric Oxford had three home runs and eight RBI in the three-game set. He had two homers and four RBI in a 10-9, 12-inning loss on Saturday, and came back with a homer and three RBI in Sunday's victory. Dan Seip allowed three runs in 6.2 innings to pick up the win. The Crusaders have a busy week ahead, which includes their home opener in a doubleheader against Bryant on Tuesday. Holy Cross plays five more games from Wednesday-Sunday, with four more contests at home.

Lafayette Lafayette did not play last week, with rainouts on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The Leopards will attempt to start their seven-game spring trip with a doubleheader at Gardner-Webb on Monday. Lafayette also goes to UNC Greensboro and Longwood.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks have lost 10 games in a row after getting swept in a three-game series at George Mason over the weekend. Lehigh opens its home schedule on Tuesday against Temple, and plays a four-game series at home against Binghamton over the weekend. It also goes to St. Joseph's on Wednesday.

Navy The Mids dropped three of four games last week, with the victory coming in a 6-5, 10-inning affair against Massachusetts on Saturday. Sam Long had a career-high 13 strikeouts in 5.1 innings against Monmouth on Friday. The strikeout mark was the most for a Navy player this decade and five shy of tying the school record. The Mids struck out 16 batters as a team in the 7-5, 11-inning loss, which was also two off the school mark. Steven Soares went 5-for-10 with a home run and four RBI on the week, raising his average to .343. Navy played back-to-back extra-inning games for the first time since 2002 with the Monmouth and Massacusetts games. Navy plays six games this week, including a four-game series at home against Princeton beginning on Friday.