March 23, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - After more than a month of non-League action, Patriot League Baseball teams are ready to take on each other with League games beginning this weekend. Bucknell begins defense of its Patriot League title at home against last year's regular-season winner and preseason favorite Army. Lafayette is at Navy and Lehigh goes to Holy Cross, with every Patriot League series a four-game set beginning on Saturday. Student-athletes from Bucknell, Navy and Army earned weekly honors on Monday.

Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.23.09

Patriot League Player of the Week (March 16-22)

Andrew Loucks, Bucknell Sr., OF, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Loucks posted strong efforts in both of Bucknell's victories last week, including a performance that matched a school record in a 22-9 win over Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday. Loucks tied a Bucknell single-game record with six hits in the victory, going 6-for-7 with three runs scored and four RBI. The hits came in his last six at-bats and were all after the fourth inning. He reached base nine consecutive times between that contest and the first matchup with Canisius. Loucks closed his week by helping Bucknell salvage the final contest of its four-game series with Canisius. He went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in the 13-6 victory on Sunday. Loucks batted .611 (11-of-18) for the week, with seven runs scored and six RBI. He also notched three doubles and a stolen base. Loucks is hitting .450 for the season. He receives his first Player of the Week honor, and second straight for a Bucknell student-athlete.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (March 16-22)

TJ Kerins, Navy Fr., P, Marietta, Ga.

Two weeks after receiving his first Rookie of the Week award, Kerins picks up his inaugural Pitcher of the Week honor after throwing 11 shutout innings in two starts last week. He tossed four scoreless innings with two hits, two walks and five strikeouts in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to Georgetown on Tuesday. Kerins threw seven shutout innings in his start against Princeton on Sunday, striking out five while allowing five hits and no walks. The Mids lost the game, 5-2. Kerins left with the lead in each of his starts during the week. The five strikeouts set a career high. Kerins is 1-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 24 innings this season, and leads the Patriot League by holding opponents to a .222 batting average.

Patriot League Rookie of the Week (March 16-22)

Kyle Brueggemann, Army Fr., P, Olathe, Kan.

Brueggemann pitched Army past Central Florida on Tuesday to receive his first Rookie of the Week award. Brueggemann allowed just one run in seven innings in the 8-1 victory as he earned his first collegiate win in his third start. Brueggemann gave up six hits, all singles, and one walk while striking out two in the outing. He allowed just three baserunners to reach scoring position. The win was Army's first over a Conference USA opponent since 2005.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

John Sills, Holy Cross Jr., SS, Milton, Mass.

Sills batted .464 (13-for-28) with five runs, five RBI and five stolen bases to help the Crusaders to a 4-3 week.

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

Froio hit .483 (14-for-29) with 11 runs scored, seven RBI and two stolen bases in seven games for the Leopards last week.

Matt Shapiro, Holy Cross Jr., P, Raynham, Mass.

Shapiro led Holy Cross to a 3-1 win over Quinnipiac on Sunday by allowing just one run and six hits in 7.2 innings to pick up the victory.

Andrew Berger, Lehigh Jr., P, Piedmont, Calif.

Berger pitched a seven-inning complete game in Lehigh's 7-2 win over Binghamton on Saturday, allowing just the two runs on five hits and no walks.

Patriot League Notebook

Patriot League Play Opens This Weekend

After more than a month of non-League action, Patriot League teams are ready to take on each other with League games beginning this weekend. The highlight of the slate comes from Lewisburg, Pa., where Bucknell will begin defense of its Patriot League title against Army, which won the regular-season crown last year and was the preseason pick of coaches and sports information directors to claim the title this season. In other action, Lafayette visits Navy and Lehigh goes to Holy Cross. All Patriot League series are four-game sets with two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday. The first contest each day is a seven-inning affair, while the nightcap is nine innings.

Army Takes Down No. 19 Illinois

Army became the first Patriot League team to beat a ranked opponent this season with a thrilling 9-8 win over No. 19 Illinois in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday. J.P. Polchinski hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to give Army the victory, its first over a ranked opponent since beating Florida in 2004. It was the first win for a Patriot League team over a ranked foe since Bucknell upset No. 4 Florida State in the first round of last year's NCAA Baseball Regionals. Patriot League teams are 1-6 against ranked opposition this season.

Every Team in the Win Column Last Week

Some of the overall records weren't great, but every Patriot League squad had at least one victory last week. Holy Cross had the only winning mark with a 4-3 record, splitting games with Bryant, Quinnipiac and Yale while beating Siena. Army split four games in Florida, with three of those against ranked opponents. Bucknell had a 2-3 mark, while Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy each recorded one victory.

Black Knights Open Home Schedule

Army becomes the fifth Patriot League team to play its home opener this week, as the Black Knights take on Quinnipiac on Tuesday. Holy Cross, Bucknell and Lehigh all opened their home slates last week, while Navy has already played 14 games in Annapolis. Lafayette will not play its home opener until April 7.

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 28 games away from home, with 27 true road contests before the home opener on April 7. That stretch includes four-game series at Navy and Bucknell in Patriot League play.

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 505-584-7 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 five wins away from 200 for his career, while Army's Joe Sottolano is nine victories shy of 250.

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 split four games on their spring trip in Florida last week, and finished their stint in the sunshine state with a 4-3 record. The victories included a 9-8 triumph over No. 19 Illinois on Friday. It was Army's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating Florida in 2004. The Black Knights also posted an 8-1 win over Central Florida on Tuesday, with Kyle Brueggemann going seven innings and allowing just the one run for his first collegiate victory. Army also dropped a doubleheader to No. 22 Ohio State on Saturday. The Black Knights play their home opener on Tuesday against Quinnipiac, and begin Patriot League play at defending champion Bucknell on Saturday. Army was picked first in the Patriot League preseason poll.

Bucknell The Bison had a 2-3 record last week, winning, 22-9, at Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday before opening their home schedule by dropping three of four games to Canisius over the weekend. Andrew Loucks tied a school record with six hits against Mount St. Mary's, all coming after the fourth inning. Loucks was also 3-for-4 in the win over Canisius on Sunday, and went 9-for-11 in Bucknell's victories last week. Chris Yamaguchi picked up each of the two victories in relief. He tossed two scoreless innings against Mount St. Mary's and allowed three runs in four innings against Canisius. He is 3-0 on the season, and the only Bison pitcher with more than one win. The Bison begin defense of their Patriot League title by hosting a four-game series against Army over the weekend.

Holy Cross The Crusaders had a 4-3 mark in seven games last week, with the first six of the contests played at home. Holy Cross split two contests with Bryant, Yale and Quinnipiac, while also earning a victory over Siena. John Sills went 13-for-28 (.464) for the week, and had at least one hit in every game. He was 2-for-3 with two RBI in a 5-3 win over Bryant, and 3-for-5 with two RBI in a 3-1 triumph over Quinnipiac on Sunday. He also stole five bases for the week. Matt Shapiro earned the win against Quinnipiac, allowing just one run and six hits over 7.2 innings. The Crusaders have a pair of mid-week games against Connecticut and Boston College before opening the Patriot League schedule at home with a four-game series against Lehigh beginning on Saturday.

Lafayette Lafayette salvaged a week on the road by earning a 12-5 win over Longwood on Saturday. It was the only victory for the Leopards in seven contests last week. Rob Froio went 14-for-29 (.483) with 11 runs and seven RBI for the week. He had a 4-for-4 day against Gardner-Webb on Monday, and went 3-for-5 with three runs in the win over Longwood. Lafayette also played UNC-Greensboro and Liberty during the week. Froio leads the Patriot League with a .479 batting average. The Leopards play at Saint Joseph's in the Liberty Bell Classic on Tuesday and visit Wagner on Wednesday before beginning their Patriot League schedule with four games at Navy over the weekend.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks earned one victory in six contests last week, while also ending a game in a tie. Lehigh opened its home schedule with a loss to Temple on Tuesday, and won one of four games against Binghamton in Bethlehem over the weekend. Andrew Berger pitched a seven-inning complete game in Lehigh's 7-2 victory. The win broke a 12-game skid (0-11-1) for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh tied Saint Joseph's, 19-19, in a game called by darkness on Wednesday. Lehigh goes on the road for all of its games this week, with non-League games at Villanova and NJIT during the week before a four-game set at Holy Cross over the weekend.

Navy The Mids scored one victory in six games last week, as they lost at Georgetown and Mount St. Mary's and dropped three of four games at home against Princeton. The Mids were outscored just 33-28 for the week. TJ Kerins had 11 scoreless innings on the mound, striking out 10 while allowing seven hits and two walks. Kerins made the first two starts of his career against Georgetown and Princeton. Kendall Bolt has now reached base in 28 consecutive games dating back to last year, and has a nine-game hitting streak. Sam Long struck out nine batters on Friday, and has a Patriot League-best 37 punchouts for the season. Navy continues its 10-game homestand this week, facing Georgetown on Wednesday and Lafayette for a four-game series beginning on Saturday to open League play