March 30, 2009

Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.30.09

Center Valley, Pa. - The home teams posted an 8-2 record on the first weekend of Patriot League Baseball matchups. Bucknell took three of four games against Army, while Navy did the same against Lafayette. Holy Cross swept a Saturday doubleheader against Lehigh in a rain-shortened series. Student-athletes from Bucknell and Navy garnered the three weekly awards.

Patriot League Player of the Week (March 23-29)

Doug Shribman, Bucknell So., 1B, Marblehead, Mass.

Shribman had a strong week to help Bucknell to four victories in five games and receive his first Player of the Week honor. Shribman finished the week with a .471 batting average (8-for-17) while driving in 10 runs. He had a home run, double and triple and also scored three runs. Shribman opened the week by going 3-for-5 with three RBI in a 13-8 win over Bloomsburg on Wednesday. He scored a run in Bucknell's 2-1 series-opening win against Army on Saturday, and went 2-for-6 with a home run and a career-high four RBI in an 18-2 triumph in the nightcap. Shribman helped Bucknell take three of four against the Black Knights by going 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI in the 7-5 triumph. Shribman now ranks second on the Bison with 21 RBI and a .354 batting average this season. He is the third consecutive Bucknell student-athlete to be named Player of the Week.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (March 23-29)

Trey Frahler, Bucknell So., P, Northfield, Ill.

Frahler claims his second Pitcher of the Week honor of the year after throwing a seven-inning complete game to lead Bucknell past Army, 2-1, in the opener of a four-game series on Saturday. He gave up just one unearned run in the contest, allowing five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. He surrendered three hits and no runs in the first six innings, keeping the game scoreless until Bucknell notched two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Frahler threw his first career complete game, and the one run allowed was the fewest by Bucknell this season.

Patriot League Rookie of the Week (March 23-29)

TJ Kerins, Navy Fr., P, Marietta, Ga.

Kerins receives his third Patriot League honor in the last four weeks, and his second Rookie of the Week award, after allowing one run in a career-high 7.1 innings against Lafayette in Sunday's opener. Kerins gave up nine hits with no walks and a career-high seven strikeouts in the contest, and helped the Mids to an eventual 2-1 triumph in eight innings. He held the Leopards to a 2-for-15 effort with runners on base. The run he allowed in the seventh was the first he had given up as a starter in 17.2 innings, and Kerins has not allowed a walk in his last 18 innings pitched. He leads the Patriot League with a 2.30 ERA for the season. Kerins was previously named Rookie of the Week on March 9 as well as Pitcher of the Week last Monday.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

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

Koenigsfeld threw a seven-inning complete game and allowed just two runs, one earned, in a 9-2 win over Bucknell on Sunday.

Drew Carlson, Navy Jr., P, Boca Raton, Fla.

Carlson threw three perfect innings and picked up two wins out of the bullpen for Navy against Lafayette over the weekend.

Patriot League Notebook

Bucknell, Navy, Holy Cross Open Up Strong

The home teams dominated the first weekend of Patriot League action with an 8-2 record, as Bucknell and Navy won their series and Holy Cross took the first two games against Lehigh before the teams were postponed on both Sunday and Monday. The Bison took three of four games at home against preseason favorite Army, while the Mids did the same against Lafayette. Holy Cross swept a Saturday doubleheader at home against Lehigh, with rainouts keeping the teams from finishing the series on both Sunday and Monday.

Close Contests Open Up League Action

The first game of all three weekend series was decided by one run, and the outcomes stayed close throughout the weekend. Bucknell beat Army, 2-1, Navy knocked off Lafayette, 5-4, and Holy Cross beat Lehigh, 6-5, in the series-opening contests on Saturday. Overall, six of the first 10 contests were decided by one run. Holy Cross beat Lehigh, 7-6, in the second game between the squads, while Lafayette and Navy split a pair of 2-1 decisions. Army and Bucknell also played a contest decided by two runs when the Bison closed the series with a 7-5 win.

More Patriot League Action Ahead

After each team plays at least one weekday game, the squads will begin the next set of four-game Patriot League series over the weekend. Holy Cross visits Army, Lafayette goes to Bucknell and Navy travels to Lehigh in the contests played on Saturday and Sunday.

Lafayette's Froio, Navy's Long Debut Among NCAA Leaders

The first NCAA statistics were released on Tuesday, and two of the Patriot League leaders had high spots on the national lists. Lafayette's Rob Froio, who still leads the Patriot League with a .462 average after the weekend's action, ranked among the top 75 players in the country in batting average, runs, hits, on-base percentage and stolen bases. Navy's Sam Long placed second in the nation with 15.14 strikeouts per nine innings, and recorded six Ks in 4.2 innings against Lafayette over the weekend.

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 509-585-7 career mark, and has led the Bison to four Patriot League titles. Depew is eight wins away from 200 in Patriot League competition. 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 four wins away from 200 for his career, while Army's Joe Sottolano is six 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 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.

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 March 20. 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.

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 opened Patriot League play by dropping three of four games at Bucknell over the weekend...Army defeated Quinnipiac and Long Island at home in mid-week contests...Army lost three of four at Bucknell to open the season for the second year in a row, and has not won more than one game in an opening series since 2005...Army lost a one-run and two-run contest...Ben Koengisfeld pitched the Black Knights to their lone win over Bucknell, going all seven innings with just one earned run...Koenigsfeld allowed just one hit and no runs over the first six innings...Army plays at home all week, with a contest against Columbia and Patriot League weekend series versus Holy Cross.

Bucknell The Bison posted a strong start to the Patriot League season by taking three of four games at home against preseason favorite Army over the weekend...The Bison also beat Bloomsburg on Wednesday, and concluded their nine-game homestand with a 5-4 mark...Bucknell won three of four to open the season against Army for the second year in a row, and is 14-5 against the Black Knights since 2006...Trey Frahler did not allow an earned run in a seven-inning complete game to lead the Bison to a 2-1 win in the opener against the Black Knights...Bucknell's four starting pitchers were 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA against Army...Bucknell is at Penn State on Wednesday and hosts a four-game series against Lafayette over the weekend, with Senior Day ceremonies on Sunday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders have won three consecutive games after sweeping a doubleheader with a pair of one-run wins over Lehigh on Saturday...The teams were rained out on Sunday and Monday, and a make-up date has not yet been announced...Matt Perry and Brendan McCrea both hit a home run and a double in the doubleheader...Freshman Chris Sintentos had a walk-off single to drive in the game-winning run in a 6-5 victory in the opener against Lehigh...Holy Cross scored three eighth-inning runs to edge out a 7-6 win in the nightcap...The Crusaders have a busy week ahead with a pair of mid-week games and a four-game weekend series at Army.

Lafayette The Leopards dropped five of six games on the road last week, including three of four at Navy in the opening Patriot League series...Three of Lafayette's five losses were by one run, with another by two runs...Corey Shea allowed one run in 7.1 innings to help Lafayette to a 2-1 win over Navy on Saturday...Rob Froio was 7-for-18 in Lafayette's six games last week, and continues to lead the Patriot League with a .462 batting average...Lafayette continues its lengthy stint on the road to open the season by visiting NJIT on Wednesday and going to Bucknell for a four-game set over the weekend.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks split a pair of mid-week games before getting swept at Holy Cross to open Patriot League play on Saturday...The teams were rained out on both Sunday and Monday, and a make-up date for the final two games of the series has not yet been announced..Lehigh notched a 2-1 win at NJIT on Wednesday, with Andy Russell driving in the game-winning run in the 10th inning...Russell was 4-for-7 with five runs, a home run and two RBI in the doubleheader against Holy Cross...The Mountain Hawks have six games on the schedule this week, with two mid-week contests versus La Salle and a Patriot League series at home against Navy over the weekend.

Navy The Mids began Patriot League play on a winning note by taking three of four games against Lafayette over the weekend...The Mids are now 14-2 in opening League weekends in the last four seasons...Navy took two of the first three games by one run, while losing a contest by one run as well...The Mids concluded the series with a 13-4 win, their most runs in a Patriot League home game since 2000...Navy hit three home runs in the game, its most in a home contest this decade...Drew Carlson came out of the bullpen to pick up Navy's first two wins in the series...He threw 2.1 scoreless innings in a 5-4 win Saturday, and 0.2 scorless in a 2-1, eight-inning triumph on Sunday...Kendall Bolt saw his streak of consecutive games reaching base come to an end at 30 on Saturday...Navy concludes a 10-game homestand against Maryland Tuesday, and opens a 10-game road trip with a four-game set at Lehigh beginning Saturday.