April 20, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - With just one weekend of League games remaining, Bucknell and Army are tied for first place in the Patriot League Baseball race. The Bison are the only team to clinch a spot in the League Tournament, with the final three places in the field up for grabs this weekend. Two student-athletes from Army and one from Holy Cross earned weekly awards.

Patriot League Baseball Release - 4.20.09

Patriot League Player of the Week (April 14-19)

J.P. Polchinski, Army Sr., 3B, Jamestown, N.C.

Polchinski had an excellent series to lead Army to a four-game sweep at Lehigh over the weekend and into a tie with Bucknell for first place in the Patriot League. Polchinski batted .444 (8-for-18) with two home runs, seven RBI, five runs scored, three doubles and a triple in Army's sweep. He recorded at least one hit, RBI and run scored in each contest and posted a 1.056 slugging percentage for the weekend. He hit a three-run home run to give Army an early lead in an eventual 6-4 win in the series opener. He drove in and scored a run, hitting a double and a triple, in the Black Knights' 5-2 win in Sunday's first game, and closed the series with a three-hit effort including a home run in Army's 21-8 triumph. Polchinski had multiple-hit efforts in the last three games of the series, with a double in each contest. The senior from Jamestown, N.C. earns his second career Patriot League Player of the Week award, and first since the 2007 season.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (April 14-19)

Kirk Porter, Army So., P, Lake Zurich, Ill.

Porter allowed just three hits in a nine-inning complete-game shutout to lift Army past Lehigh, 12-0, in the second game of an eventual four-game sweep for the Black Knights. Porter held Lehigh hitless through the first four innings, and retired eight in a row and 10 of the next 11 batters after giving up a leadoff single in the fifth inning. He gave up three hits and five walks in the outing while striking out three. Porter allowed just four baserunners to reach scoring position in the game, and did not allow a single runner to advance to third base. Porter extended his personal consecutive scoreless streak to 15 innings, and has permitted just six hits and one baserunner to reach third base during that span. Porter receives his first Patriot League Pitcher of the Week award.

Patriot League Rookie of the Week (April 14-19)

Steve Tkwoski, Holy Cross Fr., C, Bourne, Mass.

Tkwoski helped Holy Cross win three of four games at Lafayette over the weekend by going 8-for-14 with a home run, five RBI and four runs scored in the series. After the Crusaders dropped the opener, Tkwoski went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run and two RBI as Holy Cross posted a 14-10 win in game two. He led Holy Cross to the series win by notching a 3-for-4 effort with three RBI and a run scored in a 7-4 victory in the finale of the four-game set. Tkwoski wins his first Patriot League Rookie of the Week award.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Matt Perry, Holy Cross Jr., 3B, Sudbury, Mass.

Perry was 10-for-17 with three runs and three RBI as Holy Cross took three of four games against Lafayette over the weekend.

Ben Allen, Bucknell Jr., SS, Port Royal, Pa.

Allen went 10-for-17 with three runs scored and five RBI to help Bucknell win three of four games at Navy.

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

Fritz struck out 10 batters while allowing just one run and five hits in a seven-inning complete game in Lafayette's 10-1 win over Holy Cross.

Patriot League Notebook

Bucknell and Army Surge To League Lead

Successful weekends on the road have Bucknell and Army atop the Patriot League Baseball standings with just one weekend to play. Bucknell won three of four games at Navy and Army swept a four-game set at Lehigh last weekend, and the Bison and Black Knights are now tied for first place in the Patriot League at 10-6. Bucknell has clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth, while Army is just one win away. Holy Cross is tied with the co-leaders in the loss column at 8-6 in the League after winning three of four games at Lafayette. The Leopards sit in fourth place at 8-8, followed by Navy in fifth at 7-9 and Lehigh in sixth at 3-11.

Tournament Berths, Seeding at Stake on Final Weekend

With just one weekend remaining, the only thing certain about the upcoming Patriot League Baseball Tournament is that Bucknell has clinched a berth in the four-team field. Army can wrap up its Tournament spot with one more win when it visits Lafayette for a four-game series, while Holy Cross will claim a berth if it splits its series with Navy. Bucknell has the inside track to the top seed in the Tournament, and would clinch that position by sweeping Lehigh this weekend. In addition to the trio of four-game series, Lehigh visits Holy Cross for a make-up doubleheader on Monday. Eleven wins is the magic number for a Tournament berth, as any team that hits that mark will be guaranteed of making the field. Lafayette needs three wins to reach 11 wins, while Navy would need to sweep Holy Cross to guarantee its spot. For the Patriot League Baseball tiebreaking procedures, go to page three of the baseball release or visit the sidebar of the baseball page at www.patriotleague.com.

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.

Plenty of Non-League Action Heading Into Big Weekend

The Patriot League squads will have a chance to tune-up for the final regular-season weekend of League play with non-League action during the week. Lehigh and Holy Cross lead the way with three games each, while Lafayette, Navy and Bucknell each play two contests and Army will host one. Each squad plays at least one home game during the week.

League Leaders

Bucknell's Andrew Brouse and Holy Cross' Matt Perry combine to lead most hitting categories in the Patriot League. Perry leads the Patriot League in batting average, on-base percentage and hits, while Brouse has a lead or share of the top spot in home runs, RBI, triples, total bases and slugging percentage. Bucknell's Chris Yamaguchi has the top marks in the Patriot League for two major pitching categories: wins (6) and ERA (3.48).

Patriot League on National TV

Bucknell and Navy played a nationally televised contest on Sunday, with the Bison nocking off the Mids, 6-4, in a game shown live on the CBS College Sports Network.

Milestone Wins For Patriot League Coaches

Army Head Coach Joe Sottolano recorded his 250th career win on April 12 against Navy, joining a long list of milestone wins for Patriot League coaches this season. Bucknell Head Coach Gene Depew won his 500th game in March, while Lafayette's Joe Kinney took his 200th career victory on April 4. Navy's Paul Kostacopoulos earned his 100th win at the school to open the season. Depew has a League milestone in sight next, as a victory in this weekend's series with Lehigh would be the 200th Patriot League win in his career.

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights swept a four-game series at Lehigh to move into a tie with Bucknell for first place in the Patriot League heading into the final League weekend. Army has won nine of its last 10 League games after a 1-5 start. Joey Henshaw went 9-for-20 in the series to boost his batting average to .417. Army improved to 20-16 overall with the four-game sweep, moving to four games over .500 for the first time since 2007. Army established a season high with 21 runs scored in the series finale against Lehigh. Army continues to lead the Patriot League with a .327 batting average, which is also the school record for a season. Army will conclude its Patriot League schedule with a four-game series at Lafayette over the weekend. One win or one Navy loss would give Army its fifth Patriot League Tournament berth in the last six years.

Bucknell The Bison became the first team to clinch a spot in the Patriot League Tournament by winning three of four games at Navy over the weekend. Bucknell is tied for first place in the League with Army at 10-6, and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Black Knights. Ben Allen had multiple-hit efforts in every game against the Mids, going 10-for-17 with three runs scored and five RBI for the weekend. Allen is hitting .458 since March 31, going 27-for-59 in the last 14 games. Chris Yamaguchi, Dylan Seeley and Trey Frahler all recorded complete-game victories. Yamauchi leads the Patriot League with six wins and a 3.48 ERA. Andrew Brouse leads the League in RBI (50) and slugging percentage (.688) while sharing the League lead with nine home runs. Brouse is riding a 14-game hitting streak. Bucknell concludes its regular-season schedule with a four-game series at Lehigh. The Bison control their own destiny to earn the top seed in the League Tournament.

Holy Cross The Crusaders are tied in the loss column with Army and Bucknell after winning three of four games at Lafayette over the weekend. Holy Cross is 8-6 in the Patriot League, while the co-leaders are 10-6. Holy Cross won the final three games of the series after dropping the opener. Matt Perry went 10-for-17 with three runs scored and three RBI in the series, and leads the Patriot League with a .427 batting average for the season. Perry is hitting .482 in Patriot League action. He also paces the League with 61 hits and a .497 on-base percentage. Eric Oxford notched three home runs on the weekend to tie for the League lead with nine on the season. The Crusaders will lock up their second straight Patriot League Tournament berth by winning two games against Navy this weekend, and also play Lehigh in a make-up doubleheader on Monday.

Lafayette The Leopards fell to fourth place in the Patriot League after dropping three of four games at home against Holy Cross over the weekend. Lafayette is at 8-8 in League action. Lafayette scored a 10-1 win in the series opener, with Zach Fritz pitching a seven-inning complete game with 10 strikeouts to pick up the victory. Daniel Bierce was 8-for-13 with six runs, a home run and three RBI for the weekend. Lafayette will try to get back to the Patriot League Tournament when it hosts a four-game set against Army this weeknd. A series victory would lock up a spot for the Leopards.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks have dropped eight straight games, including seven in a row in League play, after getting swept in a four-game series at home against Army over the weekend. Andrew Berger threw his Patriot League best fourth complete game in a 6-4 loss in the series opener. Lehigh needs to win its final six games for any opportunity to make the Patriot League Tournament. The Mountain Hawks host Bucknell for four games before a make-up doubleheader at Holy Cross on Monday.

Navy The Mids dropped three of four games at home against Bucknell over the weekend, falling to fifth place in the Patriot League with a 7-9 League mark in the process. Mike Guadagnini batted 7-for-15 with seven runs and five RBI in the series. Guadagnini is batting .441 in the last 25 games, with 17 multi-hit games in that span. Navy collected 26 hits in a split of the doubleheader with the Bison on Saturday. The Mids scored a 16-8 win in the nightcap, their most runs in a League game this season. Navy concludes its Patriot League schedule at Holy Cross this weekend. A four-game sweep would guarantee a spot in the League Tournament for the Mids.