March 4, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--The action continues to heat up for Patriot League schools, many of which are spending the week in Florida's balmy weather. Defending champion Lehigh has found its groove in the South, racing out to a League-best 7-3 record.

Patriot League Softball Release 3.4.09

Patriot League Player of the Week (Feb. 22-Mar. 1)

Keeley Seniuk, Holy Cross So., LF, Phoenix, Ariz. Seniuk was 4-for-7 in the Crusaders' first two games of the season. She was 3-for-4 with three RBI in Holy Cross' season-opening 9-7 win against St. Bonaventure. She also scored a run against the Bonnies. Seniuk followed that with a 1-for-3 day against Detroit.

Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 22-Mar. 1)

Michelle Hollebeke, Colgate Fr., P, North Reading, Mass. Hollebeke earned her first collegiate victory with a 3-2 win over Bryant on Sunday. She tossed a complete game, surrendering just two runs on two hits while striking out five. Earlier in the weekend, she had did not factor into the decision in an 8-7 extra-innings win against Bryant. On Saturday, Hollebeke was handed a loss, despite stifling Dartmouth. She gave up just one earned run in the defeat.

Patriot League Rookie of the Week (Feb. 22-Mar. 1)

Stephanie Hartquist, Colgate Fr., OF, Homer, N.Y. Hartquist batted .357 in five games at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament. She had a team-high four runs batted in, all of which came in Colgate's two victories.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Tiana Tyesky, Colgate Sr., 2B, Granite Bay, Calif. Hit .353 with a double in five games at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament. Scored two runs and drove in another.

Caitlin Belanger, Holy Cross So., P, Fall River, Mass. Pitched three innings and struck out two batters to pick up the win against St. Bonaventure. Also went 1-for-3 at the plate and scored a run against the Bonnies.

Patriot League Notebook

All But One Five of the Patriot League's six teams have taken the field this season. Colgate and Holy Cross played their first four games of the season over the weekend. Lafayette will be the last team to start its season, waiting until Saturday to begin competition. The Leopards will play two games in Virginia, first battling James Madison before meeting Virginia.

Patriot League Perfection Prior to Tuesday, only two Patriot League pitchers had tossed perfect games. Junior Tiffany Curtis retired all 21 batters she faced in Lehigh's second game on Tuesday, a 1-0 win against St. Bonaventure. She mixed seven strikeouts with seven fly outs and seven ground outs for her third victory of the season. The perfect game marked the first no-hitter of Curtis' Lehigh career and was the first thrown by a Lehigh pitcher since Lisa Sweeney no-hit Army on the opening day of the 2006 Patriot League Tournament.

Travel Agent Required As is customary this time of year, Patriot League teams are hitting the road for warmer temperatures. All six teams will spend part of March in Florida for various tournaments. The first Patriot League team to host a game this season will be Army. The Black Knights will welcome Fairleigh Dickinson to West Point on March 10.

Carolina On My Mind Through Sunday, Patriot League teams have played in four tournaments this season. Of those, three have been in North Carolina. Bucknell, which has played in North Carolina twice this season, was scheduled to return for another dose of the Tar Heel State last weekend. The Bison's trip to the Elon Tournament was cancelled, however.

Veterans At The Helm All six Patriot League coaches are back in the fold this season. Army head coach Jim Flowers is the most senior of the group. Flowers is in his 19th season at West Point. Lehigh head coach Fran Troyan, in his 14th year with the Mountain Hawks, has the most wins among Patriot League coaches with 439. Holy Cross head coach Brian Claypool is the newest coach of the bunch. Claypool will begin his second season as the head Crusader on Sunday in Kissimmee, Fla.

Lehigh Picked To Win 10th Patriot League Crown Lehigh was a unanimous selection to win its 10th Patriot League softball championship. The Mountain Hawks received 10 first-place votes, the most possible, in a preseason poll of the Patriot League's coaches and sports information directors. Coaches and SIDs were not allowed to vote for their own team. Lafayette received one first-place vote and was tabbed to finish second. Bucknell received the other first-place vote and was picked to finish third. Colgate, the last team to defeat Lehigh for the Patriot League crown, was fourth in the poll, followed by Army and Holy Cross.

2009 Patriot League Championship The 2009 Patriot League Softball Championship will take place Thursday-Saturday, May 7-9 at the site of the highest seed. The top four teams in the regular-season standings will advance to the Patriot League tournament. The winner of the championship will represent the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament as its automatic qualifier. Lehigh is the defending Patriot League Champion.

Team Notebooks

Army Army, which was the first Patriot League team to open the season, has taken a nearly three week break since then. The Black Knights will resume their competitive schedule on Saturday in Washington, D.C. Army will play in the two-day Colonial Classic.

Bucknell The Bison started by winning five games in 10 outings. Bucknell was scheduled to play again over the weekend, but the two-day Elon Tournament was cancelled due to weather. The Bison will join several other Patriot League squads at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. Bucknell will begin its portion of the event on Saturday against Butler and Penn.

Colgate Colgate opened the season at the Florida Gulf Coast Spring Break Tournament. The Raiders went 2-5, picking up two one-run wins against Bryant. Tiana Tyesky recorded base hits in the Raiders' first four games, including three against Bryant in the season-opener. Colgate will head to Virginia for this weekend's Norfolk State Tournament. The Raiders will open the tournament against the host Spartans.

Holy Cross Holy Cross opened up the year at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Crusaders picked up a 9-7 win against St. Bonaventure on Sunday. Keeley Seniuk was 3-for-4 with a run against the Bonnies, while Caitlin Belanger recorded the win in the pitching circle. The Crusaders also took a 5-0 loss to Detroit on Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, Holy Cross was dealt four losses, including two by Niagara. The Crusaders will remain in Florida for three more days of competition.

Lafayette The Leopards will be the final Patriot League team to start the season. Lafayette will open the 2009 campaign in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Leopards will play at James Madison on March 7 before battling Virginia in Charlottesville on March 8.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks went 4-2 in their first three days of competition at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. Lehigh split its games on each of the first two days of play, before notching a sweep with shutout wins against Tennessee State and St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. Junior Tiffany Curtis pitched just the third perfect game in Patriot League history in the Mountain Hawks' 1-0 win against St. Bonaventure, while senior ace Lisa Sweeney struck out 13 and went the distance on a five-hitter as the Mountain Hawks blanked Tennessee State 4-0. With the victories, Lehigh improves to 7-3 on the season. The Mountain Hawks will remain in Florida for the Under Armour Classic, which will begin Friday in Clearwater.