CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Regular-season champion Navy claimed three of the five Patriot League baseball major awards while Army West Point and Lafayette received one apiece when the League office announced postseason honors on Wednesday.
Midshipmen senior right-handed pitcher Noah Song was named the 2019 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year while senior catcher Christian Hodge was named the player of the year. Navy Head Coach Paul Kostacopoulos captured the Gene Depew Coach of the Year Award for the second consecutive season and fifth time in his career after guiding the Mids to their fifth-straight regular-season title.
Army West Point junior centerfielder Jacob Hurtubise was selected as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, and Lafayette freshman shortstop Justin Johnson earned Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors.
Song became the 10th student-athlete in Patriot League baseball history to garner all-League accolades in four seasons, highlighting a list of 13 players to receive multiple all-League nods. Holy Cross junior outfielder Austin Masel became the 43rd student-athlete to receive All-Patriot League recognition for the third time.
The Black Knights received a League-high seven All-Patriot League selections, including four on the first team. Five Army West Point student-athletes received all-League honors for the second time; senior pitcher Daniel Burggraaf (first team), sophomore third baseman Anthony Giachin (first team), senior pitcher Tyler Giovinco (second team), junior centerfielder Jacob Hurtubise (first team) and senior pitcher Cam Opp (second team). Navy had six all-League honorees with four on the first team and three two-time all-League selections with Hodge (first team), junior second baseman Zach Biggers (first team), and senior outfielder Liam Lowery (second team). Holy Cross and Lafayette each had four student-athletes named to the two all-League teams. The Crusaders placed two starting pitchers on the first team with senior Declan Cronin and sophomore Liam Dvorak. Lafayette junior outfielder Trey Durrah joined rookie of the year Johnson on the first team after driving in a League-best 33 runs in League play. Lehigh also had four representatives, including three multi-year honorees with first baseman Tony Gallo (first team), senior catcher Jeff Shanfeldt (second team) and junior pitcher Levi Stoudt (second team). Bucknell placed two first-time all-League selections with one of the first team and one on the second team.
Patriot League baseball major awards and all-League honors were voted on by League head coaches, who could not select their own student-athletes or themselves.
2019 Patriot League Player of the Year
Christian Hodge, Navy, Sr., C, Winder, Ga./Winder-Barrow
*Hodge batted .307 (58-for-189) with a Patriot League-leading 12 home runs. He also finished second in the League with 51 RBIs and fourth with a .534 slugging percentage.
*The senior catcher batted .287 (27-for-94) in 25 League games with a League-best seven home runs and 26 RBIs.
*The two-time Patriot League Player of the Week this season, posted a .991 fielding percentage in 35 games behind the plate.
2019 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year
Noah Song, Navy, Sr., RHP, Claremont, Calif./Claremont
*Song leads the Patriot League and NCAA DI in strikeouts (141), strikeouts per nine innings (16.06), wins (10), complete games (6) and is third in the nation in ERA (1.14).
*He broke his own Patriot League single-season record with 141 strikeouts and became the League's career strikeout leader, pushing his total to 408 by the end of the regular season.
*The six-time Patriot League Pitcher of the Week in 2019 was dominant in League play, going 7-0 in seven starts with a 1.71 ERA. He struck out 81 batters and walked 18 in League games.
2019 Patriot League Rookie of the Year
Justin Johnson, Lafayette, Fr., SS, Glen Gardner, N.J./North Hunterdon
*Johnson led the Leopards with a .297 batting average (54-for-182) while placing second in the League in doubles (16) and eighth in stolen bases (9).
*The freshman shortstop slugged .429 and recorded a .379 on-base percentage in 48 starts, helping the Leopards reach the postseason for the first time since 2015.
*Johnson's .949 fielding percentage was second among all Patriot League shortstops while his 119 assists were tops among League shortstops.
2019 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year
Jacob Hurtubise, Army West Point, Jr., CF, Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community
*Hurtubise showed off his range in centerfield, leading all Patriot League outfielders with 118 putouts to go along with a .992 fielding percentage. The junior centerfielder also had two outfield assists.
*Hurtubise and the Army West Point defense helped contribute to the Black Knights League-low 3.92 team ERA.
*In League play, Hurtubise recorded a League-high 64 putouts in centerfield with a 1.000 fielding percentage.
2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year
Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy
*Kostacopoulos guided Navy to its fifth consecutive Patriot League regular-season title with a League-best 18 League wins.
*In League play, Navy led the Patriot League in team batting average (.283), hits (225) while finishing second in runs scored (151).
*The team's pitching staff held opposing batters to a .237 average while allowing 106 runs, the second-best mark in the Patriot League.
2019 Patriot League Baseball Major Awards
Player of the Year: Christian Hodge, Navy, Sr., C
Pitcher of the Year: Noah Song, Navy, Sr., RHP
Rookie of the Year: Justin Johnson, Lafayette, Fr., SS
Defensive Player of the Year: Jacob Hurtubise, Army West Point, Jr., CF
Gene Depew Coach of the Year: Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy
2019 First-Team All-Patriot League Baseball Team*
SP: Noah Song, Navy, Sr.
SP: Liam Dvorak, Holy Cross, So.
SP: Daniel Burggraaf, Army West Point, Sr.
SP: Declan Cronin, Holy Cross, Sr.
RP: Trey Braithwaite, Navy, So.
C: Christian Hodge, Navy, Sr.
1B: Tony Gallo, Lehigh, Jr.
2B: Zach Biggers, Navy, Jr.
SS: Trey Martin, Army West Point, Sr.
SS: Justin Johnson, Lafayette, Fr.
3B: Anthony Giachin, Army West Point, So.
OF: Jacob Hurtubise, Army West Point, Jr.
OF: Trey Durrah, Lafayette, Jr.
OF: Tyler Wincig, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Ryan Malloy, Lehigh, Sr.
DH: Evan Blum, Holy Cross, So.
*Four pitchers, two shortstops and four outfielders on the first team due to ties in the voting
2019 Second-Team All-Patriot League Baseball Team^
SP: Tyler Giovinco, Army West Point, Sr.
SP: Levi Stoudt, Lehigh, Jr.
RP: Cam Opp, Army West Point, Sr.
C: Jeff Shanfeldt, Lehigh, Sr.
1B: Zach Stevens, Navy, Fr.
2B: Ethan Stern, Lafayette, So.
3B: Spencer Rouse, Lafayette, Sr.
OF: Austin Masel, Holy Cross, Jr.
OF: Liam Lowery, Navy, Sr.
OF: JohnPaul Bell, Bucknell, Jr.
DH: Jeremiah Adams, Army West Point, Jr.
^Two starting pitchers and no shortstop on the second team due to additional players on the first team; three outfielders due to ties in voting on the second team
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League's athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.