Saturday, May 16
Annapolis, Md.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
No. 1 Navy
Lehigh set for Patriot League Championship series at Navy
5/14/2015 11:31:00 AM | Baseball
Game Notes | Free Video | Championship Central
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team returns to the Patriot League championship series for the second-straight season when the Mountain Hawks head to Navy for a best-of-three series Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon from Navy's Max Bishop Stadium, while Sunday's if-necessary game is slated for 1 p.m. Free video of all three games is available on the Patriot League Network.
Lehigh wrapped up regular-season league play with a 12-8 record to earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament before beating No. 3 Holy Cross in a best-of-three semifinal series. Navy earned the top seed after compiling a league record of 13-8 before taking the final two games of a three game series with No. 4 Lafayette in the semifinals. The winner of the championship series earns the Patriot League's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Mountain Hawks won the first and the third games of last weekend's semifinal series against Holy Cross to secure Lehigh's second-straight trip to the championship series. Lehigh scored in five innings of the 6-2 game-one win at Legacy Park to back the strong pitching performances of juniors Kevin Long and Kevin Boswick. The Mountain Hawks trailed the Crusdaers 4-2 in game two before rallying to tie the game at four in the top of the ninth, but a Holy Cross home run helped the Crusaders walk off with a 7-4 victory to send the semifinal series to a decisive game three Sunday. Dominant pitching from senior Nick Stephens led Lehigh to a 7-1 victory in the winner-take-all game three as the senior allowed just one unearned run on three hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in a complete-game effort. Sophomore Patrick Donnelly led Lehigh offensively throughout the series with a .417 (5-for-12) batting average, while sophomore Jacen Nalesnik and junior Mike Garzillo each tallied four RBI.
Lehigh carries a 23-26 overall record into the championship series and gone 18-8 over its most recent 26 games. The Mountain Hawks have been led offensively by a pair of unanimous first team All-League selections in senior Justin Pacchioli and Garzillo. Pacchioli leads the team with a .364 batting average that ranks second in the Patriot League. He leads the league and ranks seventh nationally with an on-base percentage of .502 in addition to his league-best 28 stolen bases and 44 runs scored. Garzillo follows with a batting average of .356. The junior leads the Patriot League in RBI (47), home runs (10) and slugging percentage (.622). Nalesnik ranks second on the team with 32 RBI, while first team All-League selection Donnelly follows with 30 RBI.
Stephens (4-5, 3.27 ERA) and fellow seniors Nick Macaione (2-4, 3.00 ERA) and J.R. Edwards (1-3, 3.49 ERA), along with Long (4-1, 6.00 ERA), have held down Lehigh's starting rotation this season. Long earned the win in game one of the semifinal series after throwing 5.2 one-run innings. Stephens earned the complete-game win in game three after throwing a three-hitter with seven strikeouts. The Mountain Hawk bullpen has been a major reason for Lehigh's success, as the team is 9-0 in league games (regular season and postseason) when leading after six innings. Boswick earned the save in game one of the semifinal series and has allowed just one run in his last 22 innings on the mound. He's struck out 19 while walking just three during that time. Senior Jordan Smith has secured three saves this season, while sophomore Connor Donovan has picked up two and junior Brandon Kulp and sophomore David Young have secured one a piece.
The Mids earned the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 13-7 mark in league play that is part of a 36-18 overall record. Navy has made the tournament for five straight years, but is making its first championship series appearance since 2011 when the Mids won the title at home as the top seed.
After dropping game one of the semifinals 10-8 to No. 4 Lafayette last weekend, Navy bounced back with 12-0 and 8-0 wins in games two and three, respectively, to earn a spot in the championship series. Navy opened league play with a four-game sweep of Bucknell before dropping three of four at Holy Cross. The Mids took three of four from Lafayette before splitting with Lehigh and ending regular-season league play with a 3-1 series win at Army. The Mids are 22-7 at home this season.
Navy is led by a trio of major Patriot League award winners in Coach of the Year Paul Kostacopoulos, Player of the Year Sean Trent and Pitcher of the Year Luke Gillingham. Navy leads the Patriot League with a .286 team batting average, led by Trent's season mark of .419. Stephen Born (.417), second team All-League outfielder Robert Currie (.337) and first team All-League catcher Adrian Chinnery (.314) also hit over .300 for the season.
Gillingham heads the Navy rotation and ranks nationally in a number of pitching categories, but left semifinal game one with an injury. Starting pitchers Stephen Moore and George Coughlin earned the two shutout wins for the Mids in games two and three of the semifinals. Navy's pitching staff is also home to second team All-League relief pitcher Jett Meenach who has accumulated a 7-0 record and four saves to go along with a stingy 1.69 ERA.
Lehigh was 7-5 in league play, while Navy was tied atop the league standings with an 8-4 record when the Mountain Hawks and Mids met on April 18-19 at Legacy Park. After being swept in a Saturday doubleheader, the Mountain Hawks were able to claim both Sunday games to earn a series split with the Mids. Navy's starting pitching helped the Mids earn a 4-0 win in game one before the Mids captured a 21-1 victory in game two. A game-winning two-run home run from Donnelly backed a complete-game effort from Stephens to help Lehigh to a 3-2 win in Sunday's opener before Boswick fired 7.2 scoreless innings in the nightcap to help the Mountain Hawks to a 5-4 victory as Lehigh swept the Sunday doubleheader. Nalesnik led Lehigh with a .364 (4-for-11) batting average in the series.
The winner of the championship series earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Lehigh will be looking to capture its second-ever Patriot League crown.
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team returns to the Patriot League championship series for the second-straight season when the Mountain Hawks head to Navy for a best-of-three series Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon from Navy's Max Bishop Stadium, while Sunday's if-necessary game is slated for 1 p.m. Free video of all three games is available on the Patriot League Network.
Lehigh wrapped up regular-season league play with a 12-8 record to earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament before beating No. 3 Holy Cross in a best-of-three semifinal series. Navy earned the top seed after compiling a league record of 13-8 before taking the final two games of a three game series with No. 4 Lafayette in the semifinals. The winner of the championship series earns the Patriot League's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Mountain Hawks won the first and the third games of last weekend's semifinal series against Holy Cross to secure Lehigh's second-straight trip to the championship series. Lehigh scored in five innings of the 6-2 game-one win at Legacy Park to back the strong pitching performances of juniors Kevin Long and Kevin Boswick. The Mountain Hawks trailed the Crusdaers 4-2 in game two before rallying to tie the game at four in the top of the ninth, but a Holy Cross home run helped the Crusaders walk off with a 7-4 victory to send the semifinal series to a decisive game three Sunday. Dominant pitching from senior Nick Stephens led Lehigh to a 7-1 victory in the winner-take-all game three as the senior allowed just one unearned run on three hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in a complete-game effort. Sophomore Patrick Donnelly led Lehigh offensively throughout the series with a .417 (5-for-12) batting average, while sophomore Jacen Nalesnik and junior Mike Garzillo each tallied four RBI.
Lehigh carries a 23-26 overall record into the championship series and gone 18-8 over its most recent 26 games. The Mountain Hawks have been led offensively by a pair of unanimous first team All-League selections in senior Justin Pacchioli and Garzillo. Pacchioli leads the team with a .364 batting average that ranks second in the Patriot League. He leads the league and ranks seventh nationally with an on-base percentage of .502 in addition to his league-best 28 stolen bases and 44 runs scored. Garzillo follows with a batting average of .356. The junior leads the Patriot League in RBI (47), home runs (10) and slugging percentage (.622). Nalesnik ranks second on the team with 32 RBI, while first team All-League selection Donnelly follows with 30 RBI.
Stephens (4-5, 3.27 ERA) and fellow seniors Nick Macaione (2-4, 3.00 ERA) and J.R. Edwards (1-3, 3.49 ERA), along with Long (4-1, 6.00 ERA), have held down Lehigh's starting rotation this season. Long earned the win in game one of the semifinal series after throwing 5.2 one-run innings. Stephens earned the complete-game win in game three after throwing a three-hitter with seven strikeouts. The Mountain Hawk bullpen has been a major reason for Lehigh's success, as the team is 9-0 in league games (regular season and postseason) when leading after six innings. Boswick earned the save in game one of the semifinal series and has allowed just one run in his last 22 innings on the mound. He's struck out 19 while walking just three during that time. Senior Jordan Smith has secured three saves this season, while sophomore Connor Donovan has picked up two and junior Brandon Kulp and sophomore David Young have secured one a piece.
The Mids earned the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 13-7 mark in league play that is part of a 36-18 overall record. Navy has made the tournament for five straight years, but is making its first championship series appearance since 2011 when the Mids won the title at home as the top seed.
After dropping game one of the semifinals 10-8 to No. 4 Lafayette last weekend, Navy bounced back with 12-0 and 8-0 wins in games two and three, respectively, to earn a spot in the championship series. Navy opened league play with a four-game sweep of Bucknell before dropping three of four at Holy Cross. The Mids took three of four from Lafayette before splitting with Lehigh and ending regular-season league play with a 3-1 series win at Army. The Mids are 22-7 at home this season.
Navy is led by a trio of major Patriot League award winners in Coach of the Year Paul Kostacopoulos, Player of the Year Sean Trent and Pitcher of the Year Luke Gillingham. Navy leads the Patriot League with a .286 team batting average, led by Trent's season mark of .419. Stephen Born (.417), second team All-League outfielder Robert Currie (.337) and first team All-League catcher Adrian Chinnery (.314) also hit over .300 for the season.
Gillingham heads the Navy rotation and ranks nationally in a number of pitching categories, but left semifinal game one with an injury. Starting pitchers Stephen Moore and George Coughlin earned the two shutout wins for the Mids in games two and three of the semifinals. Navy's pitching staff is also home to second team All-League relief pitcher Jett Meenach who has accumulated a 7-0 record and four saves to go along with a stingy 1.69 ERA.
Lehigh was 7-5 in league play, while Navy was tied atop the league standings with an 8-4 record when the Mountain Hawks and Mids met on April 18-19 at Legacy Park. After being swept in a Saturday doubleheader, the Mountain Hawks were able to claim both Sunday games to earn a series split with the Mids. Navy's starting pitching helped the Mids earn a 4-0 win in game one before the Mids captured a 21-1 victory in game two. A game-winning two-run home run from Donnelly backed a complete-game effort from Stephens to help Lehigh to a 3-2 win in Sunday's opener before Boswick fired 7.2 scoreless innings in the nightcap to help the Mountain Hawks to a 5-4 victory as Lehigh swept the Sunday doubleheader. Nalesnik led Lehigh with a .364 (4-for-11) batting average in the series.
The winner of the championship series earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Lehigh will be looking to capture its second-ever Patriot League crown.
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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