Lehigh makes final preparations for Friday's NCAA Regional showdown with No. 2 LSU
5/28/2015 6:16:00 PM | Baseball, Tickets
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BATON ROUGE, La. – On a hot, sunny afternoon the Lehigh baseball team made its final preparations for Friday's NCAA Regional opener against No. 2 national seed LSU with a 75-minute workout Thursday on Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium. Temperatures climbed into the upper-80s but relatively low humidity kept conditions manageable for the Mountain Hawks, who will play their first NCAA Regional game since 2006 Friday at 3 p.m. CT.
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"We had a great practice," Lehigh head coach Sean Leary said. "We had a day off yesterday and I thought the energy was high. We were excited to be back on the field, and naturally, when you come into an environment like this it's hard not to get pumped up."
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"Today was a good workout," added senior reliever Jordan Smith. "It was a little hotter today. We got used to the heat. I was good to get our minds focused a little bit after traveling all day yesterday. We were sharp. I liked the way we practiced. We were hopping around. We've got our goals in sight and are just excited for tomorrow."
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Lehigh's practice was the last of the day, following LSU, UNC Wilmington, and Tulane.  Each team was given an hour and fifteen minutes of time to take batting practice, field ground balls and shag fly balls in sessions that were open to the public.
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Following Thursday's practice senior Justin Pacchioli and junior Mike Garzillo met with members of the local media. Leary addressed a throng of local reporters prior to the start of Lehigh's workout.
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"This is sort of the Duke of college baseball," Leary told the local gathering about playing in Baton Rouge. "If you are going to have a challenge and play a one seed, we know we are going to have our hands full no matter what. Our guys just thought it would be awesome to be in an environment where people appreciate the game, and have the full stands. We also realize that comes with tremendous talent on the other side.
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"I think our guys are genuinely enthusiastic about an opportunity to be in this type of environment on this type of stage."
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Lehigh arrived in New Orleans around noon on Wednesday to overcast skies and thunderstorms. The Mountain Hawks enjoyed some free time in the French Quarter Wednesday afternoon.
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Coincidentally, former Lehigh standout Matt McBride was in town as his Albuquerque Isotopes faced the New Orleans Zephyrs Wednesday night. The team took in the game and supported McBride in a 2-for-5 effort at Zephyr Field, but the hosts came away with a 4-3 win.
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Following the game, Lehigh departed for Baton Rouge and after breakfast Thursday morning, the Mountain Hawks toured several of LSU's athletic facilities.
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Lehigh and LSU will kick off regional play in game one of the Baton Rouge Regional at 3 p.m. CT from Alex Box Stadium. UNC Wilmington and Tulane will follow at 7 p.m.
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The Lehigh-LSU game will be televised live on SEC Network (Service Electric Dial Position 177 and 660-HD) as well as WatchESPN. All non-LSU games can be seen online for free via ESPN3.
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Streaming audio for all Lehigh games at the Baton Rouge Regional will be available for free at Lehighsports.com, with Friday's pregame coverage beginning at 2:45 p.m. CT.
BATON ROUGE, La. – On a hot, sunny afternoon the Lehigh baseball team made its final preparations for Friday's NCAA Regional opener against No. 2 national seed LSU with a 75-minute workout Thursday on Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium. Temperatures climbed into the upper-80s but relatively low humidity kept conditions manageable for the Mountain Hawks, who will play their first NCAA Regional game since 2006 Friday at 3 p.m. CT.
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"We had a great practice," Lehigh head coach Sean Leary said. "We had a day off yesterday and I thought the energy was high. We were excited to be back on the field, and naturally, when you come into an environment like this it's hard not to get pumped up."
Â
"Today was a good workout," added senior reliever Jordan Smith. "It was a little hotter today. We got used to the heat. I was good to get our minds focused a little bit after traveling all day yesterday. We were sharp. I liked the way we practiced. We were hopping around. We've got our goals in sight and are just excited for tomorrow."
Â
Lehigh's practice was the last of the day, following LSU, UNC Wilmington, and Tulane.  Each team was given an hour and fifteen minutes of time to take batting practice, field ground balls and shag fly balls in sessions that were open to the public.
Â
Following Thursday's practice senior Justin Pacchioli and junior Mike Garzillo met with members of the local media. Leary addressed a throng of local reporters prior to the start of Lehigh's workout.
Â
"This is sort of the Duke of college baseball," Leary told the local gathering about playing in Baton Rouge. "If you are going to have a challenge and play a one seed, we know we are going to have our hands full no matter what. Our guys just thought it would be awesome to be in an environment where people appreciate the game, and have the full stands. We also realize that comes with tremendous talent on the other side.
Â
"I think our guys are genuinely enthusiastic about an opportunity to be in this type of environment on this type of stage."
Â
Lehigh arrived in New Orleans around noon on Wednesday to overcast skies and thunderstorms. The Mountain Hawks enjoyed some free time in the French Quarter Wednesday afternoon.
Â
Coincidentally, former Lehigh standout Matt McBride was in town as his Albuquerque Isotopes faced the New Orleans Zephyrs Wednesday night. The team took in the game and supported McBride in a 2-for-5 effort at Zephyr Field, but the hosts came away with a 4-3 win.
Â
Following the game, Lehigh departed for Baton Rouge and after breakfast Thursday morning, the Mountain Hawks toured several of LSU's athletic facilities.
Â
Lehigh and LSU will kick off regional play in game one of the Baton Rouge Regional at 3 p.m. CT from Alex Box Stadium. UNC Wilmington and Tulane will follow at 7 p.m.
Â
The Lehigh-LSU game will be televised live on SEC Network (Service Electric Dial Position 177 and 660-HD) as well as WatchESPN. All non-LSU games can be seen online for free via ESPN3.
Â
Streaming audio for all Lehigh games at the Baton Rouge Regional will be available for free at Lehighsports.com, with Friday's pregame coverage beginning at 2:45 p.m. CT.
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