Tuesday, March 29
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
8-14
16
vs
7
Delaware
16-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Delaware
0
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
3
7
11
4
Lehigh
1
5
0
0
0
8
0
2
X
16
19
0
Lehigh earns dominant 16-7 win over Delaware in first round of Liberty Bell Classic
3/29/2016 8:03:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team got out to a quick 6-0 lead before using an eight-run sixth inning to help capture an impressive 16-7 win over Delaware Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the Liberty Bell Classic at Legacy Park. Lehigh collected season-best marks in hits (19) and runs (16), while seven Mountain Hawks recorded multiple-hit games. Lehigh improves to 8-14 overall, while Delaware falls to 16-9.
The Mountain Hawks will face Rider in the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic next Tuesday and the winner of that game will advance to the tournament championship game the following week, which is held at Citizen's Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"We're starting to break out offensively and that is great to see," said head coach Sean Leary. "We got some safety squeezes down and some bunts and hit by pitches, so I really liked the fact that we were doing all the little things well early. We scrapped in the beginning and then our guys really swung the bats well from about the fifth inning on."
The top four hitters in Lehigh's lineup, senior Mike Garzillo, juniors Jacen Nalesnik and Patrick Donnelly, and sophomore James Bleming, all recorded three RBI apiece in the balanced offensive attack. Senior Anthony Rinaldi went 4-for-5 at the plate, while he and freshman Jeff Shanfeldt both added an RBI. Senior starting pitcher Brandon Kulp earned the win after hurling the first four innings.
"The offense that Kulp faced today is one of the best offenses that we'll see all year," said Leary. "They've put up some big numbers and gotten some big wins. Brandon went out and set a tone and gave us a chance to win. Sam Ashey and Connor Donovan were also terrific in relief."
Kulp sat the Blue Hens down in order in the top of the first before the Mountain Hawks struck in the bottom half of the frame. Bleming worked a one-out walk before stealing second. Donnelly knocked a single to center field to score Bleming and give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead through one.
Following another quick inning from Kulp, junior Connor Donovan led off the bottom of the second with a double to left center before Rinaldi sent a base knock through the left side. A Delaware error on a grounder from Shanfeldt allowed Donovan to score before Shanfeldt and Rinaldi moved into scoring position on a Blue Hen balk. Nalesnik laid down a bunt and Delaware made an error at the plate that allowed the two Mountain Hawks to score. Garzillo drew a two-out walk before Donnelly doubled Nalesnik and Garzillo home to give the Mountain Hawks a 6-0 lead at the end of two innings.
The Blue Hens were able to get two runs back in the third as back-to-back doubles were followed by a pair of RBI groundouts to pull Delaware within 6-2. Blue Hen reliever Matt Hornich kept the Mountain Hawks off the board for the next two frames before Delaware used four hits to plate two runs in the top of the fifth, but Lehigh sophomore reliever Sam Ashey got the Blue Hens to leave the bases loaded to keep the Mountain Hawks ahead 6-4.
Ashey and Donovan kept the Blue Hens scoreless in the top of the sixth before Lehigh opened the game up with eight runs thanks to five hits and two Delaware errors in the bottom of the frame. Nalesnik led off the frame with a triple before later recording a two-run single as the Mountain Hawks sent 12 batters to the plate in the stanza. Garzillo and Bleming both knocked a pair of RBI hits during the inning as Lehigh jumped out to a commanding 14-4 advantage. The Mountain Hawks added on a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the eighth thanks to hits from Nalesnik, Bleming and Garzillo.
Donovan threw three strong innings of relief before Delaware put together a three-run rally in the top of the ninth, but it wasn't nearly enough as the Mountain Hawks walked away with the 16-7 win.
Kulp earned the win and finished with a line of four runs on five hits with three strikeouts in 4.0 innings thrown. Delaware starter Zach Flowers suffered the loss.
Lehigh returns to Legacy Park Wednesday at 3 p.m. to host Saint Peter's. Free video will be available on the Patriot League Network.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kulp, Brandon (1-1)
L: Flowers, Zach (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Ake, Jeremy 1 ; Scott, Calvin 1 ; Rapp, Adam 1
RBI: Mohollen, Kevin 1 ; Tierno, Nick 1 ; Nardo, Diaz 1 ; Patten, Nick 2 ; Ake, Jeremy 1 ; Baker, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tierno, Nick 1 ; Niggebrugge, Austin 1 ; Krusinski, Mike 1 ; Scott, Calvin 1 ; Rapp, Adam 2 ; Dean, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Donnelly, Patrick 1 ; Donovan, Connor 2
3B: Nalesnik, Jacen 1 ; Bleming, James 1
RBI: Nalesnik, Jacen 3 ; Bleming, James 3 ; Garzillo, Mike 3 ; Donnelly, Patrick 3 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 1
SH: Nalesnik, Jacen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nalesnik, Jacen 4 ; Bleming, James 3 ; Garzillo, Mike 2 ; Young, David 1 ; Donovan, Connor 1 ; Price, Mackey 1 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 2 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 2
SB: Bleming, James 1 ; Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Young, David 1
HBP: Price, Mackey 1 ; Shanfeldt, Jeff 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
4
RBI
1
AB
5
R
4
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
OF/IF
/ Baseball
3B
/ Baseball
1B/P
/ Baseball2B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
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C
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