Saturday, May 14
Worcester, Mass.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
No. 2 Holy Cross
Lehigh set for Patriot League Semifinals at Holy Cross
5/13/2016 8:41:00 AM | Baseball
Game Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The third-seeded Lehigh baseball team will travel to second-seeded Holy Cross this weekend for a best-of-three Patriot League Semifinal series. A 1 p.m. doubleheader will be played Saturday, with Sunday's if necessary game also slated for a 1 p.m. start. Free video of the entire semifinal series will be available on the Patriot League Network. The winner of Lehigh-Holy Cross will advance to next weekend's Patriot League Championship series against the victor of top-seeded Navy vs. No. 4 Bucknell.
The defending champion Mountain Hawks are making their third-straight postseason appearance after making it to the 2014 championship series and winning the league title in 2015. Lehigh claimed the No. 3 seeded in the postseason tournament with its 9-10 record against league opponents. The Mountain Hawks wrapped up the regular season by winning 10 of their final 11 games to move their overall record to 24-27.
Lehigh is led offensively by 2016 Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Garzillo. The three-time first team All-League second baseman wrapped up the regular season hitting .324 overall with league-best marks in both slugging percentage (.559) and runs scored (48), in addition to his 33 RBI and seven home runs. Junior David Young follows with a .317 batting average, while second team All-League junior Jacen Nalesnik is hitting .313 with 45 runs scored and 27 RBI. Second team All-League junior Patrick Donnelly leads the Patriot League and ranks 66th nationally with 47 RBI.
Senior Kevin Long (3-4, 5.51 ERA) and sophomores Peter Moore (6-3, 3.90 ERA), Mark Washington (5-1, 2.06 ERA) and Sam Ashey (4-5, 4.43 ERA) have been consistent weekend starters on the mound. Second team All-League senior Kevin Boswick leads the Lehigh bullpen with four saves, two wins and a 3.28 ERA. Moore ranks 14th nationally in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.69), while he and Long lead the pitching staff with 44 strikeouts apiece.
The Crusaders earned the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament after finishing Patriot League play with a 14-6 record that was part of a 27-24 overall mark. Holy Cross is making its fourth appearance in the Patriot League Tournament in the last five years. The Crusaders are 10-7 at home this season.
Holy Cross is led offensively by second team All-League outfielder Bill Schlich's .306 batting average. Bobby Indeglia follows with a .278 clip. First team All-League pick Anthony Critelli wrapped up the regular season hitting .276 with team-best marks in RBI (34), runs scored (29) and home runs (9). The Crusaders finished the regular season with an overall team batting average of .250 and a mark of .243 in Patriot League play.
First team All-League selection Brendan King heads the Holy Cross starting rotation. King went 6-2 with a 3.03 ERA and 60 strikeouts overall this season, while compiling a 4-0 record and 1.09 ERA in five Patriot League starts. Justin Finan (1-4, 3.88 ERA) and Phil Reese (3-2. 4.35 ERA) also made five league starts, while George Capen (3-3, 3.18 ERA) and Pat McGowan (1-1, 3.16 ERA) split the fourth weekend starting role. Relief pitcher Sean Gustin (2-2, 3.91 ERA) leads the Patriot League with eight saves this season, while Jon Escobar (1-1, 2.08 ERA) and Joe Cravero (5-2, 2.80 ERA) have also been key pieces in the Holy Cross bullpen.
Lehigh and Holy Cross met on April 10-11 at Legacy Park in Bethlehem, Pa. as the Crusaders were able to take three of four games from the Mountain Hawks. Holy Cross got out to an early 5-0 lead through two innings of the series opener en route to a 6-1 win. A game-winning RBI single from junior John Scarr secured a 5-4 walkoff win in the bottom of the ninth inning in the second game of the series. Boswick earned the win on the mound in the game two victory after holding the Crusaders to two runs on three hits with four strikeouts in the final 3.1 innings of action. Lehigh rallied to force extra innings in the third game of the series as an RBI single from Donnelly knotted the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh. Both teams were held scoreless for the next five innings before a solo home run from Indeglia in the top of the 13th inning allowed the Crusaders to walk away with a 5-4, 13-inning victory. Holy Cross then picked up a 12-3 win in the series finale to secure the 3-1 series victory. Young led Lehigh offensively against the Crusaders as he went 6-for-11 (.545) at the plate in the four games combined. Sophomore James Bleming hit .500 (8-for-16), while Garzillo batted .429 (6-for-14) in the regular-season series.
The winner of this weekend's series advances to the Patriot League Championship series next weekend at the sight of the highest remaining seed.
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The third-seeded Lehigh baseball team will travel to second-seeded Holy Cross this weekend for a best-of-three Patriot League Semifinal series. A 1 p.m. doubleheader will be played Saturday, with Sunday's if necessary game also slated for a 1 p.m. start. Free video of the entire semifinal series will be available on the Patriot League Network. The winner of Lehigh-Holy Cross will advance to next weekend's Patriot League Championship series against the victor of top-seeded Navy vs. No. 4 Bucknell.
The defending champion Mountain Hawks are making their third-straight postseason appearance after making it to the 2014 championship series and winning the league title in 2015. Lehigh claimed the No. 3 seeded in the postseason tournament with its 9-10 record against league opponents. The Mountain Hawks wrapped up the regular season by winning 10 of their final 11 games to move their overall record to 24-27.
Lehigh is led offensively by 2016 Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Garzillo. The three-time first team All-League second baseman wrapped up the regular season hitting .324 overall with league-best marks in both slugging percentage (.559) and runs scored (48), in addition to his 33 RBI and seven home runs. Junior David Young follows with a .317 batting average, while second team All-League junior Jacen Nalesnik is hitting .313 with 45 runs scored and 27 RBI. Second team All-League junior Patrick Donnelly leads the Patriot League and ranks 66th nationally with 47 RBI.
Senior Kevin Long (3-4, 5.51 ERA) and sophomores Peter Moore (6-3, 3.90 ERA), Mark Washington (5-1, 2.06 ERA) and Sam Ashey (4-5, 4.43 ERA) have been consistent weekend starters on the mound. Second team All-League senior Kevin Boswick leads the Lehigh bullpen with four saves, two wins and a 3.28 ERA. Moore ranks 14th nationally in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.69), while he and Long lead the pitching staff with 44 strikeouts apiece.
The Crusaders earned the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament after finishing Patriot League play with a 14-6 record that was part of a 27-24 overall mark. Holy Cross is making its fourth appearance in the Patriot League Tournament in the last five years. The Crusaders are 10-7 at home this season.
Holy Cross is led offensively by second team All-League outfielder Bill Schlich's .306 batting average. Bobby Indeglia follows with a .278 clip. First team All-League pick Anthony Critelli wrapped up the regular season hitting .276 with team-best marks in RBI (34), runs scored (29) and home runs (9). The Crusaders finished the regular season with an overall team batting average of .250 and a mark of .243 in Patriot League play.
First team All-League selection Brendan King heads the Holy Cross starting rotation. King went 6-2 with a 3.03 ERA and 60 strikeouts overall this season, while compiling a 4-0 record and 1.09 ERA in five Patriot League starts. Justin Finan (1-4, 3.88 ERA) and Phil Reese (3-2. 4.35 ERA) also made five league starts, while George Capen (3-3, 3.18 ERA) and Pat McGowan (1-1, 3.16 ERA) split the fourth weekend starting role. Relief pitcher Sean Gustin (2-2, 3.91 ERA) leads the Patriot League with eight saves this season, while Jon Escobar (1-1, 2.08 ERA) and Joe Cravero (5-2, 2.80 ERA) have also been key pieces in the Holy Cross bullpen.
Lehigh and Holy Cross met on April 10-11 at Legacy Park in Bethlehem, Pa. as the Crusaders were able to take three of four games from the Mountain Hawks. Holy Cross got out to an early 5-0 lead through two innings of the series opener en route to a 6-1 win. A game-winning RBI single from junior John Scarr secured a 5-4 walkoff win in the bottom of the ninth inning in the second game of the series. Boswick earned the win on the mound in the game two victory after holding the Crusaders to two runs on three hits with four strikeouts in the final 3.1 innings of action. Lehigh rallied to force extra innings in the third game of the series as an RBI single from Donnelly knotted the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh. Both teams were held scoreless for the next five innings before a solo home run from Indeglia in the top of the 13th inning allowed the Crusaders to walk away with a 5-4, 13-inning victory. Holy Cross then picked up a 12-3 win in the series finale to secure the 3-1 series victory. Young led Lehigh offensively against the Crusaders as he went 6-for-11 (.545) at the plate in the four games combined. Sophomore James Bleming hit .500 (8-for-16), while Garzillo batted .429 (6-for-14) in the regular-season series.
The winner of this weekend's series advances to the Patriot League Championship series next weekend at the sight of the highest remaining seed.
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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