Posted: October 2, 2008
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh baseball coach Sean Leary announced the 2009 schedule on Thursday, which includes trips up and down the east coast and appearances in the Palm Beach Challenge and the Liberty Bell Classic.
Leary’s squad will spend the first month of the season on the road, traveling to the warmer-weather South throughout the latter parts of February and early March. The Mountain Hawks open up with a trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., where they will play a three-game set with Southern Miss from Feb. 20-22. The opening weekend will be a challenge for The Mountain Hawks, as the Goldan Eagles won 41 games last season, including 25 in Hattiesburg.
Lehigh will follow up its Southern Miss. trip with a tour of the Potomac region, playing Maryland-Eastern Shore and George Washington, before heading to Palm Beach for Spring Break.
Last season, the Mountain Hawks enjoyed their time in sunny Florida, as they earned a 5-1 record at the Palm Beach Challenge. The Brown and White notched some impressive victories against Boston College, Notre Dame and in-state foe Penn. The Mountain Hawks even fit in a competitive game with then No. 6 Miami before heading back to the cooler Northern climate.
This year, Lehigh will make a few more stops on their way back to campus following the break, visiting Coppin State and George Mason before heading home.
The Mountain Hawks will make their long-awaited home debut on March 17, when they host the Temple Owls at Goodman Campus at 3:30 p.m. Lehigh split the season-series last year with Temple, including a 17-15 shootout win in their last meeting on April 1.
Lehigh continues its homestand with one game against St. Jospeh’s (March 18) and back-to-back double headers with Binghamton (March 21-22).
“The '09 schedule will be very challenging,” Leary said. “Opening at Southern Mississippi will be a great way to open the season. U.S.M. is an outstanding program that will likely be ranked in the top 20 to start the season. Then playing the weekend series versus G.W., George Mason and Binghamton will be great preparation for our Patriot League schedule.”
Leary and the Mountain Hawks will begin that Patriot League schedule when they travel to Holy Cross on March 28 for a four-game set with the Crusaders.
Lehigh fans will get their first taste of home Patriot League action on April 4 at noon, when the Navy Midshipmen come to Bethlehem for four games. Army makes the trip to Goodman Campus on April 18 for back-to-back doubleheaders and Bucknell will do the same on April 28-29.
Other home matchups in 2009 include La Salle (April 14), St. Joseph’s (April 15) and Penn (double header on April 22).
Lehigh will have to travel to Easton for its annual matchup with archrival Lafayette with double headers on April 11-12. The teams met five times in 2008, with the Leopards earning a 3-2 advantage in the series.
Once again, the Brown and White will try to come away with the Liberty Bell Classic championship. Last season, Lehigh reached the finals for the second-consecutive year, before falling to Lafayette at Citizens Bank Park. The Mountain Hawks will have their first chance to continue their success in the tournament when they square off with La Salle on March 31.
Lehigh closes out the 2009 season when it travels to South Orange, N.J. on May 6 to take on Seton Hall.
The Patriot League Tournament will start on May 9 at the site of the highest seed.