March 24, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - It's opening day all over again, as the Patriot League Baseball schedule begins for every team with four-game sets over the weekend. The highlight of the slate has preseason favorite Navy going to defending champion Lafayette. The Mids and Leopards were separated by just one point in the preseason poll, and have the top two marks in non-League action so far. The remaining series will have Bucknell going to Army and Holy Cross visiting Lehigh. Patriot League series will be played on every weekend until the end of the League regular season on May 3, and the four-game sets feature doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.24.08 
Player of the Week (March 17-23)
Cole White, Army Sr., OF, Midland, Texas.
White receives Player of the Week recognition after posting a .647 batting average with a home run, seven RBI and 10 runs scored during a 3-1 week for the Black Knights. He also hit three doubles and a triple, and stole three bases. White drew a pair of walks to put his on-base percentage at .727 for the week. He had a pair of perfect contests at the plate, going 5-for-5 with his first career grand slam, five RBI and four runs scored in a 14-7 win over Dartmouth on Friday and notching a 4-for-4 effort with three runs scored, an RBI and two steals in a 12-1 triumph over Central Connecticut State on Saturday. He posted a 1.118 slugging percentage over the four games. White earns his first Player of the Week nod of the year, and the second of his career.
Pitcher of the Week (March 17-23)
Mark McCoy, Navy Sr., P, Parkland, Fla.
McCoy pitched into extra innings to lead the Midshipmen to a 2-1 victory against Princeton on Saturday. He went eight innings in the contest scheduled for seven, allowing just one run on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts. McCoy threw 97 pitches, including 66 for strikes, and retired 15 consecutive hitters between the first and sixth innings. McCoy earns his first Pitcher of the Week award of the year, and second of his career.
Rookie of the Week (March 17-23)
Clint Moore, Army Fr., SS, Greensboro, N.C.
Moore helped Army close its spring trip with a 3-1 record last week by posting a .429 batting average with two home runs, 10 RBI and six runs scored in the four contests. He had at least two hits and two RBI in every game, and scored at least one run in each contest. Moore also recorded three doubles, and posted a .500 on-base percentage and .857 slugging percentage. Both of his home runs came in a 19-18 loss to Dartmouth on Friday. He posted a season-high three hits in a 12-1 win over Central Connecticut State on Saturday, and twice set a high with three RBI. Moore earns his first Rookie of the Week honor.
Patriot League Notebook
Mid-Week Tuneups
Every team has at least one more mid-week game to get ready for the League openers, and each squad has one or more of those contests at home. Lafayette and Army open their home schedules on Tuesday, with the Leopards taking on Penn and the Black Knights facing Quinnipiac. Lafayette's contest is a first-round game in the Liberty Bell Classic, which it won last year. Lehigh lost to Lafayette in the finals of last year's Liberty Bell Classic, and plays its first round game at home against Villanova on Tuesday. Navy wraps up a nine-game homestand against Towson on Wednesday, while Bucknell plays three total games on Tuesday and Wednesday and Holy Cross plays contests at home against Connecticut and at Boston College.
All Done Down South
Army became the last team to come back from a spring trip to Florida, and did so in style with a 3-1 record in Tampa and Bradenton last week. Lafayette split its final two contests in Bradenton. Navy (4-1), Army (3-1) and Lafayette (3-2) all posted winning records last week, while Bucknell split four games. The six Patriot League teams combined for a 13-11 record during the week.
Patriot League Players Filling up Watch Lists
Navy's Mitch Harris, Army's Cole White and Bucknell's Mathew Wilson have all been named to the 2008 Roger Clemens Award Watch List. They are part of a group of 78 pitchers up for the award as college baseball's pitcher of the year. That same trio was also named to the Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Year Watch List before the season. Wilson and teammate Jason Buursma are two of the 30 candidates named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award watch list, while Holy Cross' Brendan Akashian is one of 36 catchers named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch list, which goes to the top catcher in the country.
Four-Team Tournament
A change in the format adds another team and another round to this year's Patriot League Baseball Tournament. The best-of-three semifinals will be at the site of the top two seeds on May 10 and 11, with the best-of-three Patriot League Championship at the site of the highest remaining seed on May 17-18.
Team Notebooks
Army The Black Knights closed their spring trip in fine fashion, posting a 3-1 record last week. They scored at least 12 runs in every game, including 18 in a one-run loss to Dartmouth on Friday. They pounded out 60 hits while scoring 56 runs in the four contests. Cole White reached base eight straight times at one point during Friday's doubleheader against Dartmouth. The Black Knights had seven home runs in the doubleheader, falling just one shy of the school record for home runs in a doubleheader. They have 16 home runs this year after hitting 12 all of last season. Tony Capozzi became the first Army player since 1994 to hit for the cycle, pulling off the feat with a 4-for-5 effort in the loss to Dartmouth. Army opens its home schedule against Quinnipiac on Tuesday, then begins Patriot League action with a four-game set at home against Bucknell over the weekend.
Bucknell The Bison split four games last week, with both of the victories coming in extra innings. They claimed a 4-3 win in 10 innings in the home opener against Mount St. Mary's on Thursday, and defeated Delaware State, 10-7, in eight innings on Sunday. Jason Buursma picked up the win in relief in both outings, and scored the game-tying run in the ninth inning against Mount St. Mary's and had the game-winning RBI in the 10th. The Bison lead the Patriot League with a .303 batting average. The Bison have mid-week home games on Tuesday and Wednesday, then play four games at Army to open the Patriot League slate over the weekend.
Holy Cross The Crusaders dropped a pair of home contests, falling to LeMoyne, 15-5, on Thursday and losing to Quinnipiac, 7-3, on Saturday. They have lost six contests in a row. Holy Cross begins Patriot League action with four games at Lehigh this weekend.
Lafayette The Leopards closed their time in Brandenton, Florida with a loss on Monday and win on Tuesday, then took two of three games at Delaware on Thursday and Friday. Joe Ezekiel smashed a pair of home runs and drove in five in a 10-7 triumph over the Blue Hens on Thursday. He also had an RBI in a 2-1 win over St. Louis on Tuesday. Freshman Corey Shea did not allow an earned run over 5.1 innings in the victory over the Billikens. He got a no-decision in his first collegiate start. The Leopards are tied for the Patriot League lead with a 5.11 earned run average for the year. Lafayette hosts a first round game in the Liberty Bell Classic, which it won last year, against Penn on Tuesday. The Leopards begin defense of their Patriot League Championship when they host a four-game set against Navy over the weekend.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks had a 1-3 record last week, losing at Temple on Tuesday and then dropping two of three games at Penn State over the weekend. Greg Angelo had a strong outing in the 3-1 win over the Nittany Lions on Sunday. Angelo allowed one run and four hits over eight innings to pick up the victory. He leads the Patriot League with a 2.18 ERA, while Lehigh is tied for first in the League with a 5.11 team ERA. Joe Ercolano was 3-for-5 with two RBI in the contest. The Mountain Hawks host Villanova in the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic on Tuesday. Lehigh lost in the finals to Lafayette a year ago. The Mountain Hawks begin Patriot League play with four games at home against Holy Cross on Saturday and Sunday.
Navy The Midshipmen continued to play well on their nine-game homestand, posting a 4-1 record last week with a win over Belmont Abbey on Thursday and victories in three of four contests against Princeton over the weekend. Navy is 6-2 on the homestand, which concludes on Wednesday against Towson. In Navy's four victories during the week, the starting pitching combined for a 2.28 ERA in 23.2 innings. Mitch Harris belted three doubles and a triple in batting .417 (5-for-12) against Princeton over the weekend. Navy has played 16 of its 21 games at home this year, and holds a 10-6 mark at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Navy's Renaldo Hollins has eight stolen bases for the year, and needs one more to tie the program career record of 59 held by Jonathan Johnston (2003-06). The Mids, picked to win the Patriot League by coaches and sports information directors in the preseason, will travel to defending champion Lafayette for a four-game set to open the League schedule this weekend.
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