April 21, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Heading into the final weekend of play, none of the Patriot League teams have clinched a berth in the 2008 League Tournament. Holy Cross and Army both won three of four games at home over the weekend to stay in a tie for first place in the Patriot League standings at 10-6, and each just need to win one game this weekend to seal a Tournament berth.
Patriot League Baseball Release - 4.21.08 
Player of the Week (April 14-April 20)
Michael Speciale, Navy So., OF, Pearland, Texas
Speciale becomes the first student-athlete this season to win his second Player of the Week honor after posting a .385 batting average (10-for-26) with eight runs scored, one home run and seven RBI during the week for the Mids. He did most of the damage in Patriot League action, with an 8-for-15 effort with seven runs scored and a home run in four League games. Speciale tied the Navy record with five runs in a 16-6 win over Bucknell on Saturday, becoming one of just four players to record the feat. He also homered in that contest. Speciale previously won the first Player of the Week honor of the 2008 season.
Pitcher of the Week (April 14-April 20)
Cole White, Army Sr., P, Midland, Texas
White recorded a stellar outing for the second week in a row, throwing a seven-inning complete-game shutout to lead Army past Lehigh, 5-0. White allowed six hits, all singles, and did not walk a batter while recording six strikeouts to pick up his third-career shutout. He faced five batters over the minimum, and did not allow a Lehigh runner to reach third base all game. He kept the game in a scoreless tie until Army broke through for four runs in the fourth inning. It was the only complete-game shutout for an Army pitcher this season. White has allowed just seven hits and one run in his last 14 innings of work. White earns his second-career Pitcher of the Week honor to go with a pair of Player of the Week honors, including one this season.
Rookie of the Week (April 14-April 20)
Mike Guadagnini, Navy Fr., IF, Virginia Beach, Va.
Guadagnini played a key role in Navy's doubleheader sweep over Bucknell on Saturday, going 6-for-8 with a home run, six RBI and two runs scored on the day. He was 3-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored in Navy's 4-0 win in the opener, and went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in the 16-6 triumph in the nightcap. Guadagnini posted a .412 batting average for the week, going 7-for-17 in five games. The home run was his fourth of the season, just one shy of the Navy freshman record. Guadagnini wins his first Rookie of the Week award.
Patriot League Notebook
Nobody's In, Nobody's Out After Weekend Action
None of the Patriot League teams have clinched or been officially eliminated from a berth in the 2008 League Tournament. Holy Cross and Army both won three of four games at home over the weekend to stay in a tie for first place in the Patriot League standings at 10-6, and each just need to win one game this weekend to seal a Tournament berth. Navy and Bucknell are tied for third at 8-7 in the League, and will play the final game of their series in Lewisburg on Monday. Lafayette and Lehigh are still in the race as well, though the Mountain Hawks will be eliminated if Bucknell beats Navy on Monday.
Four More Games For Teams to Decide Fate
With spots and seeds still up for grabs, the final weeked of four-game series will shape the 2008 Patriot League Tournament field. Holy Cross pays a visit to Navy in a key matchup, with both teams still in contention to make the field and earn the right to host at least one round. Army will try to move closer to a Tournament berth and top seed when it hosts Lafayette, who is still in the hunt at 7-9. Bucknell will also try to play its way in when it hosts Lehigh to close the season.
2008 Patriot League Tournament
The 2008 Patriot League Baseball Tournament will take place on the weekends of May 10-11 and May 17-18, with the semifinals on the first weekend and the Championship on the second. The top four teams at the end of the regular season make the field, with each round featuring a three-game series played at the higher seed.
Tiebreaking Procedures
The following is the Patriot League tie-breaking procedure. In the case of ties in the final regular-season standings, the following process will be used until all ties are broken and the seeding process is completed (ties will be broken in rank order beginning with the highest seed):
In the case of a two-way tie, the following process is used;
Head-to-head competition the higher seed will go to the team that has won the most League contests played against the other team involved in the tie.
A comparison of records will be made between the tied institutions starting at the highest possible seed and continuing through the lowest seed, if necessary.
Record versus out-of-League common opponents.
Coin flip.
In the case of multiple ties, the following process will be used;
Note The entire process for multiple-team ties must be completed. The Patriot League does not revert back to the two-way tie formula once the multiple-team tie has been resolved.
Records between the tied teams will be evaluated to determine if one team won more contests against the other tied institutions.
A comparison of records will be conducted for each team starting with the highest seed not involved in the tie and continuing through the lowest seed, if necessary.
Record versus out-of-League common opponents.
Coin flip (two teams) or draw (multiple teams).
A Place in the Record Books
Some of the top Patriot League seniors are making their way up the lists in the career record books. Army's Cole White, Bucknell's Jason Buursma and Navy's Mitch Harris and Mark McCoy have all earned a spot in mulitple categories. White ranks in the top 10 in batting average, hits, home runs and victories. Buursma has a top 10 ranking in home runs, earned run average and saves. Harris and McCoy have earned top 10 spots through their pitching success at Navy, with both players on the list for victories and strikeouts and Harris' 2.21 career earned run average placing just .001 behind the top mark in League annals. Five other seniors have a spot on one top 10 list.
Bucknell's Buursma a Finalist for Lowe's Senior "CLASS" Award
Bucknell senior co-captain Jason Buursma has been selected as one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the baseball division The honor will be presented in June to the top senior student-athlete in collegiate baseball who demonstrates the qualities both on and off the field of what it means to be a complete student-athlete, with specific attention paid to achievements in the classroom and community. Bucknell and Oklahoma are the only two schools in the nation to have finalists on the ballot both years the award has been presented after Ryan Gryskevicz was on the list a year ago for the Bison.
Patriot League Continues to Earn ECAC Accolades
A Patriot League student-athlete won the ECAC's Player of the Week honor for the fourth time in as many weeks, with Army's Chris Simmons claiming the award on Thursday. He joined Navy's Thomas Hamilton, Army's Cole White and Bucknell's John Avanzino as winners of the honor. Simmons had some company this week as well, with Bucknell's Mathew Wilson claiming the ECAC Pitcher of the Week award to give the Patriot League a sweep of the weekly honors.
Army Receives CollegeBaseballInsider Team of the Week Award
On the strength of a historical four-game sweep of archrival Navy, Army was named Collegebaseballinsider.com national Team of the Week on Thursday. The Black Knights, who registered a perfect 6-0 showing last week, defeated Iona and Manhattan in non-League action, then swept a four-game Patriot League series at Navy. Army completed only the second-ever four-game sweep in Army-Navy series history (the Black Knights registered the first in 2005) over the weekend. Army joins an esteemed grouping of teams to earn Collegebaseballinsider.com Team of the Week honor this season, including Georgia, Southern Miss, Missouri, Kentucky and Rice.
Team Notebooks
Army The Black Knights pulled into a first-place tie with Holy Cross by taking three of four games against Lehigh over the weekend. They also finished a four-game sweep at Navy with a 7-4 win on Monday, and have won eight of their last nine Patriot League contests. They have won 10 of the last 12 overall games and are 14-9 since starting the season 2-11. Army has reached double figures in hits 19 times this season, and eight times in the last 12 games. Cole White registered the first complete game shutout by an Army pitcher this year in a 5-0 win over the Mountain Hawks on Sunday. White now has a place in the Patriot League career top 10 in batting average, hits, home runs and victories. Chris Simmons has a .467 average in the last 12 games, raising his season average 74 points to .333 during that span. The Black Knights conclude the Patriot League schedule with a four-game series at home against Lafayette.
Bucknell The Bison dropped a pair of games to Navy on Saturday, but came back with a win on Sunday. After a rainout in Sunday's second game, the Bison host the Mids in the series finale on Monday afternoon. The teams are tied for third place at 8-7 in the League going into the game. Ben Yoder scored a team-high five runs in the first three games against the Mids. Mathew Wilson improved to 2-0 in his two Patriot League starts by holding Navy to two runs in seven innings in an 8-2 win on Sunday. Wilson has 40 strikeouts in just 32.1 innings for the year. Jason Buursma became the fifth player in Bucknell history to top 60 strikeouts in a season. Buursma leads the Patriot League with 62 Ks. Buursma and Wilson are both in the career League top 10 in earned run average, while Buursma also has a top 10 spot on the home runs and saves lists. The Bison finish their League schedule by hosting Lehigh this weekend.
Holy Cross The Crusaders matched Army by winning three of four games over the weekend, and are tied with the Black Knights at 10-6 in the Patriot League. Holy Cross defeated Lafayette in three of four contests, with a trio of stellar pitching performances. Matt Thater threw eight scoreless innings in a 12-5 win on Sunday, while Matt Shapiro and Bobby Holmes both allowed just one unearned run in their victories on Saturday. The Crusaders are one win away from clinching their first Patriot League Tournament berth since 2001 and third of all-time. They finish the regular season with four games at Navy over the weekend.
Lafayette The Leopards fell to 7-9 in League play after dropping three of four contests at Holy Cross over the weekend. Lafayette's lone win was a 6-3 triumph on Sunday, with Steve Roberts picking up the victory with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. The Leopards conclude their Patriot League schedule with a four-game set at Army this weekend.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks won the opener at Army, but dropped the last three games to lose three of four in the series. They will be eliminated from contention for a Patriot League Tournament berth if Bucknell beats Navy on Monday. Joe Matteo fired a complete-game one-hitter with nine strikeouts to lift Lehigh to a 4-1 win over the Black Knights. Matteo had a no-hitter broken up in the sixth inning, and the strikeout total tied a season-high. The final strikeout was the 200th of his career, placing Matteo third all-time at Lehigh and seventh in Patriot League history. Joe Ercolano went 10-for-18 at the plate last week, and moved to third in Patriot League history with 220 career hits. The Mountain Hawks play their final Patriot League series at Bucknell on Saturday and Sunday.
Navy The Midshipmen pulled into a tie for third place with Bucknell by taking two of the first three games of the series with the Bison in Lewisburg. The series finale will be played on Monday afternoon after Sunday's second game was rained out. Navy played games on five consecutive days last week (April 12-16), and will now play on four straight days (April 19-22) after the rainout forced Monday's contest. Mitch Harris fired his fourth-career shutout and 11th complete game in a 4-0 win in the series opener against the Bison. Navy notched a 16-6 win over the Bison on Saturday, marking its highest run total in a Patriot League game since scoring 17 against Holy Cross on April 21, 2001. Navy's bottom-six hitters in the lineup combined to hit .633 (19-for-30) with 15 runs scored and 15 RBI in the contest. Renaldo Hollins recorded his 60th career stolen base at Bucknell on Saturday, setting a new program record and moving to sixth in League history. The Mids have a chance to move up the standings when they finish the season with four games against League co-leader Holy Cross over the weekend.
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