Garzillo named Patriot League Player of the Year, five Mountain Hawks earn All-League recognition
5/10/2016 11:08:00 AM | Baseball
Patriot League Release
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh baseball senior Mike Garzillo has been awarded Patriot League Player of the Year honors in addition to being a unanimous first team All-Patriot League selection, it was announced by the league on Tuesday. Senior Kevin Boswick and juniors Patrick Donnelly, Jacen Nalesnik and Connor Donovan all earned second team All-Patriot League recognition.
Garzillo becomes Lehigh's first Patriot League Player of the Year since 2006 when former standout Matt McBride, who is currently on the Oakland A's 40-man roster, earned the honors. By earning first team All-League honors this season, Garzillo also becomes the first-ever Lehigh baseball player to be a three-time first team All-Patriot League honoree. The Wind Gap, Pa. 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. Garzillo did a lot of his damage in Patriot League action where he led all players in slugging (.672) and total bases (45) while placing third in batting average (.373), on-base percentage (.468) and runs scored (16). He hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of game one against Lafayette, a victory that sparked Lehigh closing the regular season by winning 10 of its final 11 contests.
Garzillo set a number of new Lehigh career records this season including hits (234), doubles (60), at bats (733) and games played (202), while he also currently ranks second in RBI (136), home runs (20), runs (142) and triples (10). His strong senior season follows a junior campaign in which he was awarded All-American laurels, drafted by the New York Yankees and named the MVP of the Patriot League Tournament after leading Lehigh to the league title.
Boswick earned second team All-Patriot League honors as a relief pitcher after leading the Lehigh bullpen with four saves this season. Boswick stepped up in Patriot League
play, compiling two wins, three saves and 1.76 ERA in seven appearances. He earned league wins against Holy Cross and Lafayette, while securing saves versus Lafayette and Army. Boswick struck out 31 batters in 35.2 innings this season and earns the first All-Patriot League honor of his career.
Donnelly earned second team All-Patriot League laurels after tallying a league-best 47 RBI this season, which currently ranks fifth on Lehigh's single-season RBI leaderboard with postseason contests still to come. The third baseman also knocked in a league-leading 19 RBI in against Patriot League opponents and led Lehigh with 12 multiple RBI games and 18 multiple hit games. Donnelly wrapped up the regular season with a .294 batting average, 33 runs scored and four home runs and the Bethlehem, Pa. native earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors on April 25. This is the second All-League honor of Donnelly's career as he earned first team laurels as a sophomore a season ago.
Nalesnik transitioned into Lehigh's leadoff hitter role this season with great success. The outfielder wrapped up the regular season hitting .313 with 27 RBI, 45 runs scored and five home runs. His on-base percentage of .402 ranks second-best on the team. He has tallied 17 multiple-hit games so far this season and earned Patriot League Player of the Week laurels on March 21. This is the first All-Patriot League honor of Nalesnik's career.
Donovan earned second team All-League recognition as Lehigh's designated hitter. The junior finished the regular season hitting .272 with 26 RBI, 22 runs scored and five home runs. Three of those home runs came in Lehigh's league-opening series at Bucknell. Donovan also made 14 apperances out of Lehigh's bullpen, tallying a 3.68 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched. This is the first All-Patriot League honor of Donovan's career.
The Mountain Hawks finished the regular season by winning 10 of their final 11 games to move their overall record to 24-27. Lehigh went 9-10 in Patriot League play to earn the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. The defending champion Mountain Hawks will head to No. 2 Holy Cross this weekend for the Patriot League Semifinals. It marks the first time the Mountain Hawks have made three consecutive trips to the postseason while capturing 20-plus wins since 2004-06.
2016 Baseball All-Patriot League Team
Player of the Year: Mike Garzillo, Lehigh (Sr., 2B)
Pitcher of the Year: Luke Gillingham, Navy (Sr., SP)
Rookie of the Year: Noah Song, Navy (Fr., SP)
Coach of the Year: Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy
First-Team All-Patriot League%
SP: Luke Gillingham, Navy (Sr.)*
SP: Brendan King, Holy Cross (Jr.)
RP: Sam Sorenson, Navy (Sr.)
C: Adrian Chinnery, Navy (Jr.)*
1B: Anthony Critelli, Holy Cross (Jr.)
2B: Mike Garzillo, Lehigh (Sr.)*
SS: Kris Lindner, Army West Point (Jr.)*
3B: Sam Clark, Bucknell (Jr.)
OF: Michael Coniglio, Lafayette (Sr.)
OF: Robert Currie, Navy (Sr.)
OF: Connor Deneen, Navy (Sr.)
OF: Brett Smith, Bucknell (Jr.)
DH: Stephen Born, Navy (So.)
Second-Team All-Patriot League
SP: Andrew Andreychik, Bucknell (Sr.)
SP: Noah Song, Navy (Fr.)
RP: Kevin Boswick, Lehigh (Sr.)
C: Jon Rosoff, Army West Point (So.)
1B: Spencer Stokes, Bucknell (Sr.)
2B: Joe Ogren, Bucknell (Sr.)
SS: Steven Cohen, Lafayette (So.)
3B: Patrick Donnelly, Lehigh (Jr.)
OF: Jacen Nalesnik, Lehigh (Jr.)
OF: Bill Schlich, Holy Cross (Jr.)
DH: Connor Donovan, Lehigh (Jr.)
% - 13 players due to tie in voting
*- Unanimous first-team selection
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh baseball senior Mike Garzillo has been awarded Patriot League Player of the Year honors in addition to being a unanimous first team All-Patriot League selection, it was announced by the league on Tuesday. Senior Kevin Boswick and juniors Patrick Donnelly, Jacen Nalesnik and Connor Donovan all earned second team All-Patriot League recognition.
Garzillo becomes Lehigh's first Patriot League Player of the Year since 2006 when former standout Matt McBride, who is currently on the Oakland A's 40-man roster, earned the honors. By earning first team All-League honors this season, Garzillo also becomes the first-ever Lehigh baseball player to be a three-time first team All-Patriot League honoree. The Wind Gap, Pa. 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. Garzillo did a lot of his damage in Patriot League action where he led all players in slugging (.672) and total bases (45) while placing third in batting average (.373), on-base percentage (.468) and runs scored (16). He hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of game one against Lafayette, a victory that sparked Lehigh closing the regular season by winning 10 of its final 11 contests.Garzillo set a number of new Lehigh career records this season including hits (234), doubles (60), at bats (733) and games played (202), while he also currently ranks second in RBI (136), home runs (20), runs (142) and triples (10). His strong senior season follows a junior campaign in which he was awarded All-American laurels, drafted by the New York Yankees and named the MVP of the Patriot League Tournament after leading Lehigh to the league title.
Boswick earned second team All-Patriot League honors as a relief pitcher after leading the Lehigh bullpen with four saves this season. Boswick stepped up in Patriot League
play, compiling two wins, three saves and 1.76 ERA in seven appearances. He earned league wins against Holy Cross and Lafayette, while securing saves versus Lafayette and Army. Boswick struck out 31 batters in 35.2 innings this season and earns the first All-Patriot League honor of his career.Donnelly earned second team All-Patriot League laurels after tallying a league-best 47 RBI this season, which currently ranks fifth on Lehigh's single-season RBI leaderboard with postseason contests still to come. The third baseman also knocked in a league-leading 19 RBI in against Patriot League opponents and led Lehigh with 12 multiple RBI games and 18 multiple hit games. Donnelly wrapped up the regular season with a .294 batting average, 33 runs scored and four home runs and the Bethlehem, Pa. native earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors on April 25. This is the second All-League honor of Donnelly's career as he earned first team laurels as a sophomore a season ago.
Nalesnik transitioned into Lehigh's leadoff hitter role this season with great success. The outfielder wrapped up the regular season hitting .313 with 27 RBI, 45 runs scored and five home runs. His on-base percentage of .402 ranks second-best on the team. He has tallied 17 multiple-hit games so far this season and earned Patriot League Player of the Week laurels on March 21. This is the first All-Patriot League honor of Nalesnik's career.
Donovan earned second team All-League recognition as Lehigh's designated hitter. The junior finished the regular season hitting .272 with 26 RBI, 22 runs scored and five home runs. Three of those home runs came in Lehigh's league-opening series at Bucknell. Donovan also made 14 apperances out of Lehigh's bullpen, tallying a 3.68 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched. This is the first All-Patriot League honor of Donovan's career.
The Mountain Hawks finished the regular season by winning 10 of their final 11 games to move their overall record to 24-27. Lehigh went 9-10 in Patriot League play to earn the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. The defending champion Mountain Hawks will head to No. 2 Holy Cross this weekend for the Patriot League Semifinals. It marks the first time the Mountain Hawks have made three consecutive trips to the postseason while capturing 20-plus wins since 2004-06.
2016 Baseball All-Patriot League Team
Player of the Year: Mike Garzillo, Lehigh (Sr., 2B)
Pitcher of the Year: Luke Gillingham, Navy (Sr., SP)
Rookie of the Year: Noah Song, Navy (Fr., SP)
Coach of the Year: Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy
First-Team All-Patriot League%
SP: Luke Gillingham, Navy (Sr.)*
SP: Brendan King, Holy Cross (Jr.)
RP: Sam Sorenson, Navy (Sr.)
C: Adrian Chinnery, Navy (Jr.)*
1B: Anthony Critelli, Holy Cross (Jr.)
2B: Mike Garzillo, Lehigh (Sr.)*
SS: Kris Lindner, Army West Point (Jr.)*
3B: Sam Clark, Bucknell (Jr.)
OF: Michael Coniglio, Lafayette (Sr.)
OF: Robert Currie, Navy (Sr.)
OF: Connor Deneen, Navy (Sr.)
OF: Brett Smith, Bucknell (Jr.)
DH: Stephen Born, Navy (So.)
Second-Team All-Patriot League
SP: Andrew Andreychik, Bucknell (Sr.)
SP: Noah Song, Navy (Fr.)
RP: Kevin Boswick, Lehigh (Sr.)
C: Jon Rosoff, Army West Point (So.)
1B: Spencer Stokes, Bucknell (Sr.)
2B: Joe Ogren, Bucknell (Sr.)
SS: Steven Cohen, Lafayette (So.)
3B: Patrick Donnelly, Lehigh (Jr.)
OF: Jacen Nalesnik, Lehigh (Jr.)
OF: Bill Schlich, Holy Cross (Jr.)
DH: Connor Donovan, Lehigh (Jr.)
% - 13 players due to tie in voting
*- Unanimous first-team selection
Players Mentioned
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