BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A pair of former Lehigh standouts continue to shine on the diamond as Kyle Collina and Matt McBride have both enjoyed recent success. Collina, who is playing in the Italian League for De Angelis Godo, threw a nine-inning no-hitter that included 14 strikeouts on July 25 and led to a 3-0 win. The former Mountain Hawk threw 132 pitches that evening, 84 of which were for strikes. McBride meanwhile returned from a month long rehabilitation assignment in rookie ball and was sent to Kinston, a high Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.
Collina closed out his regular season for De Angelis Godo with that no-hit win and the Bethlehem native finished the year ranked first in the Italian League in strikeouts per nine innings, opponents batting average, hits per nine innings and opponent’s slugging percentage. He also ranked sixth in earned run average at 1.74. In 46.2 innings pitched, Collina struck out 65 batters, while walking only 13. He gave up just nine earned runs in that time and won two games.
Before being assigned to Kinston, McBride hit .380 in 50 at bats in rookie ball. In four games with Kinston thus far, he has received 17 at bats and is currently hitting .235. The former Patriot League Player of the Year will wrap up his regular season at the end of August.
