Lehigh University Athletics
McBride called up to play for Double A affiliate
5/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Matt McBride, the former Lehigh slugger, had been on a tear during his time with the Kinston Indians, a Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, this spring. The 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year was batting .405 through 31 games with 51 hits, 15 doubles and six home runs, and thought he would be taking on the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Tuesday evening in Delaware. However McBride received news earlier in the day that he had been called up to play for the Akron Aeros, a Double A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and so he made his way to Ohio for a game on Tuesday versus the Bowie Baysox. The Bethlehem native started in right field and proceeded to go 1-for-4 at the plate as Akron fell to the Baysox 7-4.
McBride was tearing up the Carolina League during his stay with Kinston as he led the league in batting with his .405 average, and also ranked first in hits (51), doubles (15), runs batted in (36), total bases (84), and OPS (1.120). McBride was second in slugging percentage (.667), on-base percentage (.405), and at bats (126).
Akron is currently leading the Southern Division of the Eastern League with a record of 22-7. The Aeros sit 2.5 games in front of second place Erie and will return to action on Wednesday morning with a 10:35 AM matchup versus Bowie. The Aeros will then hit the road for a four-game road swing at Altoona beginning on Thursday evening at 6:35 PM.
During his time at Lehigh, McBride was named the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year and spent most of his final season in the Brown and White rewriting the record book. He led the Mountain Hawks in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage and stolen bases. With those leading numbers, McBride set new season records in at bats, RBIs and hits, as well as tying for the number of games played and home runs. McBride also became Lehigh’s career leader in doubles that season with a total of 56.
