Lehigh University Athletics
Cerminaro, Novalis grab league's attention
9/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Bethlehem, PA – Fresh off the heels of their first-ever share of the Patriot League regular season title, two Mountain Hawks have been recognized for their individual accomplishments on the diamond. Senior pitcher Dave Cerminaro has been named the Patriot League’s Pitcher of the Week, and sophomore third baseman Jesse Novalis has earned Player of the Week honors for the second time. Lehigh’s four game sweep of Lafayette over the weekend clinched a share of the league’s regular season title, and the Mountain Hawks will take part in the post-season tournament for the first time since 1996.
Cerminaro earns pitcher of the Week honors after tossing a complete game, four-hit shutout against arch-rival Lafayette on Saturday. The senior struck out six Leopards in the win, as he recorded his league-best eighth complete game of the season. The victory, Cerminaro’s eighth of 2002, also sets a new Lehigh record for wins in a season. He leads the Mountain Hawks and is second in the league with his 2.27 earned run average. His ERA is an even more impressive 1.59 against Patriot League opponents, where he holds a 4-1 record with five complete games.
Novalis was named the league’s Player of the Week for the second time this season after hitting .385 and reaching base safely in all four games in the Lafayette series. However, his weekend will likely be remembered for a single at-bat in game two of the series. Lehigh was down by three runs with two outs and two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Novalis crushed an 0-1 pitch for a three-run homer over the scoreboard in left-center field to tie the game at 5-5. Lehigh eventually won the contest in ten innings, and that victory clinched a spot in the league tournament for the Brown & White. The home run was also his league-leading tenth of the season, tying a Lehigh single season record.
Lehigh has already established a school record with 28 victories on the season, and the Mountain Hawks’ 13-7 mark is tied with Navy for tops in the league. Lehigh is the second seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament, and the Mountain Hawks will battle third-seeded Lafayette once again in a one-game playoff. The winner will then take on host Navy in a best-of-three series. The Lehigh-Lafayette game gets underway at Noon on Saturday, May 11. All games will be played at Navy’s Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis, and all games involving the Mountain Hawks will be broadcast live on the Lehigh web site at www.lehigh.edu.
For more information, contact Jeff Tourial, Lehigh Sports Media Relations.
