Lehigh University Athletics
Five Lehigh players earn all-league recognition
5/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Senior first baseman Forrest Doane was named to the all-league first team after saving his most productive campaign at Lehigh for his last. The captain has started 44 of the team’s 45 games, belting a career high 11 home runs while driving in a personal best 39 runs during the 2005 regular season. His eleven long-balls more than doubled his three-year total of seven prior to this season. Defensively, Doane has been as stellar as any first baseman in the Patriot League. In 308 chances, Doane has committed just two errors for a .994 fielding percentage.
Junior outfielder Andrew Smith garnered first team recognition after a break-out campaign in 2005. After belting only one home run in his first two seasons, Smith has exploded to rip 12 homers to this point in 2005. The 12 blasts are a Lehigh single season record. In addition to leading the team and Patriot League in home runs, Smith has established a new Lehigh single season mark with 49 runs batted in. The 49 RBIs are tops in the league, and Smith leads the league with 100 total bases.
Sophomore catcher Matt McBride is a first team selection in 2005, after earning second team honors in 2004. McBride leads the Patriot League with 17 doubles to this point after smashing a record 20 in 2004. McBride has started every game in the third spot in the lineup this season, and he is currently tied for the team lead with 33 runs scored. McBrides’ name is also on the watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the nation’s top collegiate catcher.
Freshman center fielder Joe Ercolano captured first team accolades after a stellar debut season with the Brown and White. Ercolano, the team’s lead-off hitter and everyday center fielder has made a memorable impression on the competition, hitting a Patriot League-best .420 on the season. As of the latest NCAA rankings released May 8, Ercolano’s .420 average is 15th in the nation.
Lehigh senior pitcher Jack Muscalus earns All-Patriot League Second Team honors for the third time in his career. Muscalus is 5-2 in 2005 as Lehigh’s no. 1 starter. Earlier this season, he won his 25th career game – a Lehigh record. The 25 all-time victories are tied for the Patriot League career mark as well. Muscalus was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2002.
As a team, the 2005 Mountain Hawks have tied the school record for the second-most wins in a season with 25. In the process, Lehigh (25-19-1) has qualified for the Patriot League’s postseason tournament for the fourth consecutive season – a first for the program.
Lehigh finished with a 12-8 record in league play, second to Army who captures the league’s regular season crown for the second straight year. In the process, Army (35-11 overall, 17-3 Patriot League) earned all four major league awards. Sophomore shortstop Kyle Scoggin is the Patriot League Player of the Year, classmate Nick Hill is the Pitcher of the Year, freshman pitcher/outfielder Cole White is the Rookie of the Year, and head coach Joe Sottolano was voted Coach of the Year by his peers.
Lehigh returns to the diamond on Saturday, as the second-seeded Mountain Hawks take on No. 3 Bucknell in the Patriot League tournament elimination game. The Lehigh-Bucknell winner will earn the right to take on regular season champion and host Army in a best-of-three series. The Lehigh-Bucknell tilt is scheduled to get underway at noon from Army’s Doubleday Field. All Lehigh postseason games will be broadcast live on the Lehigh web site at lehighsports.com, with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports.
