BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh Athletics has teamed up with partner Yahoo! Sports to broadcast Saturday’s baseball doubleheader at Navy. The games will be broadcast live at Lehighsports.com as part of the Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast package. Saturday’s games could prove pivotal, as the twin bill marks the halfway point of the 20-game Patriot League slate.
Lehigh enters the weekend with a 4-4 league mark after dropping three of four to Holy Cross in Bethlehem last weekend. The Mountain Hawks will look to senior hurlers Kyle Collina and Jed Davitt to help turn things around. Collina ranks second in the league with 55 strikeouts, and Davitt is among the ERA leaders with a 2.90 mark. Offensively, the Mountain Hawks’ .297 team batting average is second in the league, and Lehigh is tied for the top spot with 16 home runs.
Lehigh has fared well on the road in 2006, posting an 8-4 record compared to just 4-11 at home. Strangely enough, the Mountain Hawks’ team batting average is nearly 90 points higher in road games, and their team ERA is nearly a full run lower when on the road.
Meanwhile, the Midshipmen enter the weekend with a one-game lead over second place Lafayette in the league standings. Navy (6-2 PL) is off to a terrific start under first year head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. The Midshipmen have been paced by the dominant efforts of sophomore pitcher/infielder Mitch Harris (9-1, 1.98 ERA, 63.2 innings, 92 strikeouts; .356 batting average, 50 hits) and senior Jonathan Johnston (.333, 47 hits, 35 runs scored) in 2006. Harris suffered an injury earlier this week and is not expected to start. Sophomore Mark McCoy (4-2, 4.12) is expected to start game one for Navy, with the second game’s starter still to be determined.
Saturday’s broadcasts mark the fourth and fifth Lehigh baseball games to air live on the web this season, with at least three more still to follow. For up-to-date broadcast information, please check the Lehigh baseball schedule on Lehighsports.com. Saturday’s broadcast coverage gets underway shortly before noon from Annapolis.
