BETHLEHEM, Pa. – While the temperature may disagree, baseball season officially gets underway on February 1, and Lehigh is hard at work prepping for its first game of the season, less than a month away. The Mountain Hawks lost three everyday starters from last year’s team, but return 24 players, including five seniors, and welcome one of the top recruiting classes in the Northeast. Head coach Sean Leary, now in his 13th season at the helm of the Brown and White, is especially excited to get the season underway.
“I am very excited to get back to work this spring,” said Leary. “The team had a very productive fall and worked hard throughout our off-season lifting and conditioning programs. We will continue to work hard on our fundamentals every day in preparation for the season opener at Virginia.”
Lehigh plays its first game of the year on February 22, traveling to Virginia for a four game series. The Cavaliers are ranked No. 17 in the Baseball America pre-season poll. Virginia will not be the only tough test Lehigh will face this year, as the Mountain Hawks will face the likes of No. 10 Miami, Notre Dame and Penn State, not to mention a very tough Patriot League schedule.
“We have an outstanding schedule this spring,” continued Leary. “Our program aspires to become more distinctive both regionally and nationally. In order to achieve this, we need to challenge against the best programs in the country. Playing Virginia, Miami, Notre Dame, Boston College and Penn State will definitely give us that opportunity while also preparing our team for the rigors of our Patriot League season.”
Patriot League play starts on March 29, when Holy Cross comes to Bethlehem for a pair of double headers. The Mountain Hawks will play home and home doubleheaders against Navy on April 5 and 6. Starting with the backend of its series with Navy, Lehigh will play nine of its next ten games at home, including a pair of doubleheaders against archrival Lafayette.
Lehigh closes out its 2008 regular season with a home doubleheader against Coppin State on May 7, beginning at 12 p.m. The first round of the Patriot League Tournament will start on May 10 at the site of the highest seed.
