Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks open season in North Carolina
2/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team will open up its 2010 season with a busy weekend that will see the team play four games in three days. The Mountain Hawks get to avoid the snow and head down to Wilmington, N.C. for the Hughes Bros. Challenge which begins on Friday. The Brown and White will kick off the tournament Friday afternoon as it takes on the host UNC Wilmington at 4 p.m. Lehigh will also do battle with the Liberty Flames and the Morehead State Eagles throughout the weekend.
It will be a weekend of firsts for the Mountain Hawks as they face each team for the first time in team history. UNC Wilmington, coming off a 37-22 season, was picked to finish second in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and is receiving votes in two national polls. The Seahawks opened up their season last weekend by taking two of three against Jacksonville in Florida. UNC Wilmington is led by junior catcher Cody Stanley and senior designated hitter Robbie Monday who were both named to the preseason All-CAA team. The Seahawks will send senior Seth Frankoff (0-0, 7.36) to the hill against Lehigh.
In the Mountain Hawks second game of the tournament they will face Liberty, who like UNC Wilmington was picked to finish second in its respective conference. A member of the Southern Conference, the Flames are coming off a season that saw them go 33-21 and return seven position players this season. Liberty also opened up its season last weekend as it swept Kennesaw State taking all three games. Junior Keegan Linza (1-0, 1.50) will get the nod against the Brown and White on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Lehigh will close out the Hughes Bros. Challenge with two games against Morehead State on Saturday and Sunday. The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference, but their senior shortstop Drew Lee was named preseason Co-Player of the Year in the conference. Morehead State opened up its season last weekend and earned a 2-2 split against Mercer and dropped below .500 after a midweek loss to No. 13 Louisville. Junior Jeff Arnold (0-0, 9.00) will pitch in game one for the Eagles and either senior Quentin Morgan (0-1, 40.50) or sophomore Tyler Hieneman (0-0, 5.40) will go in the second game. The Brown and White and the Eagles will play on Saturday at 5 p.m. and on Sunday at 10 a.m.
The Mountain Hawks pitching rotation to start the season will feature senior Andrew Berger as the No. 1 starter, junior Kevin Mihalik as the No. 2, his classmate Mike Lebo in the third spot and rounding out the staff will be sophomore Cory Kent. Kent had the most success last season, finishing with a 4-2 record in 40.2 innings on the mound.
Make sure to check Lehighsports.com for full recaps of all of this weekend’s action on the diamond.
Lehigh Baseball Season Preview with Cassie Willard '11
