Lehigh baseball hands out end-of-season awards
7/7/2010 7:48:00 PM | Baseball
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BETHLEHEM – The Lehigh baseball program finished its 2010 season with a trip to the Patriot League semifinals, marking the Mountain Hawks first tournament appearance since their 2006 Patriot League Championship. The Mountain Hawks finished with a record of 23-27, including a 12-8 record against Patriot League opponents, good for second place in the regular season standings. Last month, Patriot League Coach of the Year, Sean Leary handed out his team awards for this past season.
The Athlete of the Year Award, which is presented to the team member who makes the most outstanding athletic contribution to the accomplishments of the team, was given to senior pitcher Andrew Berger.
A right-hander, who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks just last week, Berger capped off his Lehigh career by earning a spot on the All-Patriot League first team. Berger went 5-2 with an ERA of 3.36, second lowest in the league last season. He struck out 42 batters in 61.2 innings of work and walked just 14.
Senior Greg Angelo was awarded the Coaches’ Award, which is given to the individual who made significant contributions to the well being of the team in terms of attitude, improvement, or special leadership. Angelo posted a pitching record of 3-3, with an ERA of 3.25 in his final season as a Mountain Hawk. On April 11, the southpaw threw a no-hitter in Lehigh’s 2-0 win over rival Lafayette; the program’s first no hitter in 22 years.
The Scholar-Athlete Award, which is given to the student-athlete who in the eyes of his teammates exemplifies the ideal of the scholar-athlete, was awarded to senior Patrick Groome. Off the field, Groome earned a 3.72 grade point average in finance and accounting, earning him a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. On the diamond, the infielder appeared in 17 games, batting .240.
The Anderson-Hartzell Pitching Award is sponsored by Lehigh baseball alumni and former Major League pitchers Craig Anderson ‘60 and Paul Hartzell ’75. This award was given to Berger and fellow senior Ken Longernecker for their pitching efforts throughout the season, and their careers at Lehigh. Longernecker led the Mountain Hawks with seven wins and pitched to a 3.86 ERA in just over 60 innings of work. The award had not been given since the 2006 season when Kyle Collina and Joe Matteo shared the honor.
Lehigh loses six seniors to graduation, but returns its entire starting group of field players, including three All-Patriot League performers in 2011.
Story written by Michelle Hutchinson
