Lehigh University Athletics
Leary unveils 2016 baseball schedule
12/17/2015 10:20:00 AM | Baseball
2016 Schedule
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Head coach Sean Leary has unveiled the challenging 2016 Lehigh baseball schedule that will see the defending Patriot League Champion Mountain Hawks face 15 teams that won 20-plus games a season ago and feature 18 games at Legacy Park. Lehigh opens up the 2016 campaign at Norfolk State on Feb. 20 and the Mountain Hawks will make their home debut on March 13 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
"The intention of every schedule is to prepare us for Patriot League play and we certainly found some opponents that we know will challenge us this year," said Leary, who enters his 21st season at the helm. "We like the way the schedule is set up with several weekend series prior to the start of league play and really feel that the format and strength of the non-league schedule will get us ready for a chance to defend our title heading into Patriot League play."
The Mountain Hawks kick off the season with a three-game series at Norfolk State Feb. 20-21. The Spartans are coming off their most successful season in their Division I era after finishing the 2015 campaign with a 27-16 record. After heading to Coppin State for a midweek game March 2, Lehigh will travel to West Virginia to face Marshall in a another three-game weekend series set for March 5-6.
"One of our initiatives is to find places we haven't played before, so we're excited about the opportunity to go to Norfolk and Marshall," said Leary. "Not only will we play good competition, but we'll get to give the guys different experiences and the early-season trips always lead to a great team bonding atmosphere."
Following a March 9 game at Villanova, Lehigh will play a four-game weekend series against Fairleigh Dickinson on March 12-13. The first two contests will be played at FDU before Lehigh welcomes the Knights to Legacy Park for a 12 p.m. doubleheader on March 13.
The Mountain Hawks will then travel to Winter Haven, Fla. for spring break where Lehigh will play six games against four different opponents in a five-day period at the RussMatt Invitational. Lehigh opens the spring break trip against Bradley, a team that earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last season with a 36-21 record, before taking on Maine in the nightcap of a doubleheader on March 16. The Mountain Hawks will also play a three-game set against Dartmouth and a single game against UMass while in Florida.
Lehigh will then return home to host a pair of midweek games against NYIT and Penn on March 22-23 before facing Manhattan in a three-game series with the first game being played at Legacy Park March 25 and a doubleheader to be played at Manhattan the following day. The Mountain Hawks will host Delaware in the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic March 29 before welcoming Saint Peter's the following day in the final tune-up prior to the start of league play.
Lehigh will open Patriot League play at Bucknell on April 2-3. Each league series will feature four contests comprised of two doubleheaders. The Mountain Hawks finished 12-8 in league play last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot league Tournament. Lehigh beat No. 3 Holy Cross in the semifinals before taking down top-seeded Navy in the championship as the Mountain Hawks earned their second-ever league crown and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"As the defending champs, we know that teams are going to circle us on their schedule," said Leary. "Virtually every team in our league will be stronger than they were last year because there wasn't a team that lost a ton of front-line guys. The league is going to be very strong from top to bottom so we'll need to be prepared."
The Bison went 8-12 in the Patriot League a season ago, falling short of a spot in the postseason. Lehigh won a 3-1 series against Bucknell in last year's meeting.
The Mountain Hawks will head to Rider or La Salle for the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic on April 5 before opening up a six-game homestand that begins with a midweek matchup against Coppin State on April 6. Lehigh will host Holy Cross for a four-game league series April 9-10 in a re-match of last year's Patriot League semifinals. Like Lehigh, the Crusaders also went 12-8 in league play a season ago, but the Mountain Hawks earned the higher seed thanks to a 3-1 series win in the regular-season meeting. Lehigh closes out the homestand with a midweek tune-up against Rider on April 12.
Lehigh will hit the road for its next six games beginning with a four-game set at Navy April 16-17 in a re-match of last year's Patriot League Championship series. Lehigh and Navy split the regular-season series and the Mids finished league play with a 13-7 record to earn the top seed in the tournament. The Mountain Hawks won the first and third games of a dramatic three-game championship series in Annapolis, Md. to earn the league crown.
After a doubleheader at UMES April 20, Lehigh will return to Legacy Park on April 23-24 to host archrival Lafayette in the final regular-season home league series. Lehigh claimed a 3-1 series win against the Leopards a season ago. Lafayette finished 9-11 in the Patriot League to lock up the final postseason spot. Lehigh will then host Iona on April 26 before heading to NYIT the following day.
The Mountain Hawks close out league play at Army West Point on April 30 and May 1. The Black Knights were last in the Patriot League a season ago with a 6-14 league mark.
Lehigh wraps up the regular season with a May 4 game at Saint Peter's before taking on an opponent that has yet to be determined on May 7-8.
The best-of-three Patriot League semifinal series will take place on May 14-15 at the site of the two highest seeds. The championship series is set for May 21-22 at the highest remaining seed. The winner earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
"We're excited about our potential for 2016," said Leary. "We'll work on progressing week-to-week with new faces in the lineup and rotation, but I think our schedule will really help prepare us to make another postseason run."
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Head coach Sean Leary has unveiled the challenging 2016 Lehigh baseball schedule that will see the defending Patriot League Champion Mountain Hawks face 15 teams that won 20-plus games a season ago and feature 18 games at Legacy Park. Lehigh opens up the 2016 campaign at Norfolk State on Feb. 20 and the Mountain Hawks will make their home debut on March 13 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
"The intention of every schedule is to prepare us for Patriot League play and we certainly found some opponents that we know will challenge us this year," said Leary, who enters his 21st season at the helm. "We like the way the schedule is set up with several weekend series prior to the start of league play and really feel that the format and strength of the non-league schedule will get us ready for a chance to defend our title heading into Patriot League play."
The Mountain Hawks kick off the season with a three-game series at Norfolk State Feb. 20-21. The Spartans are coming off their most successful season in their Division I era after finishing the 2015 campaign with a 27-16 record. After heading to Coppin State for a midweek game March 2, Lehigh will travel to West Virginia to face Marshall in a another three-game weekend series set for March 5-6.
"One of our initiatives is to find places we haven't played before, so we're excited about the opportunity to go to Norfolk and Marshall," said Leary. "Not only will we play good competition, but we'll get to give the guys different experiences and the early-season trips always lead to a great team bonding atmosphere."
Following a March 9 game at Villanova, Lehigh will play a four-game weekend series against Fairleigh Dickinson on March 12-13. The first two contests will be played at FDU before Lehigh welcomes the Knights to Legacy Park for a 12 p.m. doubleheader on March 13.
The Mountain Hawks will then travel to Winter Haven, Fla. for spring break where Lehigh will play six games against four different opponents in a five-day period at the RussMatt Invitational. Lehigh opens the spring break trip against Bradley, a team that earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last season with a 36-21 record, before taking on Maine in the nightcap of a doubleheader on March 16. The Mountain Hawks will also play a three-game set against Dartmouth and a single game against UMass while in Florida.
Lehigh will then return home to host a pair of midweek games against NYIT and Penn on March 22-23 before facing Manhattan in a three-game series with the first game being played at Legacy Park March 25 and a doubleheader to be played at Manhattan the following day. The Mountain Hawks will host Delaware in the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic March 29 before welcoming Saint Peter's the following day in the final tune-up prior to the start of league play.
Lehigh will open Patriot League play at Bucknell on April 2-3. Each league series will feature four contests comprised of two doubleheaders. The Mountain Hawks finished 12-8 in league play last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot league Tournament. Lehigh beat No. 3 Holy Cross in the semifinals before taking down top-seeded Navy in the championship as the Mountain Hawks earned their second-ever league crown and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"As the defending champs, we know that teams are going to circle us on their schedule," said Leary. "Virtually every team in our league will be stronger than they were last year because there wasn't a team that lost a ton of front-line guys. The league is going to be very strong from top to bottom so we'll need to be prepared."
The Bison went 8-12 in the Patriot League a season ago, falling short of a spot in the postseason. Lehigh won a 3-1 series against Bucknell in last year's meeting.
The Mountain Hawks will head to Rider or La Salle for the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic on April 5 before opening up a six-game homestand that begins with a midweek matchup against Coppin State on April 6. Lehigh will host Holy Cross for a four-game league series April 9-10 in a re-match of last year's Patriot League semifinals. Like Lehigh, the Crusaders also went 12-8 in league play a season ago, but the Mountain Hawks earned the higher seed thanks to a 3-1 series win in the regular-season meeting. Lehigh closes out the homestand with a midweek tune-up against Rider on April 12.
Lehigh will hit the road for its next six games beginning with a four-game set at Navy April 16-17 in a re-match of last year's Patriot League Championship series. Lehigh and Navy split the regular-season series and the Mids finished league play with a 13-7 record to earn the top seed in the tournament. The Mountain Hawks won the first and third games of a dramatic three-game championship series in Annapolis, Md. to earn the league crown.
After a doubleheader at UMES April 20, Lehigh will return to Legacy Park on April 23-24 to host archrival Lafayette in the final regular-season home league series. Lehigh claimed a 3-1 series win against the Leopards a season ago. Lafayette finished 9-11 in the Patriot League to lock up the final postseason spot. Lehigh will then host Iona on April 26 before heading to NYIT the following day.
The Mountain Hawks close out league play at Army West Point on April 30 and May 1. The Black Knights were last in the Patriot League a season ago with a 6-14 league mark.
Lehigh wraps up the regular season with a May 4 game at Saint Peter's before taking on an opponent that has yet to be determined on May 7-8.
The best-of-three Patriot League semifinal series will take place on May 14-15 at the site of the two highest seeds. The championship series is set for May 21-22 at the highest remaining seed. The winner earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
"We're excited about our potential for 2016," said Leary. "We'll work on progressing week-to-week with new faces in the lineup and rotation, but I think our schedule will really help prepare us to make another postseason run."
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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