Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, May 9
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
No. 3 Holy Cross
Mountain Hawks host Holy Cross in Patriot League Semifinals at Legacy Park
5/8/2015 1:40:00 PM | Baseball
Game Notes | Free Video | Live Stats | Tournament Central
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lehigh returns to the Patriot League Tournament for the second-straight season when the Mountain Hawks host Holy Cross for a best-of-three semifinal series Saturday and Sunday at Legacy Park. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon while Sunday's if-necessary game is slated for 1 p.m. Free video of all three games is available on the Patriot League Network.
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Lehigh and Holy Cross both finished Patriot League play with a 12-8 records, but since the Mountain Hawks won the regular-season series between the two squads Lehigh was awarded the No. 2 seed while Holy Cross took the No. 3 seed. Lehigh won the first three games of the regular-season series before the Crusaders were able to salvage a win in the final game. The winner of this series moves onto next weekend's Patriot League Championship to face the winner of Navy/Lafayette.
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The Mountain Hawks carry a 21-25 overall record into this weekend's series and have won 16 of their last 23 games. Lehigh is led offensively by a pair of unanimous first team All-Patriot League selections in senior Justin Pacchioli and junior Mike Garzillo. Pacchioli led Lehigh with a .343 batting average in Patriot League play and finished the regular season hitting .361 overall, the third-best mark in the Patriot League. The centerfielder leads the Patriot League with a .503 on-base percentage, 42 runs scored and 25 stolen bases. His on-base percentage ranks seventh in all of Division I, while his average mark of 0.57 stolen bases per game ranks 20th. Garzillo finished the regular season hitting a team-best .367, including a .329 mark in Patriot League play. The second baseman leads the Patriot League in slugging percentage (.615), RBI (43) and home runs (8) while his batting average ranked second-best in the Patriot League. Sophomore Patrick Donnelly also grabbed first team All-League honors after knocking in a team-best 14 runs during Patriot League play, while senior Patrick Walshe earned second team All-League laurels.
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Junior Kevin Long will get the start in game one of this weekend's series. Long is 3-1 on the season with 34 strikeouts in 27.1 innings of action. Senior J.R. Edwards gets the starting nod in game two after tallying a 3.26 ERA and 1-3 record. Lehigh's game three starter is to be determined. The Mountain Hawk bullpen has been a major reason for Lehigh's success, as the team is 7-0 in league games when leading after six innings. Junior Kevin Boswick hasn't allowed a run in his last 18.2 innings of work and holds a 2-0 record with two saves in Patriot League games. Senior Jordan Smith carries a perfect 0.00 ERA in league play with a 2-0 record and one save, while sophomore Connor Donovan has secured two saves.
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The Crusaders earned the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament after finishing Patriot League play with a 12-8 record that was part of a 23-24 overall mark. Holy Cross missed the postseason last year, but is making its third appearance in the last four years. Holy Cross opened league play with a four-game sweep at Lafayette before taking three of four from Navy. Lehigh was then able to earn a 3-1 series win on the Crusaders' home field. Holy Cross won three of four at Army before closing out league play by dropping a 3-1 series to Bucknell. Holy Cross is 12-12 in true road games this season.
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The Crusaders are led offensively by Patriot League Rookie of the Year Cam O'Neill. O'Neill currently leads the team with a .322 batting average and 55 hits, both of which rank in the top 10 in the Patriot League. His 55 hits this season are the most by a Holy Cross freshman in program history. Anthony Critelli follows with a .315 batting average and has knocked in a team-best 36 runs. Both Crittelli and shortstop Nick Lovullo were named first team All-Patriot League.
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Holy Cross has proven to have one of the strongest starting rotations in the Patriot League, as three of the Crusaders' regular weekend starters earned spots on All-Patriot League squads. Brendan King earned first team All-League laurels after accumulating a 3-1 record and 2.13 ERA, including a 1.60 ERA in league play. Donny Murray (2-3, 3.62 ERA) and Ben White (4-4, 3.39 ERA) were both named second team All-League. Sean Gustin (2-1, 1.90 ERA) earned first team All-League as a relief pitcher. He leads the Patriot League with five saves this season.
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Lehigh was 4-4 in league play, while Holy Cross stood atop the league standings with a 7-1 record when the Mountain Hawks and Crusaders met on April 11-12 in Worcester, Mass. The Mountain Hawks were able to pull out a 3-1 series victory after winning the first three games. Lehigh erased an 8-1 deficit with the help of a game-tying grand slam from Walshe in game one that propelled the Mountain Hawks to a 9-8, extra-inning win in the series opener. Lehigh scored in four innings of game two and out-hit the Crusaders 12-4 to back the strong pitching performances of Smith and fellow senior Nick Macaione in the 8-4 victory. Lehigh scored eight runs in the third inning of game three before holding off a late Holy Cross charge to earn a 10-9 victory in game three as senior starter Nick Stephens picked up the win and Donovan secured his first-career save. The Crusaders were able to walk off with a 2-1 win in the bottom of the ninth inning of the series finale to salvage the final contest and avoid a series sweep.
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Lehigh is 1-2 all-time in the tournament against Holy Cross and 3-2 in games played in Bethlehem.
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Probable pitching matchups for the semifinal series are listed below:
Game 1: RHP Kevin Long (3-1, 6.91 ERA) vs. RHP Donny Murray (2-3, 3.62 ERA)
Game 2: RHP J.R. Edwards (1-3, 3.26 ERA) vs. RHP Brendan King (3-1, 2.13 ERA)
Game 3: TBD vs. TBD
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Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lehigh returns to the Patriot League Tournament for the second-straight season when the Mountain Hawks host Holy Cross for a best-of-three semifinal series Saturday and Sunday at Legacy Park. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon while Sunday's if-necessary game is slated for 1 p.m. Free video of all three games is available on the Patriot League Network.
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Lehigh and Holy Cross both finished Patriot League play with a 12-8 records, but since the Mountain Hawks won the regular-season series between the two squads Lehigh was awarded the No. 2 seed while Holy Cross took the No. 3 seed. Lehigh won the first three games of the regular-season series before the Crusaders were able to salvage a win in the final game. The winner of this series moves onto next weekend's Patriot League Championship to face the winner of Navy/Lafayette.
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The Mountain Hawks carry a 21-25 overall record into this weekend's series and have won 16 of their last 23 games. Lehigh is led offensively by a pair of unanimous first team All-Patriot League selections in senior Justin Pacchioli and junior Mike Garzillo. Pacchioli led Lehigh with a .343 batting average in Patriot League play and finished the regular season hitting .361 overall, the third-best mark in the Patriot League. The centerfielder leads the Patriot League with a .503 on-base percentage, 42 runs scored and 25 stolen bases. His on-base percentage ranks seventh in all of Division I, while his average mark of 0.57 stolen bases per game ranks 20th. Garzillo finished the regular season hitting a team-best .367, including a .329 mark in Patriot League play. The second baseman leads the Patriot League in slugging percentage (.615), RBI (43) and home runs (8) while his batting average ranked second-best in the Patriot League. Sophomore Patrick Donnelly also grabbed first team All-League honors after knocking in a team-best 14 runs during Patriot League play, while senior Patrick Walshe earned second team All-League laurels.
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Junior Kevin Long will get the start in game one of this weekend's series. Long is 3-1 on the season with 34 strikeouts in 27.1 innings of action. Senior J.R. Edwards gets the starting nod in game two after tallying a 3.26 ERA and 1-3 record. Lehigh's game three starter is to be determined. The Mountain Hawk bullpen has been a major reason for Lehigh's success, as the team is 7-0 in league games when leading after six innings. Junior Kevin Boswick hasn't allowed a run in his last 18.2 innings of work and holds a 2-0 record with two saves in Patriot League games. Senior Jordan Smith carries a perfect 0.00 ERA in league play with a 2-0 record and one save, while sophomore Connor Donovan has secured two saves.
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The Crusaders earned the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament after finishing Patriot League play with a 12-8 record that was part of a 23-24 overall mark. Holy Cross missed the postseason last year, but is making its third appearance in the last four years. Holy Cross opened league play with a four-game sweep at Lafayette before taking three of four from Navy. Lehigh was then able to earn a 3-1 series win on the Crusaders' home field. Holy Cross won three of four at Army before closing out league play by dropping a 3-1 series to Bucknell. Holy Cross is 12-12 in true road games this season.
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The Crusaders are led offensively by Patriot League Rookie of the Year Cam O'Neill. O'Neill currently leads the team with a .322 batting average and 55 hits, both of which rank in the top 10 in the Patriot League. His 55 hits this season are the most by a Holy Cross freshman in program history. Anthony Critelli follows with a .315 batting average and has knocked in a team-best 36 runs. Both Crittelli and shortstop Nick Lovullo were named first team All-Patriot League.
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Holy Cross has proven to have one of the strongest starting rotations in the Patriot League, as three of the Crusaders' regular weekend starters earned spots on All-Patriot League squads. Brendan King earned first team All-League laurels after accumulating a 3-1 record and 2.13 ERA, including a 1.60 ERA in league play. Donny Murray (2-3, 3.62 ERA) and Ben White (4-4, 3.39 ERA) were both named second team All-League. Sean Gustin (2-1, 1.90 ERA) earned first team All-League as a relief pitcher. He leads the Patriot League with five saves this season.
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Lehigh was 4-4 in league play, while Holy Cross stood atop the league standings with a 7-1 record when the Mountain Hawks and Crusaders met on April 11-12 in Worcester, Mass. The Mountain Hawks were able to pull out a 3-1 series victory after winning the first three games. Lehigh erased an 8-1 deficit with the help of a game-tying grand slam from Walshe in game one that propelled the Mountain Hawks to a 9-8, extra-inning win in the series opener. Lehigh scored in four innings of game two and out-hit the Crusaders 12-4 to back the strong pitching performances of Smith and fellow senior Nick Macaione in the 8-4 victory. Lehigh scored eight runs in the third inning of game three before holding off a late Holy Cross charge to earn a 10-9 victory in game three as senior starter Nick Stephens picked up the win and Donovan secured his first-career save. The Crusaders were able to walk off with a 2-1 win in the bottom of the ninth inning of the series finale to salvage the final contest and avoid a series sweep.
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Lehigh is 1-2 all-time in the tournament against Holy Cross and 3-2 in games played in Bethlehem.
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Probable pitching matchups for the semifinal series are listed below:
Game 1: RHP Kevin Long (3-1, 6.91 ERA) vs. RHP Donny Murray (2-3, 3.62 ERA)
Game 2: RHP J.R. Edwards (1-3, 3.26 ERA) vs. RHP Brendan King (3-1, 2.13 ERA)
Game 3: TBD vs. TBD
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Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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