Season Preview: Veteran Core Leads Lehigh Baseball Into 2017

2/21/2017 2:18:00 PM | Baseball

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The start of the 2017 Lehigh baseball season is just days away and a promising squad led by a veteran core is poised to make a run at a third Patriot League title.

Coming off a 25-29 record last season and a third-straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament, the Mountain Hawks open the 2017 season this weekend with a trip to Davidson, N.C. for a three-day tournament hosted by Davidson College. LU will open on Friday with a matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson at 2 p.m. The Brown and White will then face the host Bobcats on Saturday at 5 p.m. before closing out the weekend with a 10 a.m. contest on Sunday against UMass-Lowell.

"Being able to get outside at this point in the season and have a full scrimmage for the first time since 1997 makes our guys even more excited about heading into opening weekend because they feel even more prepared," said head coach Sean Leary, now entering his 22nd season at the helm of the program. "This weekend and the early part of the season is more about focusing on the process. It is about taking care of yourself, throwing strikes, making the routine play and getting quality at bats. We feel if we take care of those things, we will be in good shape in the early part of the season."

Lehigh returns 26 players from last year's roster and welcomes in nine newcomers to the squad. The Brown and white returns nine regular starters to the field, including seven projected senior starters, and returns most of last year's starting rotation on the mound and many arms out of the bull pen.

The projected infield starters boast five upperclassmen, including four seniors, and two All-Patriot League performers. The six returners combined for 258 appearances last season with 245 starts, including three players that started 50 or more games a season ago.

On the corners, senior Connor Donovan will take over duties at first base after contributing mainly as a designated hitter and reliever on the mound throughout his career. Four-year starter and two-time All-Patriot League selection senior Patrick Donnelly will return to the hot corner where he posted a .923 fielding percentage last season with 113 assists on 168 total chances.

Up the middle, senior David Young will transition over to second base and junior James Bleming will assume the shortstop role. Young posted a stellar .993 fielding percentage last season with just three errors and Bleming compiled a .991 fielding percentage a season ago with just one error.

Behind the plate, senior John Scarr and sophomore Jeff Shanfeldt will share the duties. Scarr returns with a .993 fielding percentage from last season with 118 putouts and just one error. Shanfeldt fielded .986 last season with 128 putouts and just two errors.

"We have a very strong defensive unit in the infield and is a talented group offensively," said Leary. "We return All-Patriot League players and players that hit over .300 last season, so I feel very confident in this group."

The outfield unit features thee senior projected starters who combined for 123 appearances last season and 97 starts, with two players starting over 35 games last season.

Senior Preseason All-Patriot League selection Jacen Nalesnik headlines the outfield unit from his right field position. The Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year selection by multiple publications started all 54 games last season in which he fielded .955 with 80 putouts and five assists on 89 total chances. Senior Stephen Fitzgerald will be patrolling center field and fellow senior Anthony Rinaldi returns to left field after appearing in 42 games last season.

"We have a rather unique situation with seven seniors in our lineup. I cannot remember ever having that much experience in our starting lineup prior to this season," stated Leary. "I believe this is one of the deepest lineups I have ever had and also one of the strongest defensive units. They not only possess a high talent level, but also have a ton of experience."

Looking at the infield depth, sophomore Thomas Schumacher and freshman Jake Kochmansky will be in backup roles at first base. Junior Chris Kersey will be the primary backup at second, with freshman Matt Hand backing up at shortstop and freshman Tony Gallo providing depth at third. Kersey, Hand and Gallo all have versatility and could end up seeing time at any one of three positions. Junior Ryan Bonshak will provide depth behind the plate, but could also serve as a super utility player and see action in the outfield.

Looking at the outfield depth chart, sophomore Ryan Malloy leads the group as he returns with 23 games played and 10 starts form last season. Malloy will be slotted primarily in left field, but could be the next man up in any one of the three outfield spots. Freshman Mike Maguire will look to add depth in center and sophomore Chris Butera will back up in right after playing in 16 games with three starts last season.

"I have been really pleased with how our seniors have not only prepared themselves for the upcoming season, but have also getting their immediate backups ready for whenever the opportunity arrives for them to step in and play," said Leary.

The top three spots in the batting order will consist of Bleming, Nalesnik and Young. All three players hit over .300 last season with all three possessing at least 190 plate appearances and return the top-three batting averages from last season's regular starters. Donnelly will hit in the four hole with Scarr and Donovan hitting in either the fifth or sixth slots depending on pitching matchups. The bottom third of the lineup will be a strong and experienced bunch with Rinaldi, Shanfeldt, Molloy and Fitzgerald all looking to contribute.

"The top half of the lineup is our everyday guys, which solidifies our top five spots and gives us more flexibility towards the bottom," stated Leary. "I like the combination of speed and power in our lineup, to go along with the experience our lineup possesses. We think that opposing pitchers are going to have to work to get through our lineup because there really is not a third of the lineup that is inexperienced or has struggled offensively throughout their career."

The Lehigh pitching staff has a lot of potential heading into 2017 with a talented group of returners, combined with the addition of promising young arms.

Lehigh is looking to junior Mark Washington to be the ace on the mound as enters the season touted as the Patriot League's top prospect by multiple publications. The 6-foot-7-inch right-hander posted a 6-1 record last season with a 1.80 ERA. Junior lefty Peter Moore also returns to the starting rotation after posting a 6-3 record last season in 14 appearances with six starts.

Freshman right-hander Levi Stoudt is projected to be a key piece in the starting rotation and enters the season pegged as the Patriot League's top rookie by multiple baseball news outlets. Junior left-hander Sam Ashey leads a pack of pitchers competing for the fourth spot of the rotation after making seven starts and 12 appearances last year.

Looking at the relief situation, junior righty Matt Ratner will be a key piece out the pen and could also see time in the starting rotation. Lefty sophomore Ethan Frohman and lefty freshman Adam Hilal will look to add to the rotation of middle relief pitchers, in addition to seeing action as midweek starters.

Right-handed freshman Jason Reynolds has shown potential to be a key middle reliever or setup man and also look for Donovan to get some late inning work. Right-handed sophomore Anthony Morrone and Hand are both slated for short relief roles, while junior lefty Buck Schwab will also be used situationally out of the bull pen.

Sophomore Cole McManimon will be competing for a midweek starter role, while sophomore Ryan DeWalt, junior John Fitz and sophomore Mike Gibbons will all be in the mix for setup roles as the season progresses.

"We feel very confident in the starting rotation with Mark and Peter back from last year's rotation, in addition to adding Levi as a freshman," said Leary "Our relief roles will be something that we are excited to see how it will pull itself together. We know the pieces are there, we just are not sure yet how to put the puzzle together."

Lehigh was picked in tie with Bucknell for third place in the Patriot League Baseball Preseason Poll. Last season's Patriot League runner-up, Holy Cross, topped the preseason oll with six first place votes. Navy, the defending league champion, placed second in the poll with the remaining five first place votes. Bucknell and Lehigh tied for third to finish ahead of Army West Point (fifth) and Lafayette (sixth).

Holy Cross swept the preseason major awards as senior first baseman Anthony Critelli was named the Patriot League Baseball Preseason Player of the Year and senior right-handed pitcher Brendan King earned the title of Patriot League Baseball Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Nalesnik was joined by fellow outfielders Brett Smith (Bucknell) and Bill Schlich (Holy Cross) on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Holy Cross and Navy lead the way with four players each select to the team.

"Holy Cross and Navy played an unbelievably competitive series last year and they both return so many players so it is no surprise that they are picked at the top of our league," stated Leary "There is a good chance that the road to the title will have to go through one of those two teams. In the middle of the pack, I do not think there is huge separation between third and sixth place. When the talent is close, it comes down to execution to make the difference."

The Mountain Hawks will open Patriot League play with a home series against Bucknell on April 1-2. Lehigh will also host defending Patriot League Champion Navy on April 15-16 and Army West Point on April 29 -30.

Following the opening weekend, the Brown and White will then travel to Marshall for a three-game series with the Herd on March 4-5 before heading to Coppin State for a single game on March 8. Marshall finished second in Conference USA last season with a 34-win season and Coppin State was a MEAC postseason qualifier last season.

Lehigh heads to Florida for five games at the challenging Snowbird Classic on March 11-15. Three of the five games will be against the two Big Ten Tournament finalist from last season. Lehigh will face Big Ten runner-up Iowa for a doubleheader on March 12 before facing the defending Big Ten Champions Ohio State for a single contest on March 14.

"We designed a tough non-league schedule through the first half so when we return from the trip to Florida we know we are going to be battle-tested," said Leary "We are not in an at-large bid league, so we like to schedule a challenging non-league slate to get us ready for our league schedule. Sometimes playing a tough schedule hurts our record, but I feel this team is ready for it and is up to the challenge."

Other notable nonconference opponents on the schedule include Seton Hall and Longwood. The Pirates will host the Mountain Hawks in the Seton Hall Tournament on March 17-19. Seton Hall is coming off a 38-win season and third place finish in the Big East regular season standings. Longwood will play host to Lehigh on May 6-7 for a three game series to close out the regular season slate for the Brown and White. The Lancers are coming off a 32-win season and fell to the 2016 NCAA National Champions Coastal Carolina in the semifinal round of the Big South Tournament last season.

Lehigh opens its home slate with a doubleheader on March 25 against NJIT. The Highlanders are looking to rebound from a 17-win season from last year and an eighth place finish in the Atlantic Sun.

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