Saturday, March 11
Punta Gorda, Fl - South County Regional Park
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Northeastern University
Mountain Hawks Open Play at Snowbird Classic this Weekend
3/10/2017 4:47:00 PM | Baseball
LIVE STATSÂ (Sun. Game 1) - LIVE STATSÂ (Sun. Game 2)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team begins a five-game road trip to Florida this weekend, including a four-game stint at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. to start the trip. The Mountain Hawks will open the Snowbird Classic on Saturday against Northeastern at 2 p.m. and then return to action on Sunday with a doubleheader against Iowa starting at 1:30 p.m. Live stats will be available for Sunday's doubleheader against the Hawkeyes.
The Mountain Hawks (2-5) are coming off an 18-9 victory at Coppin State on Wednesday evening to snap a five-game skid. Lehigh broke open a 16-7 lead after an eight-run eighth inning. Jacen Nalesnik started the eighth-inning rally with a two-run single through the left side. Jeff Shanfeldt added another pair of runs with another two-run single through the left side. Chris Kersey capped the eighth inning rout with two-RBI single of his own up the middle.
Left fielder Anthony Rinaldi leads the team batting .393 (11-for-28) with a team-high eight extra-base hits for a robust .857 slugging percentage. Lead off man James Bleming leads the team in on-base percentage (.514) while hitting .370 (10-for-27) and slugging .481 to go along with a .970 fielding percentage at shortstop.
Reigning Patriot League Pitcher of the Week Ethan Frohman leads the Lehigh pitching staff this seasons with 10.1 innings pitched and sports a 0.00 earned-run average with a .121 opponent batting average. In two relief appearances, the sophomore has allowed just four hits, one walk and has compiled a team-leading 13 strikeouts.
Northeastern (5-7) is coming off a 31-27 season in 2016 a deep run in the CAA Tournament. The Huskies are off to a sub-.500 start to the season in 2017, but have gone 3-2 with two games remaining at the Snowbird Classic. NU began its stint at Snowbird on March 4 with a 6-5 loss to Ball State. The Huskies then ripped off three-straight wins over Chicago State (10-7), Central Michigan (9-8) and Toledo (9-2) before suffering a 14-7 setback to Western Michigan on Friday.
Cam Walsh paces the Huskie offense in most major categories with a .455 batting average (15-for-33) to go with a .636 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base percentage. Mike Fitzgerald has been one of the top arms for the Huskies this season as he has started all three of his appearances with a record of 1-1. He owns a 4.76 ERA in 17.0 innings pitched with a team-high 15 strikeouts and opponents are hitting .246 against him. Fitzgerald made his last start last Saturday in a loss against Ball State.
Iowa (7-4) finished last season as the Big Ten runner-up after falling to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. The Hawkeyes began with a 2-2 start to the 2017 season, but have won five their last seven with wins over Alabama State, Morehead State, Hawai'i, Oral Roberts and Northern Illinois on that run. Iowa opens play at the Snowbird Classic on Friday against Villanova and will face Bucknell on Saturday before the twin bill against Lehigh on Sunday.
Six Iowa regulars are hitting better than .300 this season. Three Hawkeyes -- Robert Neustrom (third, .404), Chris Whelan (ninth, .385), and Mason McCoy (13th, .356) -- rank in the top-13 in the Big Ten in batting average. Junior Jake Adams is tied for the Big Ten lead with four home runs. He is also tied for second with 14 RBIs. Offensively, Iowa ranks in the top-five in the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs, hits, RBIs, home runs, total bases, and steals. Junior Nick Gallagher is tied for third in the Big Ten in wins (2) and ranks eighth in ERA (2.45). He leads the league with 22 innings pitched and is third in strikeouts (19).
Saturday's meeting will be the first between the Lehigh and Northeastern baseball programs. The Mountain Hawks will face Iowa for the third and fourth time in program history on Sunday. The Hawkeyes own a 2-0 record against Lehigh after sweeping a doubleheader in 2001.
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates and content.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team begins a five-game road trip to Florida this weekend, including a four-game stint at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. to start the trip. The Mountain Hawks will open the Snowbird Classic on Saturday against Northeastern at 2 p.m. and then return to action on Sunday with a doubleheader against Iowa starting at 1:30 p.m. Live stats will be available for Sunday's doubleheader against the Hawkeyes.
The Mountain Hawks (2-5) are coming off an 18-9 victory at Coppin State on Wednesday evening to snap a five-game skid. Lehigh broke open a 16-7 lead after an eight-run eighth inning. Jacen Nalesnik started the eighth-inning rally with a two-run single through the left side. Jeff Shanfeldt added another pair of runs with another two-run single through the left side. Chris Kersey capped the eighth inning rout with two-RBI single of his own up the middle.
Left fielder Anthony Rinaldi leads the team batting .393 (11-for-28) with a team-high eight extra-base hits for a robust .857 slugging percentage. Lead off man James Bleming leads the team in on-base percentage (.514) while hitting .370 (10-for-27) and slugging .481 to go along with a .970 fielding percentage at shortstop.
Reigning Patriot League Pitcher of the Week Ethan Frohman leads the Lehigh pitching staff this seasons with 10.1 innings pitched and sports a 0.00 earned-run average with a .121 opponent batting average. In two relief appearances, the sophomore has allowed just four hits, one walk and has compiled a team-leading 13 strikeouts.
Northeastern (5-7) is coming off a 31-27 season in 2016 a deep run in the CAA Tournament. The Huskies are off to a sub-.500 start to the season in 2017, but have gone 3-2 with two games remaining at the Snowbird Classic. NU began its stint at Snowbird on March 4 with a 6-5 loss to Ball State. The Huskies then ripped off three-straight wins over Chicago State (10-7), Central Michigan (9-8) and Toledo (9-2) before suffering a 14-7 setback to Western Michigan on Friday.
Cam Walsh paces the Huskie offense in most major categories with a .455 batting average (15-for-33) to go with a .636 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base percentage. Mike Fitzgerald has been one of the top arms for the Huskies this season as he has started all three of his appearances with a record of 1-1. He owns a 4.76 ERA in 17.0 innings pitched with a team-high 15 strikeouts and opponents are hitting .246 against him. Fitzgerald made his last start last Saturday in a loss against Ball State.
Iowa (7-4) finished last season as the Big Ten runner-up after falling to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. The Hawkeyes began with a 2-2 start to the 2017 season, but have won five their last seven with wins over Alabama State, Morehead State, Hawai'i, Oral Roberts and Northern Illinois on that run. Iowa opens play at the Snowbird Classic on Friday against Villanova and will face Bucknell on Saturday before the twin bill against Lehigh on Sunday.
Six Iowa regulars are hitting better than .300 this season. Three Hawkeyes -- Robert Neustrom (third, .404), Chris Whelan (ninth, .385), and Mason McCoy (13th, .356) -- rank in the top-13 in the Big Ten in batting average. Junior Jake Adams is tied for the Big Ten lead with four home runs. He is also tied for second with 14 RBIs. Offensively, Iowa ranks in the top-five in the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs, hits, RBIs, home runs, total bases, and steals. Junior Nick Gallagher is tied for third in the Big Ten in wins (2) and ranks eighth in ERA (2.45). He leads the league with 22 innings pitched and is third in strikeouts (19).
Saturday's meeting will be the first between the Lehigh and Northeastern baseball programs. The Mountain Hawks will face Iowa for the third and fourth time in program history on Sunday. The Hawkeyes own a 2-0 record against Lehigh after sweeping a doubleheader in 2001.
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates and content.
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Players Mentioned
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