Wednesday, March 29
Bethlehem, PA
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
La Salle University
Baseball Set For Two Home Midweek Games, LBC Opening Round
3/27/2017 6:08:00 PM | Baseball
LIVE VIDEO - LIVE STATS
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team will resume its 11-game home stand Tuesday and Wednesday with two separate non-league contests at J. David Walker Field. The Mountain Hawks will host La Salle on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the opening round of the 2017 Liberty Bell Classic and then square off against Saint Peter's at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Live video will be available for Tuesday's game against La Salle. Live stats will be available for both games.
The Mountain Hawks (7-12) posted a 4-1 record last week, including a four-game sweep over NJIT to open play at home. The home stand could have come at a better time as they were coming off a three-game skid after a 1-4 spring break trip to Florida.
Playing in the friendly confines of their park helped the Mountain Hawks find an offensive rhythm over the weekend. The bats really came alive on Sunday as LU recorded six home runs on the day, including four in game one. Lehigh has been one of the better long ball teams in the nation so far this season, ranking 20th nationally in home runs per game (1.21) and 38th in total home runs with 23.
Senior Jacen Nalesnik is coming off a big offensive weekend in which he went 10-for-16 and raised his batting average from .279 to .351 as he sits behind Anthony Rinaldi (.352) for the team lead. Nalesnik paces the team in slugging percentage (.636) and is tied with Connor Donovan for the team and league lead in home runs with five. Nalesnik also leads the team with 22 runs scored and ranks 37th in the nation, second in the league with 1.16 runs per game.
La Salle (2-18) enters Tuesday's game 2-7 in the last nine games after opening the season on an 11-game skid. The Explorers two wins this season came at Wofford and at USC Upstate during a five-game trip to South Carolina. La Salle is most recently coming off a three-game series loss at Virginia Commonwealth this past weekend to open the Atlantic 10 slate.
The Explorers are hitting .212 as a team this season, while slugging .321 with a total of five home runs. Austin Constantini leads the squad with a .308 batting average with a team-high 24 hits.
Saint Peter's (0-5) will take a short trip to Fordham on Tuesday before coming to Bethlehem on Wednesday. Opened the season with a loss at home to LIU-Brooklyn before getting swept in a three-game series at Louisiana-Lafayette. A 12-9 loss at St. John's last Wednesday was the most recent contest for the Peacocks prior to this week.
The Peacocks are hitting .206 as a team this season, with a .277 slugging percentage. Saint Peter's has six extra-base hits through five games this season, including two home runs. Against St. John's, the Peacocks produced nine runs on a season-high 13 hits, but struck out 12 times.
Catcher Mike Ionta is one of five players who has started all five games this season and leads that group with a .294 batting average. He is slugging .353 with an on-base percentage of .400 and leads the team in total hits (5) and runs (5).
Lehigh will look to keep its unblemished 4-0 home record intact. La Salle is 2-12 in true road games and Saint Peter's is 0-4 prior to Tuesday.
The Mountain Hawks are 11-9 against La Salle in the all-time series which began in 1951. Lehigh is 3-1 against the Explorers when playing in Liberty Bell Classic games since 2005. Both teams are past LBC champions as the Mountain Hawks claimed the title in 2004 and La Salle won it all in 2006.
Lehigh is 5-1 in the all-time series with Saint Peter's which began in 1997. The Mountain Hawks have won the last two meetings, but have won all four meetings on their home field.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team will resume its 11-game home stand Tuesday and Wednesday with two separate non-league contests at J. David Walker Field. The Mountain Hawks will host La Salle on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the opening round of the 2017 Liberty Bell Classic and then square off against Saint Peter's at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Live video will be available for Tuesday's game against La Salle. Live stats will be available for both games.
The Mountain Hawks (7-12) posted a 4-1 record last week, including a four-game sweep over NJIT to open play at home. The home stand could have come at a better time as they were coming off a three-game skid after a 1-4 spring break trip to Florida.
Playing in the friendly confines of their park helped the Mountain Hawks find an offensive rhythm over the weekend. The bats really came alive on Sunday as LU recorded six home runs on the day, including four in game one. Lehigh has been one of the better long ball teams in the nation so far this season, ranking 20th nationally in home runs per game (1.21) and 38th in total home runs with 23.
Senior Jacen Nalesnik is coming off a big offensive weekend in which he went 10-for-16 and raised his batting average from .279 to .351 as he sits behind Anthony Rinaldi (.352) for the team lead. Nalesnik paces the team in slugging percentage (.636) and is tied with Connor Donovan for the team and league lead in home runs with five. Nalesnik also leads the team with 22 runs scored and ranks 37th in the nation, second in the league with 1.16 runs per game.
La Salle (2-18) enters Tuesday's game 2-7 in the last nine games after opening the season on an 11-game skid. The Explorers two wins this season came at Wofford and at USC Upstate during a five-game trip to South Carolina. La Salle is most recently coming off a three-game series loss at Virginia Commonwealth this past weekend to open the Atlantic 10 slate.
The Explorers are hitting .212 as a team this season, while slugging .321 with a total of five home runs. Austin Constantini leads the squad with a .308 batting average with a team-high 24 hits.
Saint Peter's (0-5) will take a short trip to Fordham on Tuesday before coming to Bethlehem on Wednesday. Opened the season with a loss at home to LIU-Brooklyn before getting swept in a three-game series at Louisiana-Lafayette. A 12-9 loss at St. John's last Wednesday was the most recent contest for the Peacocks prior to this week.
The Peacocks are hitting .206 as a team this season, with a .277 slugging percentage. Saint Peter's has six extra-base hits through five games this season, including two home runs. Against St. John's, the Peacocks produced nine runs on a season-high 13 hits, but struck out 12 times.
Catcher Mike Ionta is one of five players who has started all five games this season and leads that group with a .294 batting average. He is slugging .353 with an on-base percentage of .400 and leads the team in total hits (5) and runs (5).
Lehigh will look to keep its unblemished 4-0 home record intact. La Salle is 2-12 in true road games and Saint Peter's is 0-4 prior to Tuesday.
The Mountain Hawks are 11-9 against La Salle in the all-time series which began in 1951. Lehigh is 3-1 against the Explorers when playing in Liberty Bell Classic games since 2005. Both teams are past LBC champions as the Mountain Hawks claimed the title in 2004 and La Salle won it all in 2006.
Lehigh is 5-1 in the all-time series with Saint Peter's which began in 1997. The Mountain Hawks have won the last two meetings, but have won all four meetings on their home field.
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