Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, April 29
Bethlehem, PA
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Army
Lehigh Hosts Army in Pivotal Patriot League Weekend Series
4/27/2017 6:21:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Mountain Hawks are set for their most critical series of the season when they close out the Patriot League regular season in a four-game set against Army West Point at J. David Walker Field with a spot in the Patriot League postseason on the line. Saturday's and Sunday's doubleheaders are scheduled for 12 p.m. start times. Sunday's games will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network, while live stats will be available for all four games.
Prior to game one on Saturday, Lehigh (18-24, 6-10) will honor its senior class with a special pregame ceremony. The Mountain Hawks also invite all area youth players to attend Saturday's doubleheader where they will be welcomed to participate in a post-game autograph session at the conclusion of game two with the LU student-athletes.
The Mountain Hawks enter the weekend two games behind the Black Knights (21-24, 8-8) in the Patriot League Standings. The top four teams qualify for postseason league play and currently Army holds that fourth spot with four games remaining. Navy and Holy Cross have already earned berths into the Patriot League Tournament, leaving Bucknell, Army and Lehigh to duke it out for the final two spots.
Lehigh is currently riding a season-high win streak of seven games, including a four-game win streak in league play following last weekend's sweep at Lafayette. Connor Donovan has led Lehigh offensively in the last seven games with a .450 batting average and an .850 slugging percentage. Donovan also made one start on the mound in the last seven games and collected the win as he tossed 6.0 innings with a 1.50 ERA.
Jacen Nalesnik has led the team in runs in the last seven games with nine, while Chris Kersey and David Young are tied with the most hits with 10 each. Kersey is batting .435 on the win streak, while Young is batting .345 and Nalesnik is batting .333.
The Black Knights are coming off a 4-1 win over Marist in the Hudson Valley Baseball Classic on Wednesday after dropping three games in a Patriot League series to Navy last weekend. Jon Rosoff leads the Army offense with a .342 batting average on the season to go along with a .424 slugging percentage and a team-best .439 on-base percentage.
Rosoff ranks sixth in the league in overall batting average, second in on-base percentage, fourth in total hits (54) and eighth in runs scored (35). He has scored the second-most runs in league play with 16 and is tied for the fourth-most hits with 22.
Nalesnik enters the weekend as the league leader in home runs on the season with 11 and also ranks first with a .609 slugging percentage. The senior is third in runs scored (43), seventh in total hits (51), seventh in RBI (29) and 10th in batting average (.317).
Lehigh owns the top pitching staff in league play with a 3.26 ERA and has allowed a league-low 46 earned runs to league opponents. Levi Stoudt and Donovan are two of the top arms in the league as they both own an ERA below 2.00 in overall games and in league games.
The Black Knights rank fourth a 5.82 ERA in Patriot League games and have surrendered 84 earned runs in league play. Jacob Carte and Tyler Giovinco have been the top arms in league play for Army. Carte owns a 2.18 ERA and a 1-2 record against Patriot League competition, while Giovinco has a 2.95 ERA and a 3-1 record.
Army leads the all-time series against Lehigh with a record of 76-46. The Mountain Hawks won two out of three games in a rain-shortened regular season series with Army last season to win their first series against Army since 2011.
The Mountain Hawks have won their last three home games and are 10-8 at Walker Field this season, with a record of 1-7 at home in league play. The Black Knights are 11-10 in road games this season, including a mark of 6-2 in league games on the road.
Prior to game one on Saturday, Lehigh (18-24, 6-10) will honor its senior class with a special pregame ceremony. The Mountain Hawks also invite all area youth players to attend Saturday's doubleheader where they will be welcomed to participate in a post-game autograph session at the conclusion of game two with the LU student-athletes.
The Mountain Hawks enter the weekend two games behind the Black Knights (21-24, 8-8) in the Patriot League Standings. The top four teams qualify for postseason league play and currently Army holds that fourth spot with four games remaining. Navy and Holy Cross have already earned berths into the Patriot League Tournament, leaving Bucknell, Army and Lehigh to duke it out for the final two spots.
Lehigh is currently riding a season-high win streak of seven games, including a four-game win streak in league play following last weekend's sweep at Lafayette. Connor Donovan has led Lehigh offensively in the last seven games with a .450 batting average and an .850 slugging percentage. Donovan also made one start on the mound in the last seven games and collected the win as he tossed 6.0 innings with a 1.50 ERA.
Jacen Nalesnik has led the team in runs in the last seven games with nine, while Chris Kersey and David Young are tied with the most hits with 10 each. Kersey is batting .435 on the win streak, while Young is batting .345 and Nalesnik is batting .333.
The Black Knights are coming off a 4-1 win over Marist in the Hudson Valley Baseball Classic on Wednesday after dropping three games in a Patriot League series to Navy last weekend. Jon Rosoff leads the Army offense with a .342 batting average on the season to go along with a .424 slugging percentage and a team-best .439 on-base percentage.
Rosoff ranks sixth in the league in overall batting average, second in on-base percentage, fourth in total hits (54) and eighth in runs scored (35). He has scored the second-most runs in league play with 16 and is tied for the fourth-most hits with 22.
Nalesnik enters the weekend as the league leader in home runs on the season with 11 and also ranks first with a .609 slugging percentage. The senior is third in runs scored (43), seventh in total hits (51), seventh in RBI (29) and 10th in batting average (.317).
Lehigh owns the top pitching staff in league play with a 3.26 ERA and has allowed a league-low 46 earned runs to league opponents. Levi Stoudt and Donovan are two of the top arms in the league as they both own an ERA below 2.00 in overall games and in league games.
The Black Knights rank fourth a 5.82 ERA in Patriot League games and have surrendered 84 earned runs in league play. Jacob Carte and Tyler Giovinco have been the top arms in league play for Army. Carte owns a 2.18 ERA and a 1-2 record against Patriot League competition, while Giovinco has a 2.95 ERA and a 3-1 record.
Army leads the all-time series against Lehigh with a record of 76-46. The Mountain Hawks won two out of three games in a rain-shortened regular season series with Army last season to win their first series against Army since 2011.
The Mountain Hawks have won their last three home games and are 10-8 at Walker Field this season, with a record of 1-7 at home in league play. The Black Knights are 11-10 in road games this season, including a mark of 6-2 in league games on the road.
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