Pitching and Veteran Presence Leads Lehigh into 2018 Season

2/14/2018 4:59:00 PM | Baseball

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team will open the 2018 season Friday with a matchup against Butler as the Mountain Hawks begin a four-game stint at the Hughes Bros. Challenge hosted by UNC-Wilmington. In addition to facing Butler twice, LU will also face Eastern Kentucky and finish out the weekend by facing the host Seahawks on Sunday afternoon.

The Mountain Hawks (21-29, 8-12) were picked fourth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll by the league's coaches and sports information directors after finishing fifth in last season's regular season standings. Lehigh will look to make it back to the Patriot League postseason for the 11th time in program history and are in pursuit of its third league title.

Lehigh returns four everyday players to the lineup from last season's squad and brings back the vast majority of its pitching staff. The Mountain Hawks have many holes to fill in the lineup with the departure of last season's senior class which boasted three All-Patriot League selections from a season ago. To bridge the gap, the Brown and White has a total of 16 upperclassmen, including seven position players, who all have in-game experience and are prepared to take on expanded roles as they transition into everyday contributors.

"We will have a new faces in starting roles this season, but it is not as if we are trying to find parts. We already have the parts, we just need to figure out where they all fit," said head coach Sean Leary. "There will still be competition still going on for starting roles early in the season, but a majority of the spots have already been solidified. I feel very confident in the top half of our order because so many of those guys already have experience playing in meaningful games."

Seniors James Bleming (.268 BA, 76 TB, 21 RBI) and Chris Kersey (.315 BA, 55 TB, 21 RBI) are two big returning pieces who will look to not only provide strong defense up the middle, but also provide a strong one-two punch at the top of batting order like they did last season. Bleming will retain is starting spot at shortstop, while Kersey will make the transition back to second base after taking over center field duties last season.

The Mountain Hawks will be very strong up the middle as junior Jeff Shanfeldt (.238 BA, 44 TB, 15 RBI) joins returning starters Bleming and Kersey in the infield. Shanfeldt has 50 starts under his belt through his first two seasons and is the only returning full-time catcher on the roster. Rounding out the group of returning infield starters is sophomore Matt Hand who will be shifting over to third base after working his way into a starting role at second during his rookie campaign.

Junior Thomas Schumacher emerged out of the offseason as the lead candidate for the starting job at first base. He has averaged 13 appearances through his first two seasons and has cracked the starting lineup at times as a designated hitter.

Other infielders who are in the mix and could also see time as a designated hitter at points throughout the season include sophomores Jake Kochmansky, Tony Gallo, Blake Rapoport, in addition to freshman Eric Cichocki. Freshman Joe Yupp and sophomore walk-on Tim DiLoreto will look to battle for the back-up role behind the plate.

The outfield corps will feature three new full-time starters, but the names taking over those roles are no strangers to the program. Senior Ryan Bonshak is the lead candidate to take the job in center, while junior Ryan Malloy will look to takeover in left and sophomore Mike Maguire will be patrolling right field. Bonshak will also see time behind the plate as he has served as a backup catcher throughout his career.

Bonshak played in 25 games last season, including a total of nine starts. Malloy played in 28 games a season ago with 14 starts in left field. Maguire made three starts in his rookie campaign while appearing in 11 total games.

Also in the outfield mix is junior Chris Butera, in addition to freshmen Quinn McKenna and Tyler Schreiner who have had promising preseasons.

One of the strengths of the team this season will be the pitching staff as it boasts both talent and depth in all areas. Headlining the group is Freshman All-American and All-Patriot League selection Levi Stoudt (4-5, 2.34 ERA, 61.2 IP) who will take over as the ace of the staff in his sophomore campaign. Fellow sophomore Jason Reynolds (3-5, 3.68 ERA, 51.1 IP) also emerged as a very reliable weekend starter last season and led the team with 48 strikeouts. Rounding out the top three in the starting rotation is senior lefty Peter Moore, who split duties between a starter and middle reliever last season, but will look to cement himself into the rotation after coming off a strong summer and fall.

"I feel that this staff as a whole is going to be very consistent. I think all our starters will be able to get us deep into the game and keep us in contention," said Leary. "On the relief end, there has been a lot of friendly competition which has brought out the best in everyone and guys have embraced the roles that they have earned."

Junior Ethan Frohman may also be considered for a starting role after he was one of the most reliable relievers on the team last season and led the squad with four saves. Should Frohman remain in the pen, the Mountain Hawks will be in great shape as Butera and Hand are also coming off stellar seasons last year. Butera finished with a 2.22 ERA in 14 appearances, spanning 24.1 innings pitched as a late-inning reliever.

The pitching staff also has a large contingency of returning arms who have experience as either midweek starters or short relievers. Senior Matt Ratner and junior Cole McManimon combined for 11 starts last season and will look to resume their roles as weekend relievers and midweek starters. Senior Buck Schwab, in addition to juniors Mike Gibbons and Anthony Morrone combined for 23 relief appearances last season and will all look to be the core of the short relief staff. Also look for fifth-year senior Matt Kozemchak to make an impact out of the pen as he works his way back from injury.

Among the notable newcomers to the pitching staff are Peter Woltersdorf, Matt Svanson, Sam Wurth, Yash Rane, and Cameron Van Hoorebeke who will be looking to make an impact as the season progresses.

After concluding their trip to Wilmington, the Mountain Hawks will continue to travel south during the early part of the season with series at North Carolina A&T, Davidson and Norfolk State before one final southern trip to the Spider Invitational at Richmond. Lehigh will open Patriot League play with a four-game set at Lafayette on March 24-25 and will take a trip to Rider on Mar. 27 for a Liberty Classic opening round matchup.

Lehigh will host Saint Peter's in the home opener on Mar. 28 prior to facing Holy Cross for the first Patriot League home series of the season.

The Patriot League Championship will begin with semifinal round action on May 12-13. The championship series will take place May 19-20 at the sight of the highest remaining seed.