Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh Wins LBC Opener at Rider
3/27/2018 7:56:00 PM | Baseball
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Mountain Hawks picked up their tenth win of the season with a 5-3 victory at Rider on Tuesday in the opening round of the Liberty Bell Classic.
Lehigh (10-12) rode the arm of Cole McManimon down the stretch who earned his first win of the season as he tossed the final 5.0 innings of the game. The big righty shutdown the opposition as he held the Broncs (5-15) to just one hit while racking up four strikeouts and no walks in his shutout appearance to secure the Lehigh win.
Lehigh had another feel-good moment on the mound on Tuesday as fifth-year senior Matt Kozemchak made his first appearance since April 17, 2016 after he missed all of last season with injury. The senior lefty took the mound to start the game and tossed 1.2 shutout innings as he and Matt Ratner combined to no-hit Rider through the first three innings.
The Mountain Hawks played outstanding complimentary baseball throughout the game with consistent offensive pressure and error-free defense.
The offense came to life early and often with three runs in the first two innings. James Bleming, who finished the day 3-for-3, helped put Lehigh on the board in the first inning with a RBI single as Mike Maguire scored. Lehigh found some two-out lighting in the second as Joe Yupp reached on a fielding error as Quinn McKenna scored from third. Then, Chris Kersey came up big with a triple down the right field line as Yupp scored from first.
After scoring on a wild pitch in the third to break up the shutout, the Broncs fought their way back to tie the game with a pair of runs in the fourth.
Lehigh regained the lead in the fifth inning with a Tony Gallo sacrifice fly and rode the arm of McManimon to the finish.
Bleming extends his hit streak to six-straight games after leading Lehigh with three hits against Rider. Gallo also remained hot at the plate as he now has hits in eight of his last nine games following his 2-for-4 performance on Tuesday.
Wednesday will mark the home opener for the Mountain Hawks as they host Saint Peter's (0-13) at J. David Walker Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
Lehigh (10-12) rode the arm of Cole McManimon down the stretch who earned his first win of the season as he tossed the final 5.0 innings of the game. The big righty shutdown the opposition as he held the Broncs (5-15) to just one hit while racking up four strikeouts and no walks in his shutout appearance to secure the Lehigh win.
Lehigh had another feel-good moment on the mound on Tuesday as fifth-year senior Matt Kozemchak made his first appearance since April 17, 2016 after he missed all of last season with injury. The senior lefty took the mound to start the game and tossed 1.2 shutout innings as he and Matt Ratner combined to no-hit Rider through the first three innings.
The Mountain Hawks played outstanding complimentary baseball throughout the game with consistent offensive pressure and error-free defense.
The offense came to life early and often with three runs in the first two innings. James Bleming, who finished the day 3-for-3, helped put Lehigh on the board in the first inning with a RBI single as Mike Maguire scored. Lehigh found some two-out lighting in the second as Joe Yupp reached on a fielding error as Quinn McKenna scored from third. Then, Chris Kersey came up big with a triple down the right field line as Yupp scored from first.
After scoring on a wild pitch in the third to break up the shutout, the Broncs fought their way back to tie the game with a pair of runs in the fourth.
Lehigh regained the lead in the fifth inning with a Tony Gallo sacrifice fly and rode the arm of McManimon to the finish.
Bleming extends his hit streak to six-straight games after leading Lehigh with three hits against Rider. Gallo also remained hot at the plate as he now has hits in eight of his last nine games following his 2-for-4 performance on Tuesday.
Wednesday will mark the home opener for the Mountain Hawks as they host Saint Peter's (0-13) at J. David Walker Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McManimon, Cole (1-0)
L: Papeo (1-4)

Batting:
3B: Kersey, Chris 1
RBI: Kersey, Chris 1 ; Bleming, James 1 ; Gallo, Tony 1
SH: Maguire, Mike 1
SF: Gallo, Tony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kersey, Chris 1 ; Maguire, Mike 1 ; Butera, Chris 1 ; McKenna, Quinn 1 ; Yupp, Joe 1
SB: Maguire, Mike 1 ; Bleming, James 1 ; Gallo, Tony 1 ; McKenna, Quinn 1
CS: McKenna, Quinn 1
HBP: Bleming, James 1

Batting:
RBI: Barbiere 1 ; Estevez 1
SH: Estevez 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bender 1 ; McClure 1 ; Johnson 1
HBP: Simone 1 ; McClure 1
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