Wednesday, April 17
Easton, PA.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Lafayette
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Rettig claims Rookie of the Week award as Lehigh visits Lafayette Wednesday
4/16/2019 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — As Lehigh baseball prepares to take on Lafayette in an important Patriot League contest Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., freshman left-handed pitcher Luke Rettig was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week, officially announced by the league on Tuesday.
Rettig had a brilliant start on Sunday, picking up his first collegiate win in a 16-4 victory over first place Navy. The freshman allowed just two runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out five Midshipmen and walking one batter.
The Oxford, Pa. native held Navy's right-handed hitters to a .111 batting average (2-for-18), while retiring the leadoff hitter in six out of seven innings.
The Mountain Hawk freshman starting pitchers in Rettig and Mason Black both earned their first wins at Lehigh in the same week and helped to set a tone heading into this week.
"Luke set the tone for our team from the beginning in the very first inning," said head coach Sean Leary. "Our team really needed a strong starting effort in that pivotal game and Luke stepped up and gave us exactly what we needed."
This is Rettig's first career Patriot League weekly award and joins fellow freshman Casey Rother as the only other Rookie of the Week award winner this season for the Mountain Hawks.
After a tough showing on Saturday, with Lehigh dropping the doubleheader with Navy at J. David Walker Field, Sunday helped make things a little better, as the Mountain Hawks took down the Midshipmen, 16-4 to conclude the series.
The ballgame featured strong pitching from Rettig, 12 walks from the offense and a nine-run eighth inning to put a satisfying end to an otherwise disappointing weekend.
On Wednesday, the Mountain Hawks have an almost playoff-like scenario when they visit Lafayette for a single game to conclude the season series with the Leopards at Kamine Stadium. Lehigh fell in three of the four games to start the series with the Leopards back on Mar. 23-24 at Walker Field. Now, the team has a chance to get back in control of their destiny on Wednesday, currently trailing Lafayette by three games in the hunt for the final spot in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh has not clinched a tournament berth since the 2016 season.
Lehigh is 4-6 in its last 10 games and has not been able to get a series win against any Patriot League squad so far this year, currently 4-9 in Patriot League play. However, the offense has been potent, currently leading the league in RBIs (217) and hit by pitches (50) and tied for the league-lead in home runs with 27 on the year.
In the last 10 games, Lehigh's batting average leader has been first baseman Tony Gallo. The junior is hitting .355 (11-for-31) with a home run, two doubles, a triple, eight runs scored and 12 RBIs in his last nine games. Gallo also holds a slugging percentage of .581 in those last nine games.
Senior catcher Jeff Shanfeldt has also been very impactful in developing offensive threats game in and game out. Shanfeldt is slashing .344/.656/.543 and is 11-for-32 with two home runs, four doubles, 14 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 12 walks in his last 10 games. The Garnet Valley product is seeing his season averages escalating, currently with a .308 batting average in 2019 with 36 hits, four home runs, 11 doubles and an outstanding career-high 29 walks and a career-best .460 on base percentage. Shanfeldt currently has a career OBP of .394, just six ticks away from a lifetime .400.
The player that keeps pacing this offense is the heart of the order, senior left fielder Ryan Malloy who is currently second in the Patriot League with a .346 batting average. He also leads the league in slugging percentage (.646), total bases (84) and is second in home runs (8). His slugging mark is the 56th-best in NCAA Division I. Malloy had a hit in all three games against Navy over the weekend, including a 2-for-5 performance with a double, a run scored and an RBI in the 16-4 win over the Midshipmen.
Mason Black will get the start for the Mountain Hawks against Lafayette on Wednesday, which will mark his first career Patriot League start. Black pitched extremely well last Wednesday against Fairleigh Dickinson, throwing six innings, allowing one run, none earned with three hits, walked three and struck out five. Black is steadily improving with every outing and will get a chance to prove he belongs in the starting rotation in a pivotal game against the Leopards to conclude The Rivalry series.
The Leopards are looking to build momentum after dropping two of three games to Army West Point over the weekend. Lafayette got the victory in the final game of the series at Doubleday Field on Sunday, 6-3. The team is holding a league record of 6-6 and is holding down the fort for the fourth and final seed in the Patriot League ahead of Lehigh.
Justin Johnson is still the team's leader in batting average at .300. He also has 11 doubles and 10 RBIs. Richard Villa leads the team in home runs with five and Trey Durrah is the Leopards' RBI leader at 31 in his 32 games played.
On the mound, probable starter Michael Dunn is 2-0 with a 4.29 ERA with nine appearances and just one start this season. Brett Kreyer leads all starters with a 3-3 record and a 4.31 ERA in nine starts this year.
Lafayette leads the all-time series with Lehigh, 212-161-2, though Lehigh won the last matchup back on Mar. 24 in Game 2 of the series, 16-9.
Wednesday's game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network with first pitch scheduled for 3:35 p.m. ET.
Rettig had a brilliant start on Sunday, picking up his first collegiate win in a 16-4 victory over first place Navy. The freshman allowed just two runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out five Midshipmen and walking one batter.
The Oxford, Pa. native held Navy's right-handed hitters to a .111 batting average (2-for-18), while retiring the leadoff hitter in six out of seven innings.
The Mountain Hawk freshman starting pitchers in Rettig and Mason Black both earned their first wins at Lehigh in the same week and helped to set a tone heading into this week.
"Luke set the tone for our team from the beginning in the very first inning," said head coach Sean Leary. "Our team really needed a strong starting effort in that pivotal game and Luke stepped up and gave us exactly what we needed."
This is Rettig's first career Patriot League weekly award and joins fellow freshman Casey Rother as the only other Rookie of the Week award winner this season for the Mountain Hawks.
After a tough showing on Saturday, with Lehigh dropping the doubleheader with Navy at J. David Walker Field, Sunday helped make things a little better, as the Mountain Hawks took down the Midshipmen, 16-4 to conclude the series.
The ballgame featured strong pitching from Rettig, 12 walks from the offense and a nine-run eighth inning to put a satisfying end to an otherwise disappointing weekend.
On Wednesday, the Mountain Hawks have an almost playoff-like scenario when they visit Lafayette for a single game to conclude the season series with the Leopards at Kamine Stadium. Lehigh fell in three of the four games to start the series with the Leopards back on Mar. 23-24 at Walker Field. Now, the team has a chance to get back in control of their destiny on Wednesday, currently trailing Lafayette by three games in the hunt for the final spot in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh has not clinched a tournament berth since the 2016 season.
Lehigh is 4-6 in its last 10 games and has not been able to get a series win against any Patriot League squad so far this year, currently 4-9 in Patriot League play. However, the offense has been potent, currently leading the league in RBIs (217) and hit by pitches (50) and tied for the league-lead in home runs with 27 on the year.
In the last 10 games, Lehigh's batting average leader has been first baseman Tony Gallo. The junior is hitting .355 (11-for-31) with a home run, two doubles, a triple, eight runs scored and 12 RBIs in his last nine games. Gallo also holds a slugging percentage of .581 in those last nine games.
Senior catcher Jeff Shanfeldt has also been very impactful in developing offensive threats game in and game out. Shanfeldt is slashing .344/.656/.543 and is 11-for-32 with two home runs, four doubles, 14 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 12 walks in his last 10 games. The Garnet Valley product is seeing his season averages escalating, currently with a .308 batting average in 2019 with 36 hits, four home runs, 11 doubles and an outstanding career-high 29 walks and a career-best .460 on base percentage. Shanfeldt currently has a career OBP of .394, just six ticks away from a lifetime .400.
The player that keeps pacing this offense is the heart of the order, senior left fielder Ryan Malloy who is currently second in the Patriot League with a .346 batting average. He also leads the league in slugging percentage (.646), total bases (84) and is second in home runs (8). His slugging mark is the 56th-best in NCAA Division I. Malloy had a hit in all three games against Navy over the weekend, including a 2-for-5 performance with a double, a run scored and an RBI in the 16-4 win over the Midshipmen.
Mason Black will get the start for the Mountain Hawks against Lafayette on Wednesday, which will mark his first career Patriot League start. Black pitched extremely well last Wednesday against Fairleigh Dickinson, throwing six innings, allowing one run, none earned with three hits, walked three and struck out five. Black is steadily improving with every outing and will get a chance to prove he belongs in the starting rotation in a pivotal game against the Leopards to conclude The Rivalry series.
The Leopards are looking to build momentum after dropping two of three games to Army West Point over the weekend. Lafayette got the victory in the final game of the series at Doubleday Field on Sunday, 6-3. The team is holding a league record of 6-6 and is holding down the fort for the fourth and final seed in the Patriot League ahead of Lehigh.
Justin Johnson is still the team's leader in batting average at .300. He also has 11 doubles and 10 RBIs. Richard Villa leads the team in home runs with five and Trey Durrah is the Leopards' RBI leader at 31 in his 32 games played.
On the mound, probable starter Michael Dunn is 2-0 with a 4.29 ERA with nine appearances and just one start this season. Brett Kreyer leads all starters with a 3-3 record and a 4.31 ERA in nine starts this year.
Lafayette leads the all-time series with Lehigh, 212-161-2, though Lehigh won the last matchup back on Mar. 24 in Game 2 of the series, 16-9.
Wednesday's game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network with first pitch scheduled for 3:35 p.m. ET.
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