Wednesday, April 24
Bethlehem, PA.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Coppin St.
Gallo, Black earn Patriot League awards as Lehigh hosts Coppin State Wednesday
4/23/2019 3:27:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Lehigh baseball junior first baseman Tony Gallo was named Patriot League Player of the Week and freshman right-handed pitcher Mason Black was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week by the league announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon. This is Gallo's first career weekly award and his second accolade of the week after earning Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors. The Rookie of the Week award is Black's first of his collegiate career.
The awards handed out preface the Mountain Hawks final mid-week contest of the season at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park, as Coppin State is set to visit on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Gallo had himself a monster week for the Mountain Hawks against Lafayette and Bucknell, but was headlined by two walk-off hits, a two-run home run and a two-run single, to lead Lehigh to a doubleheader sweep of the Bison on Saturday afternoon at J. David Walker Field.
The Newtown Square, Pa. native finished the week hitting .688 (11-for-16) with two home runs, a double and eight RBIs with a 1.125 slugging percentage and had three walks with an on-base percentage of .750.
"Tony had one of those special days and I've been doing this quite a long time and it was a day to remember for him," said head coach Sean Leary. "Every situation we needed him, he came through. With the clutch hits and two walk-offs is just something that is as special as it gets.
To lead off his week, Gallo went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in Lehigh's 12-1 must-win victory over archrival Lafayette on Wednesday. He was 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored, three RBIs and a walk-off two-run home run to defeat Bucknell, 6-4 in nine innings on Saturday to start the series off with a win.
In Game 2, the Devon Prep product started the game with a home run in the bottom of the second inning to go back-to-back from the first game. He had his first career five-hit game by going 5-for-5 with a home run, a double, four RBIs and a walk-off two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to give Lehigh the 7-6 victory and sweep the doubleheader with Bucknell. He finished the game just a triple shy from Lehigh's first cycle since 2006.
Gallo led off the final game of the series on Sunday with a base hit to go 9-for-9 in his last at-bats and then walked in his next plate appearance to reach base in 10 straight appearances.
In addition to his hot bat, Gallo also found major success in the field at first base, with two diving catches to prevent base runners and another big catch in foul territory during the second game of the doubleheader Saturday. He finished his week with 38 putouts and five assists for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage at first base.
Black also had success this past week which garnered him Rookie of the Week honors, where he threw 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball while allowing five hits and striking out four batters en route to the Mountain Hawks' important 12-1 victory over archrival Lafayette to stay within striking distance of the Leopards in the Patriot League standings.
"Mason's performance against Lafayette was outstanding," said Leary. "He stepped up in a must win game for our team and gave us 5 2/3 shutout innings. It also gave us tremendous momentum heading into the weekend series vs Bucknell."
This is both Gallo and Black's first-ever weekly award nod from the Patriot League. This is Lehigh's third Player of the Week award for the season, joining Ryan Malloy and its third Rookie of the Week award, along with Casey Rother and Luke Rettig.
Heading into Wednesday's mid-week affair, the Mountain Hawks have won five straight games dating back to two Sundays ago against Navy. Lehigh finished last week with a 4-0 record against Lafayette and a three-game sweep of Bucknell at Walker Field over the weekend.
Lehigh (19-20, 8-9 PL) has an opportunity to get to a .500 record for the first time since Mar. 19 at Fairleigh Dickinson, where the Mountain Hawks finished the game at a record of 8-8. Lehigh is currently tied for fourth place in the Patriot League standings with Lafayette, though the Leopards currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Every league contest is important from here on out, with just eight league games remaining in the 2019 slate.
Gallo, after his 11-for-16 last week, takes over the team-lead in batting heading into this week of play, after Malloy led the way for most of the season. Gallo's .338 average is currently second in the entire Patriot League behind Navy's Zach Stevens .357. Gallo also leads the way in Patriot League batting average with a mark of .431 (25-for-58).
The Mountain Hawks' 3-4 and 5 hitters in Jeff Shanfeldt (.304), Malloy (.333) and Gallo all have found major success at the plate this year, as all three have batting averages above .300. All three players also have 40+ hits on the season with Malloy leading the way with 48, Gallo has 46, Shanfeldt 40.
Lehigh's high-octane offense continues to show why it's one of the best in the Patriot League, as the Mountain Hawks remain the league's top run-scoring team, with 246 RBIs and 33 home runs.
Aside from the three usual suspects, the Mountain Hawks have also enjoyed success from freshman third baseman Gerard Sweeney, who is averaging .271 (39-for-144) from the plate with five doubles, two home runs and 24 RBIs on the year. Junior shortstop Matt Hand has also maintained a steady bat in the starting lineup, averaging .272 (34-for-125) on the year with a hit in his last four games. He also has 10 doubles so far with a slugging percentage of .440.
On the mound, freshman left-hander Matt Stamford is set to get the start for Lehigh on Wednesday against Coppin State. He comes into the game with a 1-1 record in nine appearances and one start so far this season. Stamford has not seen action since Apr. 10 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson at Walker Field.
Coppin State is having a very successful 2019 season, especially among other teams in the MEAC. The Eagles (21-16, 12-8 MEAC) tied their school record for wins in a season with 21 after shutting out Norfolk State, 5-0 on Sunday.
Offensively, Coppin State is led by Justin Banks who leads the team with a .390 batting average and remains one of NCAA Division I's leaders in that category. Banks also leads his teammates in home runs (5), RBIs (37), slugging percentage (.610) and on-base percentage (.503).
On the mound, the Eagles have been lucky to have Devin Rivera Ozuna on the mound with his 7-1 record, 2.62 ERA, while striking out 50 batters and walking 20 in 55 innings of work.
Lehigh leads the all-time series with Coppin State, 21-1 with the Mountain Hawks emerging victorious, 11-7 in last year's matchup.
Wednesday's 3 p.m. game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The awards handed out preface the Mountain Hawks final mid-week contest of the season at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park, as Coppin State is set to visit on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Gallo had himself a monster week for the Mountain Hawks against Lafayette and Bucknell, but was headlined by two walk-off hits, a two-run home run and a two-run single, to lead Lehigh to a doubleheader sweep of the Bison on Saturday afternoon at J. David Walker Field.
The Newtown Square, Pa. native finished the week hitting .688 (11-for-16) with two home runs, a double and eight RBIs with a 1.125 slugging percentage and had three walks with an on-base percentage of .750.
"Tony had one of those special days and I've been doing this quite a long time and it was a day to remember for him," said head coach Sean Leary. "Every situation we needed him, he came through. With the clutch hits and two walk-offs is just something that is as special as it gets.
To lead off his week, Gallo went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in Lehigh's 12-1 must-win victory over archrival Lafayette on Wednesday. He was 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored, three RBIs and a walk-off two-run home run to defeat Bucknell, 6-4 in nine innings on Saturday to start the series off with a win.
In Game 2, the Devon Prep product started the game with a home run in the bottom of the second inning to go back-to-back from the first game. He had his first career five-hit game by going 5-for-5 with a home run, a double, four RBIs and a walk-off two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to give Lehigh the 7-6 victory and sweep the doubleheader with Bucknell. He finished the game just a triple shy from Lehigh's first cycle since 2006.
Gallo led off the final game of the series on Sunday with a base hit to go 9-for-9 in his last at-bats and then walked in his next plate appearance to reach base in 10 straight appearances.
In addition to his hot bat, Gallo also found major success in the field at first base, with two diving catches to prevent base runners and another big catch in foul territory during the second game of the doubleheader Saturday. He finished his week with 38 putouts and five assists for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage at first base.
Black also had success this past week which garnered him Rookie of the Week honors, where he threw 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball while allowing five hits and striking out four batters en route to the Mountain Hawks' important 12-1 victory over archrival Lafayette to stay within striking distance of the Leopards in the Patriot League standings.
"Mason's performance against Lafayette was outstanding," said Leary. "He stepped up in a must win game for our team and gave us 5 2/3 shutout innings. It also gave us tremendous momentum heading into the weekend series vs Bucknell."
This is both Gallo and Black's first-ever weekly award nod from the Patriot League. This is Lehigh's third Player of the Week award for the season, joining Ryan Malloy and its third Rookie of the Week award, along with Casey Rother and Luke Rettig.
Heading into Wednesday's mid-week affair, the Mountain Hawks have won five straight games dating back to two Sundays ago against Navy. Lehigh finished last week with a 4-0 record against Lafayette and a three-game sweep of Bucknell at Walker Field over the weekend.
Lehigh (19-20, 8-9 PL) has an opportunity to get to a .500 record for the first time since Mar. 19 at Fairleigh Dickinson, where the Mountain Hawks finished the game at a record of 8-8. Lehigh is currently tied for fourth place in the Patriot League standings with Lafayette, though the Leopards currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Every league contest is important from here on out, with just eight league games remaining in the 2019 slate.
Gallo, after his 11-for-16 last week, takes over the team-lead in batting heading into this week of play, after Malloy led the way for most of the season. Gallo's .338 average is currently second in the entire Patriot League behind Navy's Zach Stevens .357. Gallo also leads the way in Patriot League batting average with a mark of .431 (25-for-58).
The Mountain Hawks' 3-4 and 5 hitters in Jeff Shanfeldt (.304), Malloy (.333) and Gallo all have found major success at the plate this year, as all three have batting averages above .300. All three players also have 40+ hits on the season with Malloy leading the way with 48, Gallo has 46, Shanfeldt 40.
Lehigh's high-octane offense continues to show why it's one of the best in the Patriot League, as the Mountain Hawks remain the league's top run-scoring team, with 246 RBIs and 33 home runs.
Aside from the three usual suspects, the Mountain Hawks have also enjoyed success from freshman third baseman Gerard Sweeney, who is averaging .271 (39-for-144) from the plate with five doubles, two home runs and 24 RBIs on the year. Junior shortstop Matt Hand has also maintained a steady bat in the starting lineup, averaging .272 (34-for-125) on the year with a hit in his last four games. He also has 10 doubles so far with a slugging percentage of .440.
On the mound, freshman left-hander Matt Stamford is set to get the start for Lehigh on Wednesday against Coppin State. He comes into the game with a 1-1 record in nine appearances and one start so far this season. Stamford has not seen action since Apr. 10 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson at Walker Field.
Coppin State is having a very successful 2019 season, especially among other teams in the MEAC. The Eagles (21-16, 12-8 MEAC) tied their school record for wins in a season with 21 after shutting out Norfolk State, 5-0 on Sunday.
Offensively, Coppin State is led by Justin Banks who leads the team with a .390 batting average and remains one of NCAA Division I's leaders in that category. Banks also leads his teammates in home runs (5), RBIs (37), slugging percentage (.610) and on-base percentage (.503).
On the mound, the Eagles have been lucky to have Devin Rivera Ozuna on the mound with his 7-1 record, 2.62 ERA, while striking out 50 batters and walking 20 in 55 innings of work.
Lehigh leads the all-time series with Coppin State, 21-1 with the Mountain Hawks emerging victorious, 11-7 in last year's matchup.
Wednesday's 3 p.m. game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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