Saturday, April 27
Annapolis, MD.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Navy
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Mountain Hawks travel to Navy, Bucknell in quest for PLT spot
4/26/2019 4:12:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There may not be a more important weekend on the entire schedule for Lehigh baseball, who is ready to take on two Patriot League opponents for four league games this weekend starting with a doubleheader at Navy on Saturday and a doubleheader at Bucknell on Sunday, as the Mountain Hawks continue to push towards a tournament spot.
Lehigh is fresh off a 12-3 victory over Coppin State on Wednesday, the final mid-week non-league game at Walker Field in 2019. The win marked the Mountain Hawks' sixth straight victory, also reaching the 20-win plateau for the sixth straight season.
On Saturday against the Midshipmen, Lehigh has opportunity to get over .500 for the first time all season long and a chance to get to a .500 record in the Patriot League as the team fights for the fourth spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
Both Lehigh and Lafayette are tied for the fourth seed in the tournament, but the Leopards hold the tiebreaker after taking the season series between the teams. With eight league games remaining and tournament teams playing each other for the rest of the year, the Mountain Hawks control their own destiny from this point forward, attempting to qualify for their first tournament berth since the 2016 season and claim their first Patriot League Championship title since 2015.
The Mountain Hawks definitely have their work cut out for them against first place Navy on Saturday, however they got the best of the Mids the last time the two squared off back at J. David Walker Field on Apr. 14 when they were victorious in the final game, 16-4. With two wins over Navy on Saturday, Lehigh would win the season series and put themselves in prime position for a spot in the tournament.
Possibly the biggest weapon in college baseball on the mound is right-hander Noah Song, and for Navy, he's been an unblemished option in the rotation. Song is 8-0 with a 1.36 ERA in 10 appearances this season and has a nation's best 118 strikeouts. On Saturday, head coach Sean Leary sends his top right-hander Levi Stoudt to the hill to face Song for the final time this regular season. Stoudt is 3-2 with an ERA of 3.91, which leads the team.
For Lehigh, there isn't a player as dominant right now as junior first baseman Tony Gallo who is coming off the weekend of his career that included two walk-off hits and a stretch of at-bats that included nine straight hits. For his efforts, Gallo was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and Patriot League Player of the Week for the first time in his career. He is now hitting .600 (12-for-20) with three home runs and 12 RBIs with a slugging percentage of 1.100, an OBP of .667 for an OPS of 1.767 in his last five games. Gallo will look to maintain his Patriot League lead in league batting average, currently hitting at a .431 mark after his unreal weekend. Gallo continued to hit well with a grand slam that proved to be the game-winner on Wednesday against the Eagles.
Gallo, along with seniors Jeff Shanfeldt and Ryan Malloy have established themselves as dominant forces in the 3-4-5 holes.
This weekend against Navy and Bucknell, Lehigh's offense will look to stay hot and continue its reign of being the league's top run scoring team, though trailing Navy by just one run at 257 RBIs and a league-best 35 home runs.
Navy will look to wrap up its Patriot League slate this weekend with an opportunity to clinch a tournament spot against Lehigh as it gets prepared to claim the regular season title as the league's first place team. The Midshipmen have the league's top two hitters with Zach Biggers pacing the league in hits with 55 and Christian Hodge with 51. Hodge also leads the Patriot League in home runs with 11 this year. Freshman first baseman Zach Stevens still holds a lead over Gallo for the league-lead in batting average at .347.
Navy leads the all-time series with Lehigh, 85-46.
Bucknell finally snapped its eight-game losing streak with a 9-7 victory over La Salle on Wednesday. The Bison dropped all three games to Lehigh last weekend at J. David Walker Field including two walk-offs on Saturday. Bucknell is led offensively by Tyler Wincig with a .330 batting average and JohnPaul Bell at .321. Wincig also hold the team-lead in home runs with eight this year and an on-base percentage of .489.
Bucknell has the all-time series lead with the Mountain Hawks, 99-87.
Both of Navy's games on Saturday will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network, as will the first game of the doubleheader with Bucknell on Sunday.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh is fresh off a 12-3 victory over Coppin State on Wednesday, the final mid-week non-league game at Walker Field in 2019. The win marked the Mountain Hawks' sixth straight victory, also reaching the 20-win plateau for the sixth straight season.
On Saturday against the Midshipmen, Lehigh has opportunity to get over .500 for the first time all season long and a chance to get to a .500 record in the Patriot League as the team fights for the fourth spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
Both Lehigh and Lafayette are tied for the fourth seed in the tournament, but the Leopards hold the tiebreaker after taking the season series between the teams. With eight league games remaining and tournament teams playing each other for the rest of the year, the Mountain Hawks control their own destiny from this point forward, attempting to qualify for their first tournament berth since the 2016 season and claim their first Patriot League Championship title since 2015.
The Mountain Hawks definitely have their work cut out for them against first place Navy on Saturday, however they got the best of the Mids the last time the two squared off back at J. David Walker Field on Apr. 14 when they were victorious in the final game, 16-4. With two wins over Navy on Saturday, Lehigh would win the season series and put themselves in prime position for a spot in the tournament.
Possibly the biggest weapon in college baseball on the mound is right-hander Noah Song, and for Navy, he's been an unblemished option in the rotation. Song is 8-0 with a 1.36 ERA in 10 appearances this season and has a nation's best 118 strikeouts. On Saturday, head coach Sean Leary sends his top right-hander Levi Stoudt to the hill to face Song for the final time this regular season. Stoudt is 3-2 with an ERA of 3.91, which leads the team.
For Lehigh, there isn't a player as dominant right now as junior first baseman Tony Gallo who is coming off the weekend of his career that included two walk-off hits and a stretch of at-bats that included nine straight hits. For his efforts, Gallo was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and Patriot League Player of the Week for the first time in his career. He is now hitting .600 (12-for-20) with three home runs and 12 RBIs with a slugging percentage of 1.100, an OBP of .667 for an OPS of 1.767 in his last five games. Gallo will look to maintain his Patriot League lead in league batting average, currently hitting at a .431 mark after his unreal weekend. Gallo continued to hit well with a grand slam that proved to be the game-winner on Wednesday against the Eagles.
Gallo, along with seniors Jeff Shanfeldt and Ryan Malloy have established themselves as dominant forces in the 3-4-5 holes.
This weekend against Navy and Bucknell, Lehigh's offense will look to stay hot and continue its reign of being the league's top run scoring team, though trailing Navy by just one run at 257 RBIs and a league-best 35 home runs.
Navy will look to wrap up its Patriot League slate this weekend with an opportunity to clinch a tournament spot against Lehigh as it gets prepared to claim the regular season title as the league's first place team. The Midshipmen have the league's top two hitters with Zach Biggers pacing the league in hits with 55 and Christian Hodge with 51. Hodge also leads the Patriot League in home runs with 11 this year. Freshman first baseman Zach Stevens still holds a lead over Gallo for the league-lead in batting average at .347.
Navy leads the all-time series with Lehigh, 85-46.
Bucknell finally snapped its eight-game losing streak with a 9-7 victory over La Salle on Wednesday. The Bison dropped all three games to Lehigh last weekend at J. David Walker Field including two walk-offs on Saturday. Bucknell is led offensively by Tyler Wincig with a .330 batting average and JohnPaul Bell at .321. Wincig also hold the team-lead in home runs with eight this year and an on-base percentage of .489.
Bucknell has the all-time series lead with the Mountain Hawks, 99-87.
Both of Navy's games on Saturday will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network, as will the first game of the doubleheader with Bucknell on Sunday.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballBaseball vs. Coppin State
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