Saturday, May 4
Bethlehem, PA.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Army
Photo by: Brent Hugo
Army, Holy Cross visit Bethlehem in Lehigh's final weekend of the regular season
5/3/2019 1:56:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There is only one weekend left in the regular season for the Lehigh baseball team with only four games left to attempt to qualify for its first Patriot League tournament berth since the 2016 season. Unfortunately, the Mountain Hawks no longer control their own destiny after dropping four straight league games last weekend to Navy and Bucknell. This weekend. Army West Point visits Saturday on Senior Day, while Holy Cross travels to Bethlehem on Sunday in the final two doubleheaders at J. David Walker Field.
In order to catch Lafayette for the fourth and final spot, the Mountain Hawks need to win three or four games this weekend, with the Leopards falling in four or three games, respectively as Lehigh currently trails by two games with Lafayette holding the tiebreaker.
After winning a season-long six straight games heading into last weekend's contests, the Mountain Hawks have fallen in five straight games since, most recently losing a heartbreaker to Saint Peter's on Wednesday, 8-6 by way of a walk-off home run.
This weekend, Lehigh will need to rely heavily on the offensive attack that has led it to so many important wins throughout the season. Junior first baseman Tony Gallo currently leads the team with a .320 batting average and is hitting .391 in Patriot League games this season. The last time Gallo played at Walker Field, his performance earned him Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors after his two walk-off hits to beat Bucknell. He followed up those performances with a grand slam to take the lead that ultimately led to a big non-league victory over Coppin State on his home turf.
Senior catcher Jeff Shanfeldt continues to mash, as he hit his eighth home run of the season last weekend at Bucknell to put himself in a tie for the team-lead with Ryan Malloy in that category. This season, Shanfeldt leads the team in a multitude of offensive categories including multi-RBI games (14), longest on-base streak (20 games), doubles (14), RBIs (44), on-base percentage (.441) and runs (41). He is currently hitting .297 on the year, just three points away from his first career .300-plus season with just four games remaining in the regular season.
Malloy continues to show consistency in his swing as the senior continues to lead the Mountain Hawks' offense as he's done from the very beginning of the season. He's currently the only member of the team to eclipse 50 hits on the year with 51 in his 43 games played so far. He, along with fellow senior Shanfeldt have been the benefactors of the extra base hit throughout the 2019 campaign, as Malloy has totaled 13 doubles to go along with eight home runs and continues to lead the team in total bases with 92. Malloy is just four hits shy of 100 for his career and he can realistically reach that milestone this weekend in what could be his final four games wearing the Brown and White.
Aside from Lehigh's three-headed monster in the middle of the lineup, consistency on offense has been a tool for many other players as of late including freshman third baseman Gerard Sweeney and sophomore right fielder Tyler Schreiner. Sweeney is third on the team in hits with 47 and is hitting .283 in his rookie season. He's also hitting .298 in league play, which ranks second on the team with 25 hits, five doubles and 14 RBIs. Schreiner has come on nicely in recent games, with at least one hit in five of his last seven games. He is hitting .471 (8-for-17) in his last five Patriot League games with two doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBIs.
On the mound, Levi Stoudt will make his final start of the regular season on Saturday against Army West Point with eyes on the postseason, as the junior right-hander is coming off a dominant start against Navy, where he opposed Noah Song. Stoudt threw six strong innings against the first place Midshipmen, allowing just one earned run on three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Stoudt leads all Lehigh pitchers with an ERA of 3.65, 62 strikeouts and is searching for his fourth victory of the 2019 campaign.
Army West Point comes into the weekend looking for a strong showing as it tries to lock up a postseason spot, currently holding down the fort in the third position. The Black Knights (26-21, 12-9 PL) are coming off an equally tough Patriot League weekend last week, where the team dropped three of four games to Holy Cross in Worcester. Army is led by a bunch of talented players on offense including Anthony Giachin, who leads the team with a batting average of .337 (60-for-178) in 47 games this season. Trey Martin leads all his teammates with seven home runs this season, while Jacob Hurtubise has had no trouble getting on base with a league-leading .509 OBP and 35 stolen bases. Hurtubise has also hit .327 (49-for-150), while playing all 47 games this year. On the mound, it's been a lethal combination of Daniel Burggraaf (3-2, 2.35 ERA), Tyler Giovinco (6-4, 3.55 ERA) and Sam Messina (6-3, 3.86 ERA), while Cam Opp has been reliable in a closing role with a team-high five saves and an ERA of 4.05.
All-time, Army leads the series with Lehigh 84-50, with the Black Knights taking two out of three the last time the two teams played earlier this season in West Point.
Holy Cross has already locked up a berth in the tournament as the Crusaders (19-28, 13-8 PL), close out the season at Lafayette and Lehigh this weekend, just attempting stand pat with the second seed behind regular season champ Navy. Austin Masel (.310 AVG) and Evan Blum (.294) have been the steady leaders in that offensive category this season, playing a majority of the team's games. Masel also leads the team in slugging percentage with a mark of .460 in 46 games. He also leads the way in doubles (12) and triples (4). The Crusaders have only hit a total of 15 home runs this season, but leading the way with three to his credit is Peter Dudanakis. On the mound, it has been a very strong campaign for Liam Dvorak (6-3, 2.66 ERA), who also leads the team with 71 strikeouts. In Patriot League play, Dvorak is 4-1 with an ERA of 1.32 in six starts, while Declan Cronin is 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five starts over 40 1/3 innings of work. In nine relief appearances, Eric Lopes is 1-1 with four saves and an ERA of 0.00, surrendering just five hits in 12 innings, while striking out 12 batters and holding opposing hitters to a batting average of .135.
Holy Cross leads the all-time series 67-57 over the Mountain Hawks after the Crusaders took two out of three the last time these two teams squared off earlier in the season in Worcester.
Saturday marks Senior Day for the program's Class of 2019, as the team will honor Chris Butera, Ethan Frohman, Thomas Schumacher, Jeff Shanfeldt, Cole McManimon and Ryan Malloy prior to the Mountain Hawks' noon doubleheader. Saturday is also Bark in the Park Day, which coincides with Dollar Hot Dog Day, where fans can show off their dogs and purchase hot dogs for $1.
On Sunday, before the Mountain Hawks take the field in a noon doubleheader with Holy Cross, the program will recognize the 1984 ECC Regular Season Championship team at Walker Field.
All games this weekend 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.
In order to catch Lafayette for the fourth and final spot, the Mountain Hawks need to win three or four games this weekend, with the Leopards falling in four or three games, respectively as Lehigh currently trails by two games with Lafayette holding the tiebreaker.
After winning a season-long six straight games heading into last weekend's contests, the Mountain Hawks have fallen in five straight games since, most recently losing a heartbreaker to Saint Peter's on Wednesday, 8-6 by way of a walk-off home run.
This weekend, Lehigh will need to rely heavily on the offensive attack that has led it to so many important wins throughout the season. Junior first baseman Tony Gallo currently leads the team with a .320 batting average and is hitting .391 in Patriot League games this season. The last time Gallo played at Walker Field, his performance earned him Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors after his two walk-off hits to beat Bucknell. He followed up those performances with a grand slam to take the lead that ultimately led to a big non-league victory over Coppin State on his home turf.
Senior catcher Jeff Shanfeldt continues to mash, as he hit his eighth home run of the season last weekend at Bucknell to put himself in a tie for the team-lead with Ryan Malloy in that category. This season, Shanfeldt leads the team in a multitude of offensive categories including multi-RBI games (14), longest on-base streak (20 games), doubles (14), RBIs (44), on-base percentage (.441) and runs (41). He is currently hitting .297 on the year, just three points away from his first career .300-plus season with just four games remaining in the regular season.
Malloy continues to show consistency in his swing as the senior continues to lead the Mountain Hawks' offense as he's done from the very beginning of the season. He's currently the only member of the team to eclipse 50 hits on the year with 51 in his 43 games played so far. He, along with fellow senior Shanfeldt have been the benefactors of the extra base hit throughout the 2019 campaign, as Malloy has totaled 13 doubles to go along with eight home runs and continues to lead the team in total bases with 92. Malloy is just four hits shy of 100 for his career and he can realistically reach that milestone this weekend in what could be his final four games wearing the Brown and White.
Aside from Lehigh's three-headed monster in the middle of the lineup, consistency on offense has been a tool for many other players as of late including freshman third baseman Gerard Sweeney and sophomore right fielder Tyler Schreiner. Sweeney is third on the team in hits with 47 and is hitting .283 in his rookie season. He's also hitting .298 in league play, which ranks second on the team with 25 hits, five doubles and 14 RBIs. Schreiner has come on nicely in recent games, with at least one hit in five of his last seven games. He is hitting .471 (8-for-17) in his last five Patriot League games with two doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBIs.
On the mound, Levi Stoudt will make his final start of the regular season on Saturday against Army West Point with eyes on the postseason, as the junior right-hander is coming off a dominant start against Navy, where he opposed Noah Song. Stoudt threw six strong innings against the first place Midshipmen, allowing just one earned run on three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Stoudt leads all Lehigh pitchers with an ERA of 3.65, 62 strikeouts and is searching for his fourth victory of the 2019 campaign.
Army West Point comes into the weekend looking for a strong showing as it tries to lock up a postseason spot, currently holding down the fort in the third position. The Black Knights (26-21, 12-9 PL) are coming off an equally tough Patriot League weekend last week, where the team dropped three of four games to Holy Cross in Worcester. Army is led by a bunch of talented players on offense including Anthony Giachin, who leads the team with a batting average of .337 (60-for-178) in 47 games this season. Trey Martin leads all his teammates with seven home runs this season, while Jacob Hurtubise has had no trouble getting on base with a league-leading .509 OBP and 35 stolen bases. Hurtubise has also hit .327 (49-for-150), while playing all 47 games this year. On the mound, it's been a lethal combination of Daniel Burggraaf (3-2, 2.35 ERA), Tyler Giovinco (6-4, 3.55 ERA) and Sam Messina (6-3, 3.86 ERA), while Cam Opp has been reliable in a closing role with a team-high five saves and an ERA of 4.05.
All-time, Army leads the series with Lehigh 84-50, with the Black Knights taking two out of three the last time the two teams played earlier this season in West Point.
Holy Cross has already locked up a berth in the tournament as the Crusaders (19-28, 13-8 PL), close out the season at Lafayette and Lehigh this weekend, just attempting stand pat with the second seed behind regular season champ Navy. Austin Masel (.310 AVG) and Evan Blum (.294) have been the steady leaders in that offensive category this season, playing a majority of the team's games. Masel also leads the team in slugging percentage with a mark of .460 in 46 games. He also leads the way in doubles (12) and triples (4). The Crusaders have only hit a total of 15 home runs this season, but leading the way with three to his credit is Peter Dudanakis. On the mound, it has been a very strong campaign for Liam Dvorak (6-3, 2.66 ERA), who also leads the team with 71 strikeouts. In Patriot League play, Dvorak is 4-1 with an ERA of 1.32 in six starts, while Declan Cronin is 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five starts over 40 1/3 innings of work. In nine relief appearances, Eric Lopes is 1-1 with four saves and an ERA of 0.00, surrendering just five hits in 12 innings, while striking out 12 batters and holding opposing hitters to a batting average of .135.
Holy Cross leads the all-time series 67-57 over the Mountain Hawks after the Crusaders took two out of three the last time these two teams squared off earlier in the season in Worcester.
Saturday marks Senior Day for the program's Class of 2019, as the team will honor Chris Butera, Ethan Frohman, Thomas Schumacher, Jeff Shanfeldt, Cole McManimon and Ryan Malloy prior to the Mountain Hawks' noon doubleheader. Saturday is also Bark in the Park Day, which coincides with Dollar Hot Dog Day, where fans can show off their dogs and purchase hot dogs for $1.
On Sunday, before the Mountain Hawks take the field in a noon doubleheader with Holy Cross, the program will recognize the 1984 ECC Regular Season Championship team at Walker Field.
All games this weekend 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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