Wednesday, May 26
Bethlehem, Pa.
11 a.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Army West Point (Championship)
Photo by: Lisa Stamford
Lehigh vies with Army West Point for Patriot League title
5/25/2021 8:50:00 AM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the first time since 2015, the Lehigh baseball program is geared up and ready to compete for a Patriot League title. The top-seeded Mountain Hawks (23-17) host second-seeded Army West Point for a three-game Patriot League Championship Series showdown starting Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. at J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park. The best-of-three series will decide who will be the automatic qualifier for an NCAA Regional in 2021.
Lehigh and the Black Knights (26-22) split the four-game series earlier in the season, trading paint on each other's home turf.
A series victory over Army would seal Lehigh's first Patriot League title since 2015 and third overall in program history. The Mountain Hawks bested fourth-seeded Navy in three games in a semifinal victory to get to this point in the season. Lehigh will need to defeat the league's other service academy in order to accomplish the goal.
Lehigh was backed by junior sluggers Joe Gorla and Gerard Sweeney in the previous round, both coming in as the team's hottest hitters after a solid first weekend. Gorla went 8-for-14 (.571) with two home runs and three RBIs while Sweeney went 6-for-12 (.500) with a double, two homers, two walks and three RBIs from the plate. Freshman Andrew Nole also had a strong weekend in the batter's box against the Midshipmen, batting .417 (5-for-12) with a double and a run driven in.
On the mound, junior lefty Luke Rettig led the Mountain Hawks to a Game 3 victory to clinch the series after throwing seven scoreless frames, allowing just three hits with eight strikeouts. Junior lefty Matt Stamford threw five strong shutout innings of relief in Lehigh's Game 1 win, picking up the victory.
Gorla and Patriot League Player of the Year Casey Rother enter the Championship Series leading the team in hitting, both with .329 averages. Both are also tied for the team lead in RBIs at 32.
Despite only throwing four innings in Lehigh's Game 1 win over Navy on May 15, junior right-hander Mason Black still comes into the series with the Black Knights as a formidable pitcher. Black is 7-2 with a 2.62 ERA and 95 strikeouts on the year.
Army West Point wrapped up its semifinal series with Lafayette in three games at Doubleday Field in West Point. Like Lehigh, the Black Knights took the opener and the closer of the series to clinch the victory. Compared to Rettig's Game 1 performance for the Mountain Hawks, Ray Bartoli nearly went the distance, tossing 8.1 innings while allowing just three runs, two earned on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
Hunter Meade went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Kevin Dubrule was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Cam Cerruto drove in three runs on a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
Despite coming into the series on a tear, First Team All-Patriot League selection Anthony Giachin went just 1-for-11 from the plate against Lafayette. He's slashing .293/.463/.421 in 48 games in his final season with the Black Knights.
Ross Friedrick leads Army West Point in batting, hitting .323 with three homers and 16 RBIs on the campaign.
Lehigh and Army West Point split the four-game set earlier in April and are playing each other in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Mountain Hawks earned the semifinal victory on the road in three games to advance to the Championship series for the first of two straight appearances. The last time the two teams met in the final round was back in 2005, where the Black Knights swept Lehigh in West Point to claim the title.
Army West Point leads the all-time postseason series with Lehigh, 3-2.
All three games, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (if necessary) will begin at 2 p.m. and will all be streamed live on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh and the Black Knights (26-22) split the four-game series earlier in the season, trading paint on each other's home turf.
A series victory over Army would seal Lehigh's first Patriot League title since 2015 and third overall in program history. The Mountain Hawks bested fourth-seeded Navy in three games in a semifinal victory to get to this point in the season. Lehigh will need to defeat the league's other service academy in order to accomplish the goal.
Lehigh was backed by junior sluggers Joe Gorla and Gerard Sweeney in the previous round, both coming in as the team's hottest hitters after a solid first weekend. Gorla went 8-for-14 (.571) with two home runs and three RBIs while Sweeney went 6-for-12 (.500) with a double, two homers, two walks and three RBIs from the plate. Freshman Andrew Nole also had a strong weekend in the batter's box against the Midshipmen, batting .417 (5-for-12) with a double and a run driven in.
On the mound, junior lefty Luke Rettig led the Mountain Hawks to a Game 3 victory to clinch the series after throwing seven scoreless frames, allowing just three hits with eight strikeouts. Junior lefty Matt Stamford threw five strong shutout innings of relief in Lehigh's Game 1 win, picking up the victory.
Gorla and Patriot League Player of the Year Casey Rother enter the Championship Series leading the team in hitting, both with .329 averages. Both are also tied for the team lead in RBIs at 32.
Despite only throwing four innings in Lehigh's Game 1 win over Navy on May 15, junior right-hander Mason Black still comes into the series with the Black Knights as a formidable pitcher. Black is 7-2 with a 2.62 ERA and 95 strikeouts on the year.
Army West Point wrapped up its semifinal series with Lafayette in three games at Doubleday Field in West Point. Like Lehigh, the Black Knights took the opener and the closer of the series to clinch the victory. Compared to Rettig's Game 1 performance for the Mountain Hawks, Ray Bartoli nearly went the distance, tossing 8.1 innings while allowing just three runs, two earned on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
Hunter Meade went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Kevin Dubrule was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Cam Cerruto drove in three runs on a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
Despite coming into the series on a tear, First Team All-Patriot League selection Anthony Giachin went just 1-for-11 from the plate against Lafayette. He's slashing .293/.463/.421 in 48 games in his final season with the Black Knights.
Ross Friedrick leads Army West Point in batting, hitting .323 with three homers and 16 RBIs on the campaign.
Lehigh and Army West Point split the four-game set earlier in April and are playing each other in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Mountain Hawks earned the semifinal victory on the road in three games to advance to the Championship series for the first of two straight appearances. The last time the two teams met in the final round was back in 2005, where the Black Knights swept Lehigh in West Point to claim the title.
Army West Point leads the all-time postseason series with Lehigh, 3-2.
All three games, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (if necessary) will begin at 2 p.m. and will all be streamed live on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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