Wednesday, March 22
Bethlehem, Pa.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
University of Pennsylvania
Photo by: Maria Bouchard
Rettig Named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week as Lehigh Readies for Penn
3/21/2023 1:02:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Fifth-year left-handed pitcher Luke Rettig was selected as the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week for his performance on the mound this past weekend versus Saint Peter's as the Mountain Hawks prepare to take on Penn tomorrow afternoon at J. David Walker Field and Legacy Park.
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Rettig (4-0) threw 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out seven batters while earning his fourth win of the season in the Mountain Hawks' 4-1 victory over Saint Peter's on Saturday. He faced 20 Peacocks and allowed just two hits without giving up a run or a walk while earning nine flyouts and one groundout for a 0.00 ERA. Rettig has now moved into third all-time in career strikeouts with 234.
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Fifth-year Casey Rother was also tabbed as an honorable mention after he went 6-for-14 with three doubles and a home run with six RBIs and scored two runs as Lehigh went 2-2 for the week. He hit .429 in four games with a slugging percentage of .857, making 23 putouts and four assists in a clean week defensively. Rother produced three extra-base hits and five RBIs in the 12-0 win over Saint Peter's on Saturday afternoon, with two doubles and a home run, the sixth homer of the season and the 23rd of his career, putting him second all-time in program history.
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The Mountain Hawks (11-8) are coming on a 2-2 week after dropping a midweek matchup to FDU (4-3), then earned a series win over Saint Peter's after falling 4-3 in the opener on Friday (4-3) before sweeping the Saturday doubleheader (4-1 and 12-0). Other than Rother, Junior Riley Davis and sophomores Rafe Perich, Justin Butler and Jake Whitlinger hit over .300 this past week. Butler played in one game and went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base while Whitlinger produced three doubles and a triple with five RBIs and five runs scored. Perich had six hits with two doubles, three RBIs and five runs with a stolen base while Davis had two hits, a stolen base and scored a run.
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Sophomore right-hander Alex Bouchard joined Rettig as the other Lehigh pitcher to earn a win this week by throwing five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit with five strikeouts. Seniors Ben Christian and Will Grisack, sophomore Val Taddei and first-year Shane O'Neill combined for 8.2 scoreless innings last week with eight strikeouts.
Junior Tyler Young leads the team with a .362 batting average and sophomore Andrew Kohl is close behind, hitting .361 this year. Kohl's seven home runs lead the Mountain Hawks while Rother has driven in a team-high 27 RBIs and seven doubles.
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Penn (8-7) is coming into Wednesday's game off a 3-1 week, defeating Villanova 15-5 in seven innings before earning a series victory over Massachusetts, dropping the opening game 1-0, then sweeping the Saturday doubleheader 9-3 and 19-4 in seven innings.
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Seth Werchan was selected as the Ivy League Player of the Week and Davis Baker the Rookie of the week for the second straight week after the Quakers' 3-1 week. Werchan hit .500 for the week with six runs, six RBI and four of his six hits going for extra bases, including the season's first two home runs at Meiklejohn Stadium for the Quakers. Baker hit .357 with four runs, three RBI, and three of his five hits going for extra bases, including two triples in Penn's 19-4 win in the rubber game with UMass Saturday afternoon.
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Baker leads the squad with a .396 batting average and 21 hits, four doubles and two triples for 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored while Jackson Appel is hitting .293 with 13 RBIs and 14 runs scored and 17 hits. Wyatt Henseler leads the Quakers with 17 RBIs, four home runs and 18 hits while Ben Miller has a team-high five homers with 13 RBIs.
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Penn has three pitchers that have tossed 18 or more innings, with Ryan Dombroski leading the team with 28 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched in four starts and a 2-1 record. Coady Owen and Cole Zaffiro both have thrown 20-plus innings of work, Coady going 1-2 in four starts with 27 strikeouts in 22.1 innings while Zaffiro is 1-1 in four starts in 20.1 innings and 26 strikeouts.
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The Mountain Hawks are set to open Patriot League play when they travel to Navy for a Saturday doubleheader before taking on Bucknell in Lewisburg on Sunday for a pair of games. All four games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and first pitch of Saturday's twin bill is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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Rettig (4-0) threw 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out seven batters while earning his fourth win of the season in the Mountain Hawks' 4-1 victory over Saint Peter's on Saturday. He faced 20 Peacocks and allowed just two hits without giving up a run or a walk while earning nine flyouts and one groundout for a 0.00 ERA. Rettig has now moved into third all-time in career strikeouts with 234.
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Fifth-year Casey Rother was also tabbed as an honorable mention after he went 6-for-14 with three doubles and a home run with six RBIs and scored two runs as Lehigh went 2-2 for the week. He hit .429 in four games with a slugging percentage of .857, making 23 putouts and four assists in a clean week defensively. Rother produced three extra-base hits and five RBIs in the 12-0 win over Saint Peter's on Saturday afternoon, with two doubles and a home run, the sixth homer of the season and the 23rd of his career, putting him second all-time in program history.
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The Mountain Hawks (11-8) are coming on a 2-2 week after dropping a midweek matchup to FDU (4-3), then earned a series win over Saint Peter's after falling 4-3 in the opener on Friday (4-3) before sweeping the Saturday doubleheader (4-1 and 12-0). Other than Rother, Junior Riley Davis and sophomores Rafe Perich, Justin Butler and Jake Whitlinger hit over .300 this past week. Butler played in one game and went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base while Whitlinger produced three doubles and a triple with five RBIs and five runs scored. Perich had six hits with two doubles, three RBIs and five runs with a stolen base while Davis had two hits, a stolen base and scored a run.
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Sophomore right-hander Alex Bouchard joined Rettig as the other Lehigh pitcher to earn a win this week by throwing five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit with five strikeouts. Seniors Ben Christian and Will Grisack, sophomore Val Taddei and first-year Shane O'Neill combined for 8.2 scoreless innings last week with eight strikeouts.
Junior Tyler Young leads the team with a .362 batting average and sophomore Andrew Kohl is close behind, hitting .361 this year. Kohl's seven home runs lead the Mountain Hawks while Rother has driven in a team-high 27 RBIs and seven doubles.
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Penn (8-7) is coming into Wednesday's game off a 3-1 week, defeating Villanova 15-5 in seven innings before earning a series victory over Massachusetts, dropping the opening game 1-0, then sweeping the Saturday doubleheader 9-3 and 19-4 in seven innings.
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Seth Werchan was selected as the Ivy League Player of the Week and Davis Baker the Rookie of the week for the second straight week after the Quakers' 3-1 week. Werchan hit .500 for the week with six runs, six RBI and four of his six hits going for extra bases, including the season's first two home runs at Meiklejohn Stadium for the Quakers. Baker hit .357 with four runs, three RBI, and three of his five hits going for extra bases, including two triples in Penn's 19-4 win in the rubber game with UMass Saturday afternoon.
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Baker leads the squad with a .396 batting average and 21 hits, four doubles and two triples for 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored while Jackson Appel is hitting .293 with 13 RBIs and 14 runs scored and 17 hits. Wyatt Henseler leads the Quakers with 17 RBIs, four home runs and 18 hits while Ben Miller has a team-high five homers with 13 RBIs.
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Penn has three pitchers that have tossed 18 or more innings, with Ryan Dombroski leading the team with 28 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched in four starts and a 2-1 record. Coady Owen and Cole Zaffiro both have thrown 20-plus innings of work, Coady going 1-2 in four starts with 27 strikeouts in 22.1 innings while Zaffiro is 1-1 in four starts in 20.1 innings and 26 strikeouts.
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The Mountain Hawks are set to open Patriot League play when they travel to Navy for a Saturday doubleheader before taking on Bucknell in Lewisburg on Sunday for a pair of games. All four games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and first pitch of Saturday's twin bill is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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