Wednesday, March 8
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:30 p.m.
Lehigh University
7-4
12
vs
2
Coppin State University
3-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Coppin State
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
6
2
Lehigh
0
2
1
3
6
0
0
0
X
12
17
1
Photo by: Maria Bouchard
Lehigh Wins Home Opener Over Coppin State
3/8/2023 8:14:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team (7-4) played its home opener at J David Walker Field at Legacy Park and defeated Coppin State (3-9) 12-2 in non-league action on Wednesday afternoon.
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Coppin State scored a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead and held the Mountain Hawks scoreless in the bottom half of the first. Lehigh then scored 12 unanswered runs, starting by taking the lead in the second frame off a sacrifice bunt by first-year Ryan Cochran to plate sophomore Andrew Kohl. First-year Owen Walewander singled through the right side of the infield that scored fifth-year Joe Gorla to give the Mountain Hawks a 2-1 lead.
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Junior Tyler Young singled to center field to score sophomore Rafe Perich for the lone run of the third inning, and Lehigh added three runs in their half of the fourth with Walewander doubling to left field to score first-year Dom Patrizi. Junior Jake Whitlinger followed that up with a double to right field to score Walewander and fifth-year Casey Rother raced to third base for his first triple of the season and brought home Whitlinger to give Lehigh a 6-1 lead.
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The Mountain Hawks then put up six runs in the fifth inning to stretch their advantage to 12-1, including a triple from Kohl which scored the final two runs for the Brown and White. After a pair of scoreless innings, Coppin State scored another run on a bases-loaded walk, which put the score at 12-2 and would hold for the Lehigh victory.
Eleven Mountain Hawks combined for 17 hits, with six student-athletes producing two hits in the game. Kohl and Walewander went 2-for-4 on the day, contributed two RBIs apiece, and scored one run each with Kohl adding a triple and Walewander with a double. Fifth-year Gerard Sweeney, first-year Dom Patrizi and Young produced two hits and an RBI each. Patrizi scored twice while Sweeney and Young both scored once. Fifth-year Joe Gorla finished the afternoon with two hits and two runs scored for Lehigh.
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Rother, Perich and Whitlinger all had one hit and drove in one RBI with Perich scoring two runs of his own. Sophomore Sam Holtz and junior Drew Morse also had a base hit.
Sophomore right-hander pitcher Jack Hamilton got the start in the home opener and threw two innings of work with one earned run on three hits and three strikeouts. Classmate Alex Bouchard (W, 1-1) earned the victory in the game by tossing four scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out six Eagles. First-year Shane O'Neill hurled one inning with just one hit and was replaced first-year David Andolina, who threw 0.1 of an inning that allowed one earned run on one hit and two walks. Sophomore Marcus Danchision entered the game and finished the eighth inning with two strikeouts before junior Lucas Rich tossed the ninth frame and had one strikeout with out a hit.
Lehigh will travel to Orem, Utah for four games this weekend, March 10-12, with one game Friday, March 10, a doubleheader on Saturday, March 11 and the final game of the series on Sunday, March 12. Game one is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m. (EST) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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Coppin State scored a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead and held the Mountain Hawks scoreless in the bottom half of the first. Lehigh then scored 12 unanswered runs, starting by taking the lead in the second frame off a sacrifice bunt by first-year Ryan Cochran to plate sophomore Andrew Kohl. First-year Owen Walewander singled through the right side of the infield that scored fifth-year Joe Gorla to give the Mountain Hawks a 2-1 lead.
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Junior Tyler Young singled to center field to score sophomore Rafe Perich for the lone run of the third inning, and Lehigh added three runs in their half of the fourth with Walewander doubling to left field to score first-year Dom Patrizi. Junior Jake Whitlinger followed that up with a double to right field to score Walewander and fifth-year Casey Rother raced to third base for his first triple of the season and brought home Whitlinger to give Lehigh a 6-1 lead.
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The Mountain Hawks then put up six runs in the fifth inning to stretch their advantage to 12-1, including a triple from Kohl which scored the final two runs for the Brown and White. After a pair of scoreless innings, Coppin State scored another run on a bases-loaded walk, which put the score at 12-2 and would hold for the Lehigh victory.
Eleven Mountain Hawks combined for 17 hits, with six student-athletes producing two hits in the game. Kohl and Walewander went 2-for-4 on the day, contributed two RBIs apiece, and scored one run each with Kohl adding a triple and Walewander with a double. Fifth-year Gerard Sweeney, first-year Dom Patrizi and Young produced two hits and an RBI each. Patrizi scored twice while Sweeney and Young both scored once. Fifth-year Joe Gorla finished the afternoon with two hits and two runs scored for Lehigh.
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Rother, Perich and Whitlinger all had one hit and drove in one RBI with Perich scoring two runs of his own. Sophomore Sam Holtz and junior Drew Morse also had a base hit.
Sophomore right-hander pitcher Jack Hamilton got the start in the home opener and threw two innings of work with one earned run on three hits and three strikeouts. Classmate Alex Bouchard (W, 1-1) earned the victory in the game by tossing four scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out six Eagles. First-year Shane O'Neill hurled one inning with just one hit and was replaced first-year David Andolina, who threw 0.1 of an inning that allowed one earned run on one hit and two walks. Sophomore Marcus Danchision entered the game and finished the eighth inning with two strikeouts before junior Lucas Rich tossed the ninth frame and had one strikeout with out a hit.
Lehigh will travel to Orem, Utah for four games this weekend, March 10-12, with one game Friday, March 10, a doubleheader on Saturday, March 11 and the final game of the series on Sunday, March 12. Game one is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m. (EST) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bouchard, Alex (1-1)
L: CANALES, Giovanni (0-1)
Batting:
2B: BLACK, Brody 1 ; HAMBERG, Jordan 1 ; SARABIA, Sebastien 1
RBI: SARABIA, Sebastien 1 ; HILTON, Bruce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BLACK, Brody 1 ; HAMBERG, Jordan 1
CS: NICOLAS, Brian 1
HBP: DIVITTORIO, Anthony 1 ; BURDETTE, Nathan 1 ; HANKINS, Josh 1 ; SMITH, Toran 1
Batting:
2B: Whitlinger, Jake 1 ; Gorla, Joe 1 ; Morse, Drew 1 ; Walewander, Owen 1
3B: Rother, Casey 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 1
RBI: Whitlinger, Jake 2 ; Perich, Rafe 1 ; Rother, Casey 1 ; Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 2 ; Young, Tyler 1 ; Cochran, Ryan 1 ; Patrizi, Dom 1 ; Walewander, Owen 2
SH: Cochran, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Whitlinger, Jake 2 ; Perich, Rafe 2 ; Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 1 ; Young, Tyler 1 ; Gorla, Joe 2 ; Patrizi, Dom 2 ; Walewander, Owen 1
SB: Whitlinger, Jake 2 ; Patrizi, Dom 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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OF
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OF
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IF
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IF/RHP
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RHP
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OF/RHP
/ Baseball1B
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OF/IF
/ BaseballIF
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