Lehigh University Athletics
Photo by: Maria Bouchard
Four Mountain Hawks Take Home All-Patriot League Honors
5/10/2023 1:05:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Four members of the Lehigh baseball team have been recognized for their efforts on the diamond during the 2023 season, as fifth-year outfielder Casey Rother was selected to the All-Patriot League first team for the third straight season while fifth-year left-handed pitcher Luke Rettig, fifth-year first-baseman Joe Gorla, and first-year infielder Dom Patrizi all earned spots on the second team, voted on by the coaches and announced by the league office Wednesday afternoon.
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Casey Rother is no stranger to Patriot League accolades, making his third consecutive appearance on the first team after being named the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Rother, selected as the Preseason Player of the Year, rewrote the record books for Lehigh this past season, breaking numerous school records including single-season home runs (15) and RBIs (64) as well as career home runs (32) and RBIs (168). He finished second all-time with 234 career hits, three away from breaking the record, and was the sixth member of the brown and white to achieve this feat. Rother also sits atop the record books in games played (189), at-bats (723), and doubles (47).
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Rother finished the regular season batting .342 (66-for-193) overall with 17 doubles, 15 home runs, a triple, 41 runs scored and 64 RBIs with 28 walks as a starter in all 50 games. He had a .674 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .427. In league play, Rother batted .322 (29-for-90) with six doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBIs with 18 runs scored.
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Luke Rettig, Joe Gorla and Dom Patrizi were all selected to the All-Patriot League second team.
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Rettig earns his third All-Patriot League honor after being a first-team honoree in 2022 and a second-team recipient in 2021. The Mountain Hawks' ace was selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and went 6-4 through 12 starts with a 3.24 ERA, striking out 65 and walking 21 in 58.1 innings. Rettig finished with three complete games and a two-hit shutout with a 1.10 WHIP. He broke the school record for strikeouts in a career, ending with 272 and breaking the previous record by 10 strikeouts. During league play, Rettig recorded 38 Ks with three complete games and a shutout in 36 innings with a 2-4 record.
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Gorla, a three-time second-team honoree, wrapped up the regular season hitting .302 (39-for-129) overall in 40 games, making 37 starts with seven doubles, seven home runs, 26 runs scored and 18 RBIs with 11 walks. He had a .519 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .392. In league play, Gorla batted .292 (19-for-65) with a couple of doubles, three home runs and five RBIs with nine runs scored.
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Earning himself a spot in the Lehigh lineup and now being honored to the Patriot League second team is Patrizi. He concluded his rookie campaign hitting .381 (37-for-97) while playing in 37 games and starting 28 of them. Patrizi recorded five doubles, 25 runs scored and 14 RBIs while drawing 11 walks with a slugging percentage of .433 and an on-base percentage of .455. He then played in 23 of 25 league games with a batting average of .373 (25-for-67) with three doubles, 16 runs scored and eight RBIs with nine walks and an on-base percentage of .455.
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Lehigh wrapped up the 2023 season on a three-game winning streak, which its looks to take into next season. The squad finished with its third consecutive year recording 20 or more wins and reaching at least 10 wins in Patriot League competition.
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2023 Patriot League Baseball Major Awards
Player of the Year – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
Pitcher of the Year – Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
Defensive Player of the Year – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
Rookie of the Year – Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr., OF
Gene Depew Coach of the Year – Chris Tracz, Army West Point
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2023 First Team All-Patriot League*
SP: Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Mike Ruggieri, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Alex Walsh, Lafayette, Sr.
RP: Robbie Buecker, Army West Point, Sr.
C: Derek Berg, Army West Point, Jr.
1B: Ross Friedrick, Army West Point, Sr.
2B: Billy Kender, Bucknell, So.
3B: Sean Keys, Bucknell, So.
SS: Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr.
OF: Braden Golinski, Army West Point, Jr.
OF: Grant Voytovich, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Peter Ciuffreda, Lafayette, Sr.
OF: Casey Rother, Lehigh, 5th
At-Large: Michael Zarrillo, Lafayette, So
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2023 Second Team All-Patriot League*
SP: Luke Rettig, Lehigh, 5th
SP: Nate Mitchell, Navy, Sr.
SP: Matthew Shirah, Navy, Jr.
RP: Landon Kruer, Navy, Jr.
C: Alex Smith, Navy, Sr.
1B: Joe Gorla, Lehigh, 5th
2B: Dom Patrizi, Lehigh, Fr.
3B: Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Jr.
SS: Anthony Sherwin, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr.
OF: Jacob Corson, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Kyle Lyons, Bucknell, So.
OF: Nick Burch, Navy, Sr.
At-Large: Sean Scanlon, Holy Cross, So.
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*Additional players added to the first and second teams due to ties in the voting
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Casey Rother is no stranger to Patriot League accolades, making his third consecutive appearance on the first team after being named the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Rother, selected as the Preseason Player of the Year, rewrote the record books for Lehigh this past season, breaking numerous school records including single-season home runs (15) and RBIs (64) as well as career home runs (32) and RBIs (168). He finished second all-time with 234 career hits, three away from breaking the record, and was the sixth member of the brown and white to achieve this feat. Rother also sits atop the record books in games played (189), at-bats (723), and doubles (47).
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Rother finished the regular season batting .342 (66-for-193) overall with 17 doubles, 15 home runs, a triple, 41 runs scored and 64 RBIs with 28 walks as a starter in all 50 games. He had a .674 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .427. In league play, Rother batted .322 (29-for-90) with six doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBIs with 18 runs scored.
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Luke Rettig, Joe Gorla and Dom Patrizi were all selected to the All-Patriot League second team.
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Rettig earns his third All-Patriot League honor after being a first-team honoree in 2022 and a second-team recipient in 2021. The Mountain Hawks' ace was selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and went 6-4 through 12 starts with a 3.24 ERA, striking out 65 and walking 21 in 58.1 innings. Rettig finished with three complete games and a two-hit shutout with a 1.10 WHIP. He broke the school record for strikeouts in a career, ending with 272 and breaking the previous record by 10 strikeouts. During league play, Rettig recorded 38 Ks with three complete games and a shutout in 36 innings with a 2-4 record.
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Gorla, a three-time second-team honoree, wrapped up the regular season hitting .302 (39-for-129) overall in 40 games, making 37 starts with seven doubles, seven home runs, 26 runs scored and 18 RBIs with 11 walks. He had a .519 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .392. In league play, Gorla batted .292 (19-for-65) with a couple of doubles, three home runs and five RBIs with nine runs scored.
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Earning himself a spot in the Lehigh lineup and now being honored to the Patriot League second team is Patrizi. He concluded his rookie campaign hitting .381 (37-for-97) while playing in 37 games and starting 28 of them. Patrizi recorded five doubles, 25 runs scored and 14 RBIs while drawing 11 walks with a slugging percentage of .433 and an on-base percentage of .455. He then played in 23 of 25 league games with a batting average of .373 (25-for-67) with three doubles, 16 runs scored and eight RBIs with nine walks and an on-base percentage of .455.
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Lehigh wrapped up the 2023 season on a three-game winning streak, which its looks to take into next season. The squad finished with its third consecutive year recording 20 or more wins and reaching at least 10 wins in Patriot League competition.
Â
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
2023 Patriot League Baseball Major Awards
Player of the Year – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
Pitcher of the Year – Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
Defensive Player of the Year – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
Rookie of the Year – Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr., OF
Gene Depew Coach of the Year – Chris Tracz, Army West Point
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2023 First Team All-Patriot League*
SP: Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Mike Ruggieri, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Alex Walsh, Lafayette, Sr.
RP: Robbie Buecker, Army West Point, Sr.
C: Derek Berg, Army West Point, Jr.
1B: Ross Friedrick, Army West Point, Sr.
2B: Billy Kender, Bucknell, So.
3B: Sean Keys, Bucknell, So.
SS: Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr.
OF: Braden Golinski, Army West Point, Jr.
OF: Grant Voytovich, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Peter Ciuffreda, Lafayette, Sr.
OF: Casey Rother, Lehigh, 5th
At-Large: Michael Zarrillo, Lafayette, So
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2023 Second Team All-Patriot League*
SP: Luke Rettig, Lehigh, 5th
SP: Nate Mitchell, Navy, Sr.
SP: Matthew Shirah, Navy, Jr.
RP: Landon Kruer, Navy, Jr.
C: Alex Smith, Navy, Sr.
1B: Joe Gorla, Lehigh, 5th
2B: Dom Patrizi, Lehigh, Fr.
3B: Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Jr.
SS: Anthony Sherwin, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr.
OF: Jacob Corson, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Kyle Lyons, Bucknell, So.
OF: Nick Burch, Navy, Sr.
At-Large: Sean Scanlon, Holy Cross, So.
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*Additional players added to the first and second teams due to ties in the voting
Players Mentioned
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