April 2, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - Patriot League play continues this weekend in both men and women's lacrosse, while the League slates open for both softball and baseball. Check out a weekend preview for each of the four team sports below, with a link to the composite schedules to follow the action on a beautiful Easter weekend!

Men's Lacrosse

Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Release and Statistics

All seven Patriot League teams will be in action this weekend, starting with Navy's home meeting with No. 13/10 Georgetown. The Mids and the Hoyas will battle for the Scott Boyle Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the winner. Navy comes into the contest riding a two-game winning streak. The Mids are coming off a dramatic victory over Colgate, in which Navy erased an 8-4 deficit and claimed a 10-9 triumph in overtime. Friday's game will be carried on the national television airwaves by CBS College Sports Network.

Four games are on the Saturday slate, including a pair of Patriot League contests. Army, which enters the weekend as one of two teams without a Patriot League loss, will host Colgate, which is seeking its first Patriot League win of the season. The Black Knights are coming off a non-Leauge loss at Hofstra, while the Raiders are attempting to rebound from a 10-9 overtime loss to Navy. Despite playing a young lineup, Colgate enters the game as one of the most disciplined teams in the Patriot League, committing the fewest penalties and the fewest turnovers per game among League squads. Army's attack has also benefitted from youth, as freshman Garrett Thul ranks third in the Patriot League with 18 goals.

Bucknell and Holy Cross will also be seeking a key Patriot League triumph on Saturday. The Bison were picked second in the Patriot League preseason poll, but they will head to Worcester seeking to record their first League victory of the season. Bucknell is coming off an 11-9 road victory over Penn State on Tuesday in which Ryan Klipstein scored three goals and an assist. Austin Winter, who notched three points, now ranks eighth on the Patriot League's all-time scoring charts with 183 points. Holy Cross won its Patriot League opener but has lost its last two League outings and three straight overall. The Crusaders will try to regain momentum with five straight home contests.

A pair of non-League games are also on the docket for Saturday. No. 10/13 Lafayette will host Mount St. Mary's, while Lehigh will welcome Sacred Heart to Bethlehem. After opening the season with six straight wins, Lafayette dropped its most recent outing, a 12-11 defeat against No. 11/14 Drexel. Lehigh comes into the weekend riding the high of a 16-15 overtime win at Binghamton. The Mountain Hawks have won two straight games and three of their last four.

To follow any live stat, audio or video links, and check out postgame recaps and box scores after each game, go to the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse composite schedule.

Women's Lacrosse

Three League games dot the women's lacrosse schedule this weekend, with one contest featuring a battle for first place. Navy (11-2, 2-0 Patriot League) travels to Hamilton to take on Colgate (6-5, 2-0) at Tyler's Field for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday in a rematch from last year's Patriot League Championship. Both teams are tied at the top of the League standings and are the only remaining undefeated squads in League play. The winner will be in great shape for a run at the regular season championship and top overall seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Navy's Erin Rawlick continues to lead the nation in goals (54) and points (79). Colgate's Meghan Lawler has overtaken Rawlick for the League lead in assists with 26, which is also tied for second in the country. Since the Mids moved to Division I in 2008, the Raiders have won all three meetings, including last year's 17-4 victory in the League title game.

A tough battle is emerging in the middle of the Patriot League standings. American hosts Lafayette (2-9, 1-2) in Washington, D.C. at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Leopards enter the game having won two straight, including Tuesday's 19-10 victory over Manhattan and last week's League win over Bucknell. A Lafayette victory would create a logjam in the middle of the standings, as both teams would move to 2-2 in the League and four teams would have at least two League victories. A win for the Eagles would push them to 3-1 and move closer to a spot in the Patriot League Tournament with two League games remaining.

The third League contest of the weekend pits Bucknell (1-11, 0-3) against Holy Cross (2-8, 0-2) at the new Holy Cross Field in Worcester. The Bison received great news on Wednesday when senior Carol Donohue saw her first action of the season after missing the first 11 games due to injury. She even scored a goal on her first touch of the season in Bucknell's loss to Le Moyne. Both teams have a lot at stake in this game, as each is hoping to snap their respective losing streaks and pick up a critical first League win. Holy Cross' Kat Sutton puts her 22-game goal-scoring streak on the line in the contest.

Lehigh (8-2, 2-1) hits the road Saturday to visit MAAC foe Canisius for a 12 p.m. contest in Buffalo, N.Y. After opening the season with eight consecutive victories and tying the program's mark for its best start, the Mountain Hawks have dropped two straight, including Tuesday's 8-6 loss at home to Marist. Offense has not been a problem for Lehigh, as Lauren Dykstra is third in the League with 31 goals and Kelly Draper is tied for sixth with 23. As a team, Lehigh is averaging 13.1 goals per game while giving up 8.3 per contest. Canisius is 6-5 overall and is coming off a 20-5 win over Detroit on Sunday.

For all live stats, links and recaps after each of the games, visit the women's lacrosse composite schedule here.

Baseball

Patriot League Baseball Release and Statistics

The 2010 Patriot League Baseball season finally commences this weekend, with rematches of each of last year's semifinal series on the opening slate.

Army goes to Holy Cross and Bucknell is at Lafayette in the semifinal rematches, while Lehigh is at Navy to fill out the weekend slate. Each Patriot League Baseball series is a four-game set played on Saturday and Sunday, with a seven-inning opener and nine-inning nightcap on each day of action. All of this weekend's series begin at 12 p.m. on both days.

Army (9-8) begins defense of its Patriot League title at Holy Cross (9-8), who the Black Knights defeated in three games in last year's semifinal round at West Point. The Black Knights are led by an outstanding junior class that includes some of the top hitters in the Patriot League in Clint Moore, Kevin McKague, Joey Henshaw and Ben Koenigsfeld, who is also one of the League's elite pitchers. The Crusaders come into the four-game set riding a wave of momentum with five straight victories, including a 14-1 triumph over Harvard on Thursday. Holy Cross has scored 63 runs in the five wins, with 45 in the past three games, and leads the Patriot League with a .331 batting average. Nick Ciardiello leads the League with a .468 mark. In last year's regular season, the teams split four games at West Point.

Bucknell (10-14) shared the 2009 regular-season crown with Army and earned the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, but was upset by Lafayette (3-14) in the semifinal round in Lewisburg. Now, the Bison will try to earn a measure of payback in Easton in a series that has been dominated by the Leopards of late. In addition to winning last year's semifinal series in three games, Lafayette has won 10 of the last 12 regular-season meetings between the teams over the last three seasons. Bucknell also tries to break a six-game losing streak overall, while Lafayette is 3-3 after an 0-11 start.

Lehigh (6-14) and Navy (17-8) are both trying to make it back to the Patriot League Tournament after missing out on the field last season. Andrew Russell has four home runs and 18 RBIs to lead the Mountain Hawk offense, while Ken Longernecker leads the Patriot League with a 2.38 ERA. Navy has shined early in the season by placing second in the Patriot League in batting average (.312) and first in ERA (3.84). The Mids are already just three wins shy of last year's total of 20, and have a 12-5 mark in Annapolis. Navy's Wes Olson, Sam Long and Zach Sipe are all in the top four in the Patriot League in ERA. Long is the reigning Patriot League Pitcher of the Week, and will face a Lehigh team that he no-hit last season.

To follow any live stat, audio or video links, and check out the winning team's recap and box score after each game, go to the Patriot League Baseball composite schedule.

Softball

Patriot League Softball Release and Statistics

All six Patriot League teams will begin League play this weekend. Each team will play four games with doubleheaders scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.

Colgate enters Patriot League play with the top overall record. The Raiders are 17-5, having last competed on Sunday. Colgate has won its past two games entering its League-opening series at defending champion Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks will be chasing a League-opening victory for the third straight season. Lehigh has won 10 Patriot League Championships, including each of the past two. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Princeton on Tuesday, giving Lehigh three straight wins.

Lehigh's opponent in the 2009 Patriot League Championship, Lafayette, will begin Patriot League play at Army. Lafayette split its mid-week doubleheader against Iona, moving the Leopards to 9-10 on the season. Army brings a 12-10 record into Patriot League play after splitting with Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday.

Bucknell will be at home against Holy Cross. The Bison split with Drexel on Tuesday, moving Bucknell's record to 8-8. Holy Cross, which won four straight games to move to 4-5, has since lost nine consecutive outings and enters Patriot League play with a 4-12 mark.

To follow any live stat, audio or video links, and check out postgame recaps and box scores after each game, go to the Patriot League Softball composite schedule.