April 22, 2011
Center Valley, Pa. - While the fields for both the men and women's lacrosse Patriot League Tournaments have been set, the right to host will be decided on the final day of the regular season with top seeds at stake in both sports.
The top seed in men's lacrosse will go to the winner of Saturday's Bucknell/Colgate contest, with each team coming in a perfect 5-0 in the Patriot League. The women's lacrosse scenario is slightly more complicated, with Navy in the driver's seat as the host of the League Tournament with a win over Lehigh on Saturday. Should the Mids lose, Colgate would earn the No. 1 seed with a win over Bucknell, and Lehigh would take the No. 1 if the Raiders fall to the Bison.
CBS Sports Network will broadcast the key games for each sport on Saturday, with the Lehigh at Navy contest at 3 p.m. before Bucknell and Colgate play for the regular-season men's lacrosse title at 7 p.m.
Elsewhere, the Patriot League baseball and softball schedules enter the penultimate weekend of the regular season. Army, Lafayette and Navy are in a three-way tie for first place in baseball at 7-5 with Lehigh (6-6), Holy Cross (5-7) and Bucknell (4-8) close behind, while Colgate (10-1), Lehigh (8-3) and Holy Cross (8-4) have emerged in softball. The weekend slate features Army at Lafayette in baseball and Colgate at Holy Cross in softball.
For score updates throughout the weekend, visit the Patriot League Super Scoreboard. Coverage links and recaps can be found on each individual composite schedule.
A synopsis of the upcoming weekend for men and women's lacrosse, baseball and softball follows below.
Men's Lacrosse
With just one weekend remaining before the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Tournament, there's just one very important piece of information still unknown at this juncture. No. 16/16 Colgate welcomes 12th-ranked Bucknell to Hamilton, N.Y., Saturday at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network to hash out that one remaining puzzle piece, as the winner will capture the League's regular-season crown and earn the No. 1 seed and hosting responsibilities for the Patriot League Tournament, which starts with the two semifinal matchups April 29.
Weekly Release (4.19)
Updated Statistics
Composite Schedule/Results
Bucknell (11-2, 5-0 Patriot League), which is completing a stretch of three straight road games to finish the regular season, would love to capture a victory to bring the League Tournament back to Lewisburg for the second time in the last three years. The Bison, however, will try not to have the same slow start they had last week at Lehigh, when they fell behind 7-1 in the second quarter and trailed 11-7 at the start of the fourth before Billy Eisenreich's late heroics lifted Bucknell to a 12-11 win. On the other side, Colgate (9-3, 5-0) has garnered a reputation of flying under the radar on the national scene, but the fact is other Patriot League teams are well aware of the talent the Raiders possess. Bolstered by sophomore Peter Baum, one of the League's three candidates for the Tewaaraton Trophy, Colgate is seeking its second ever regular-season title and first since sharing it with Navy in 2006. That year also marks the one and only time the Raiders have hosted the League Tournament. A win would send it back to Hamilton once more.
The weekend starts with No. 18/17 Army (8-4, 3-2) visiting Holy Cross (2-11, 1-4) Saturday at noon at Holy Cross Field in Worcester. The Crusaders are in the midst of a three-game stretch at home to close their regular season, which will come to a close Tuesday when they host Marist. Holy Cross comes into Saturday's game after a 14-5 win over visiting Mercer last weekend. The Black Knights, too, enter the game off a victory, an emotional 14-9 decision against rival Navy in Annapolis. Army boasts the other two of the League's Tewaaraton Trophy candidates in senior attackman Jeremy Boltus and sophomore attackman Garrett Thul, who combined for 13 points in last week's win over the Mids. The victory ensured Army a shot at defending last year's League title, although it will have to do it on the road. The Black Knights are locked in as the No. 3 seed and will face the loser of Saturday night's Bucknell-Colgate contest in the tournament's semifinals next week.
While the Army-Navy rivalry hogged the headlines a week ago, Lehigh-Lafayette is always emotional, and the next chapter will be written Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Mountain Hawks (6-8, 2-3) host the Leopards (2-10, 0-5) in Bethlehem. Lafayette's 11-10 loss to Colgate last weekend eliminated it from the League Tournament and clinched the fourth seed for Lehigh, which is in for the first time since 2006. While the Mountain Hawks will be preparing to play the Bucknell-Colgate winner next week in the tournament, Lafayette hopes to send seniors Tom Perini and Stefan Bauer out as winners. Perini broke the school record for career goals with his 124th last week versus the Raiders, and he currently ranks sixth in League history, just one shy of entering the top five. Bauer is one of the League's two candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award along with Lehigh's Jonathan Stumpf. Lehigh is looking for a victory to snap its four-game skid.
Navy (4-8) concludes its season Saturday at 8 p.m. when it visits in-state rival No. 2/2 Johns Hopkins at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Mids took a 9-8 overtime victory against the Blue Jays last season in Annapolis, snapping Hopkins' 36-game win streak in the series. Before last year, Navy hadn't beaten the Blue Jays since 1974, also in Annapolis. Saturday's meeting will be the 85th between the programs.
Women's Lacrosse
Weekly Release (4.18.11)
Composite Schedule
Cumulative Statistics
It's fitting that the rematch of last season's championship game in women's lacrosse is happening in the League's final weekend of regular-season play.
Both Navy (12-4, 4-1 Patriot League) and Lehigh (9-6, 4-1) will square off in the game that will inevitably decide the 2011 Patriot League Tournament's No. 1 seed.
The two squads are tied atop the standings at 4-1 along with Colgate (7-6, 4-1), which will face off against Bucknell (3-12, 0-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday. Lehigh will take the field against Navy at 3 p.m. Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The Navy-Lehigh game will be telecast on CBS Sports Network.
If Navy wins, the Mids will host the tournament, which starts April 28 with the semifinals and concludes with the final on April 30. The championship game is at 3 p.m. and also will be telecast on CBS Sports Network.
If Lehigh wins, the Mountain Hawks can host the tournament if Bucknell upsets Colgate earlier in the day. If Colgate wins, the Raiders will host with a Navy loss. American (8-7, 3-3) has clinched the No. 4 seed. The Eagles are idle on the League schedule and will play a non-League game at Davidson at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Lafayette (3-12, 1-4) and Holy Cross (5-11, 2-3) will meet in a season finale for both teams at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Navy also can lock up the regular-season title with a win, and if the Mids win, it will be their first regular-season victory against Lehigh. Navy is 0-3 against Lehigh in regular-season games. The Mids, however, own the postseason edge, winning a semifinal game in 2009 and the championship game last season.
The matchup features the League's top offense -- Lehigh, with 13.87 goals per game led by the League's leading goal scorer senior Lauren Dykstra (64) -- and the League's top scoring tandem in sophomore Jasmine DePompeo and freshman Aimee Gennaro -- who have combined for 85 goals.
Navy's duo will have to get past one of the nation's top goalkeepers in freshman Alexandra Fitzpatrick, who is second in the NCAA with a .525 save percentage. She is 11th in the NCAA with an 8.29 GAA. Navy has used a trio of goalies to post the League's second-best GAA at 8.94.
Colgate also has a great pair in Colleen Bubnack (45 goals, 15 assists) and Courtney Miller (28 goals, 28 assists and they will look to add to their numbers against Bucknell's defense, which has allowed a League-worst 14.67 goals per game. They also will look to lock up at least the No. 2 seed. With a win and a Lehigh loss, Colgate will be seeded second and Lehigh will be third. If the Bison win the Raiders will be third and the winner of the Navy-Lehigh game will be first. Colgate owns a 28-3 record against Bucknell and has won eight straight after losing to the Bison in the Patriot League Tournament in 2003.
Baseball
Composite schedule
Weekly Release - 4.19.11
Cumulative Statistics
Center Valley, Pa. - Little has been decided through the first three weekends of the Patriot League baseball schedule, with the six teams separated by just three games and a three-way tie for first place. The teams will take another chance to distinguish themselves from the pack this weekend, which includes a matchup of two of the teams tied for first when Army visits Lafayette.
Elswhere, Navy comes in with a share of first place when it visits Holy Cross, while Bucknell goes to Lehigh with the Mountain Hawks just one game behind the leaders. The Army/Lafayette and Navy/Holy Cross series have already been moved to Sunday and Monday due to inclement weather expected on Saturday, while the Bucknell/Lehigh matchup is still slated for the traditional weekend dates. Each four-game series will feature a pair of doubleheaders, with the first contest on each date going seven innings and the nightcap slated for the full nine.
Four teams will qualify for the Patriot League Tournament, which begins with the semifinals on May 14-15. Multiple teams can clinch a bid this weekend with victories and help from results in other contests.
Army (15-19, 7-5 Patriot League) took a step back to the pack last weekend by losing three of four games at Lehigh, while Lafayette (13-20, 7-5) jumped into the tie with the Black Knights by splitting its weekend slate with Holy Cross. Army bounced back with a 10-2 win over Yale on Wednesday, and appears to be getting one of its top players on track as Clint Moore had a home run and five RBIs in the contest after a strong weekend against Lehigh. Lafayette has been riding a hot hitter all season, as senior catcher A.J. Miller leads the Patriot League and is among the national leaders in batting average (.439), on-base percentage (.525) and slugging percentage (.833), where he came into the week second in Division I.
Navy (23-16-1, 7-5) also entered the first-place tie last weekend by picking up a game on Army with its split against Bucknell. Now the Mids visit Holy Cross (18-19-1, 5-7), where the Crusaders are picking up steam after a slow start to the League schedule. Holy Cross was swept in its opening four-game series at Army and started 1-5 in Patriot League action, but since has won four of six contests to pull within two games of first place. Senior Nick Ciardiello is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week after belting four home runs last week, breaking the Holy Cross career home run record in the process. The Mids counter with a pitching staff that is second in the Patriot League in both overall and League only ERA.
Lehigh (22-15, 6-6) gained momentum last week with its first series victory over Army since 2003, and will try to carry it into a series against a Bucknell (17-23, 4-8) team that is looking to make up ground in the standings. The defending champion Bison have yet to win a Patriot League series, but boast a pair of outstanding individual contributors. Patriot League all-time home run king Doug Shribman, who also leads the way with 12 this season, and starting pitcher Ryan Ebner, who has the ERA lead in League games, lead Bucknell into a critical weekend. The Bison will have to do it against a Lehigh team that is strong at home, as the Mountain Hawks hold a 14-7 mark in Bethlehem after Wednesday's triumph against Penn.
For any live stat, audio and video links to coverage, as well as recaps and box scores from each game, go to the Patriot League composite schedule
Softball
With just two weekends of regular-season League play remaining, teams are eyeing those coveted spots in the Patriot League Tournament, which begins in three weeks. No spots have been clinched just yet, but with Colgate in first place by two games over Lehigh, the Raiders are in prime position to clinch and potentially shore up hosting responsibilities.
Weekly Release (4.20)
Updated Statistics
Composite Schedule/Results
After losing the first game of the weekend to Lehigh, Colgate (19-17, 10-1 Patriot League) swept the Sunday doubleheader as the bats came alive against the Mountain Hawks. The Raiders lost some of that momentum when they were swept in a Wednesday twinbill at Cornell. After their pitching was so dominant in the season's first half, the Raiders' team ERA has been inching up the last two weeks, but sophomore Courtney O'Connell (7-8, 1.88 ERA) and freshman Rachel LeCoq (12-7, 2.04) are still 1-2 in the League in ERA, and LeCoq is striking out nearly seven batters per game. Another freshman, Tera Vaughn, is up to fifth in the League hitting .360, while senior Nicole Siedhof's nine home runs are tied for the League best. The Raiders need just one win to clinch a spot in the Patriot League Tournament when they visit Holy Cross beginning Saturday for a four-game series. Senior Caitlin Belanger still leads the League in batting average (.426), while classmate Keely Seniuk (.371) is fourth. The Crusaders (15-20, 8-4) trail Colgate by three in the loss column, and are seeking their first berth in the League Tournament since 2003. Any combination of four wins by Holy Cross or losses by Bucknell to Lafayette this weekend could put the Crusaders in.
Second-place Lehigh (23-18, 8-3), fresh off a midweek split against Hofstra in Bethlehem, stays home to host Army (22-18, 5-7) for a four-game set starting Saturday. Like Colgate and Holy Cross, Lehigh could clinch a spot in the League Tournament as early as this weekend, depending on the results of its games against the Black Knights and how Bucknell fares against the Leopards. It's a critical series for Army, which sits two games ahead of the Bison for fourth in the League and trails Holy Cross by three games. The Black Knights held on for a 5-4 win over Delaware Wednesday afternoon, which supplied a nice rebound for them after dropping the last game of the Lafayette series in Easton. Reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week Amanda Nguyen is up to third in the League hitting .381 with a League-best 21 steals, placing her one shy of the Army record. Lehigh, the League's second-best hitting team at .285, boasts a powerful punch in its lineup supplied by Julie Fernandez, Liz Lucas and Alex Cueva, who have combined for 75 RBI and are all hitting over .340. Lucas has a League-high 16 doubles.
Defending champion Bucknell (11-29, 3-9) is still in the race for a bid to the League Tournament, but is two back of fourth with eight to play. The Bison host Lafayette (4-33, 1-11) for four this weekend. The Leopards are starting play better ball, having won two of their last three contests, which was started by Melissa Robinson's three-hit gem that shut down Army in the final contest of their four-game set on Monday. Lafayette earned a split with St. Peter's on Wednesday. Alison Ford set a career high with seven RBI in one of last weekend's two victories for Bucknell at Holy Cross, and she's lifted her batting average to .412, second-best in the League. Despite her 5-14 overall record, Bridget Gates has pitched better of late, and boasts a manageable 2.91 ERA for the season while striking out nearly four batters per seven innings. Pitcher of the Week Alex MacLean leads the League in innings pitched (130.1).
With the weather forecast looking ominous for Saturday, stay tuned to the composite schedule page for any schedule changes.