April 30, 2012

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- The Patriot League announced its weekly awards for April 23-29 in baseball, softball and outdoor track and field on Monday.

The field of four is set in baseball as Navy and Lafayette sealed up the final two bids to the Patriot League Tournament over the weekend. Lafayette will be the fourth seed and travel to top-seeded Army for their best-of-three semifinal series that begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 12. Game 3, if necessary, will be on Sunday, May 13. No. 3 Navy will travel to No. 2 Holy Cross and follow the same schedule. Holy Cross won a pair of games against Army over the weekend, spoiling the Black Knights' bid for a perfect League season. The Crusaders won a pair of weekly awards with Mike Ahmed being named the Player of the Week and Nate Koneski being named the Pitcher of the Week. Lafayette freshman pitcher Toby Schwartz was named the Rookie of the Week for his playoff-clinching win. For complete playoff information, click here.

Lehigh will host the 2012 Patriot League Softball Tournament after taking three of four games at Army over the weekend to claim the regular-season crown with an 18-2 record. Julie Fernandez and Rebecca Bliss each played key roles in the series, and on Monday were honored for their performance with a weekly award from the Patriot League. Lehigh will welcome No. 2 seed Army, No. 3 Colgate and No. 4 Lafayette for the postseason tournament in Bethlehem from May 10-12, with the Leopards earning their spot by defeating Bucknell on Sunday. For complete playoff information, click here.

The outdoor track and field regular season came to a close with the majority of the League competing at the Penn Relays. Bucknell's Leonard Joseph picked up his third straight Male Field Athlete of the Week award, while four other athletes won their second weekly awards of the 2012 season. The 2012 Patriot League Outdoor Championships will begin Friday morning at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. They will conclude on Saturday. For complete championship information, including schedules, click here.

Patriot League Baseball Weekly Awards

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MIKE AHMED, HOLY CROSS So., 3B/P, East Longmeadow, Mass.
Ahmed batted .304 (7-for-23) in six games with five runs scored, four RBIs, two doubles, two home runs, two walks and a stolen base. Ahmed had six of his seven hits in the Crusaders' four-game series against Army, including a 3-for-4 performance where he drove in a pair of runs in a 5-0 win. He also hit a home run and scored twice in Holy Cross' 6-3 win over Army on Saturday which ended the Black Knights' 16-game Patriot League winning streak. He also pitched a scoreless inning in the game, earning the win on the mound. This is his first weekly award.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
NATE KONESKI, HOLY CROSS Sr., P, North Dighton, Mass.
Koneski blanked No. 30 Army, pitching a complete game and limiting the Black Knights to two hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out seven in the win, improving to 6-2 on the season with the League's third-best ERA of 2.44. This is his first weekly award.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
TOBY SCHWARTZ, LAFAYETTE Fr., P, Ramsey, N.J.
Schwartz helped the Leopards clinch the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, limiting the Bison to two runs on six hits and three walks in his first Patriot League start. He struck out four in the 6-2 win that eliminated the Bison from the playoffs. He also pitched two scoreless innings of relief in a win over Long Island earlier in the week.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
KEVIN McKAGUE, ARMY Sr., INF, Fayetteville, N.C.
McKague batted .316 (6-for-19) in five games last week, driving in a run and scoring a pair. He also doubled on Saturday to set the new Army record for doubles with 52, which ties him for second place all-time in the Patriot League.

CHRIS ROWLEY, ARMY Jr., P, Duluth, Ga.
Rowley pitched seven strong innings in a 4-2 win over Holy Cross, striking out 10. He held the Crusaders to two runs on three hits and three walks. Rowley sits atop the Patriot League in pitching at 10-0 with a 1.10 ERA.

RUSSELL SEIDELL, BUCKNELL Sr., P, Granville, Ohio
Seidell pitched in a pair of games for the Bison last week, recording the save with his 1.1 innings of scoreless relief against St. Bonaventure and posting the win with his six innings of work in a 10-4 win over Lafayette. He held Lafayette to three runs (all unearned) on two hits and a walk, and he struck out three.

BRIAN DAVILA, LAFAYETTE Sr., SS, Ellicott City, Md.
Davila batted .625 (10-for-16) on the week, driving in four runs and scoring three times in five games last week. The majority of his offense came in a 5-for-5 performance against Long Island.

CORY KENT, LEHIGH Sr., P, Wilson, Pa.
Kent pitched in a pair of games, lowering his League's second-best ERA to 1.88. He moved to 4-3 on the season with a 4-1 win over Navy on Saturday, holding the Mids to one run on four hits and two walks over seven innings. In the second game of the doubleheader, he came out and recorded the 23rd save of his career with a perfect ninth inning.

BEN NELSON, NAVY Jr., P, Winter Springs, Fla.
Nelson pitched Navy to a 5-1 win over Lehigh, limiting the Mountain Hawks to one run on six hits over seven innings. He struck out seven in the win, moving into 10th place on Navy's all-time strikeout list with 176.

Patriot League Softball Weekly Awards

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JULIE FERNANDEZ, LEHIGH Sr., 1B, Moorpark, Calif.
Fernandez came up huge as Lehigh won five of six games against Colgate and Army last week, finishing with an 18-2 Patriot League record and winning the regular-season title by four games. She batted .500 with a home run, nine RBIs and two runs scored. Fernandez had four multiple-RBI games in the six contests, and she had at least one RBI in each of Lehigh's five victories. She went 6-for-9 with a home run and five RBIs as the Mountain Hawks won the final three games against Army to clinch the regular-season crown. That included a two-out solo home run in the top of the seventh in Sunday's opener to give Lehigh a 3-2 win that sealed the regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Fernandez has tied the Patriot League and Lehigh career hits mark with 257, and had three doubles last week to set the League and team single-season record with 21 and extend her career mark to 63. Fernandez leads the Patriot League and is among the national leaders with a .445 batting average. She is named Patriot League Player of the Week for the second time in her career, and first since her freshman season in 2009.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
REBECCA BLISS, LEHIGH Jr., P, Escondido, Calif.
Bliss did not allow an earned run in 20 innings pitched last week, picking up three wins and a save to help the Mountain Hawks earn the regular-season title and top seed in the Patriot League Tournament. She threw five scoreless innings with two hits allowed in an 8-0 win over Colgate on Wednesday, then allowed just two hits again in seven shutout innings of a 6-0 win over Army on Saturday that put Lehigh within one game of the regular-season crown. Bliss came through to pitch Lehigh to the title, as she allowed just two unearned runs while striking out seven in a complete-game effort for a 3-2 win in Sunday's opener. Bliss completed her week with a save in a 5-4 win over the Black Knights in the series finale. She gave up just nine hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts in the 20 innings on the mound. Bliss has a 17-6 record and 1.84 ERA for the season. She is named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season and fourth in her career.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
ERIN COX, BUCKNELL Fr., 1B/DP, La Quinta, Calif.
Cox went 4-for-6 with a run scored and three doubles as Bucknell split a doubleheader with Lafayette on Sunday. She was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and the only run of the game in a 1-0 triumph in the Bison's regular-season finale. Cox earns her first Patriot League Rookie of the Week award.

HONORABLE MENTION
GWEN TURNER, LAFAYETTE Sr., OF, Danville, Va./Dan River
Turner batted .500 (13-for-26) during last week's play for the Leopards, with a 7-for-7 effort in Sunday's doubleheader that included a 4-for-4 showing with the only runs scored in a 2-0 win over Bucknell that clinched Lafayette's berth in the Patriot League Tournament.

JENNIFER ORTEGA, COLGATE Sr., SS, Aberdeen, N.J.
Ortega went 8-for-16 with two home runs, six RBIs and seven runs scored in a 3-3 week for the Raiders.

ALEXIS AuBUCHON, ARMY Sr., 1B, Trinity, Fla.
AuBuchon had two home runs, six RBIs, four runs scored and a .400 batting average in a 3-3 week for Army.

ALEX MacLEAN, BUCKNELL Jr., P, Northampton, Pa.
MacLean gave up two runs and struck out 17 in 14 innings against Lafayette over the weekend, recording a 2-1 record in her performances.

Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Weekly Awards

MALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
EVANS KOSGEI, LEHIGH Sr., Moiben, Kenya
Kosgei finished 10th in the championship race of the 5,000 at the Penn Relays, posting an IC4A time and breaking a school record with a time of 14:30.10. It bested a school record that was set in 1976. Kosgei wins the award for the second straight week.

FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
EMILY LIGGETT, BUCKNELL Sr., Grosse Point, Mich.
Liggett finished 11th in the 3,000 at the Penn Relays, posting an ECAC-qualifying time of 9:45.55. This was her first time competing in the 3,000 this season and her time is third-best in Bucknell history. She had qualified for the 5,000 earlier in the season. This is her first outdoor weekly award.

MALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LEONARD JOSEPH, BUCKNELL Jr., Whitesboro, N.Y.
Joseph finished fifth in the championship hammer at the Penn Relays with an IC4A distance of 199-2, earning him his third straight outdoor weekly award. Joseph has posted IC4A distances in the hammer four times this season.

FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LAUREN ALLAM, NAVY So., Pasadena, Md.
Allam finished second in the discus in the college division at the Penn Relays with an ECAC distance of 164-9, which ranks first in the Patriot League and 22nd in the East Region. She also placed 21st in the shot put (39-5.75). This is her second straight outdoor weekly award.

MALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
LADDIE TREES, BUCKNELL Fr., Washington, D.C.
Trees finished 12th in the javelin at the Penn Relays, narrowly missing an IC4A distance with his throw of 192-7. Trees qualified earlier in the season with his toss of 208-7 at the Towson Invite. This is the second weekly award for Trees.

FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
SHANNON CUTHBERT, NAVY Fr., Orange Park, Fla.
Cuthbert helped the Mids set a school record in the 3,200 relay at the Penn Relays, recording an ECAC time of 9:06.80 with their 12th-place finish. This is Cuthbert's second weekly award of the outdoor season.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
MARK ALLEN, AMERICAN Jr., Miami, Fla.
Allen finished fifth in the Olympic Development 5,000 at the Penn Relays, posting an IC4A time of 14:24.13.

TOM WAGNER, ARMY Sr., Clinton, N.Y.
Wagner finished second out of 21 competitors in the high jump at the Penn Relays with an IC4A distance of 6-11.5

NICK HENDERSON, LAFAYETTE Sr., Flemington, N.J.
Henderson finished first in the pole vault (15-11) at the Penn Relays, qualifying for the IC4As.

RACHEL PENA, LAFAYETTE So., Pasadena, Md.
Pena finished third in the hammer throw with a personal-best and ECAC-qualifying distance of 181-11.

E'LANA LEMON, LEHIGH Jr., West Orange, N.J.
Lemon finished first in the hammer throw at the Lehigh Games with an ECAC distance of 179-4, a day after recording an ECAC-qualifying distance of 167-8 in the hammer throw at the Penn Relays. She also finished third in the discus (120-5) at the Lehigh Games.

JESS PALACIO, NAVY Sr., Sun Valley, Nev.
Palacio posted an ECAC time with her relay teammates in the 3,200 relay at the Penn Relays, setting a new Navy record (9:06.80) in the event. She also finished eighth in the DMR (11:46.46), running a 4:47.7 split on her 1,600-meter leg.

CHRIS RICKS, NAVY Sr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Ricks finished fourth in the hammer at the Penn Relays with an IC4A distance of 183-2.