BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Regular-season champion Lehigh received three of the five Patriot League baseball major awards when the League office announced postseason honors on Wednesday. Second-seeded Army West Point earned two of the League’s honors.
 
Mountain Hawks’ junior right-handed pitcher (RHP) Mason Black was named the 2021 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, while junior first baseman Casey Rother collected Patriot League Player of the Year honors. Lehigh Head Coach Sean Leary was named the Gene Depew Coach of the Year Award for the third time.
 
Army West Point freshman outfielder Sam Ruta was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Black Knights’ senior second baseman Tim Simoes captured Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors.
 
Overall, 28 student-athletes were selected to the two All-Patriot League teams, with 13 voted onto the first team and 15 named to the second team. Lehigh received a League-high eight All-Patriot League honorees, including five on the first team highlighted Black and Rother.
 
Army West Point and Navy had seven student-athletes earn All-League recognition, with each team placing two on the first team. Lafayette had three All-League honorees, while Bucknell added two and Holy Cross finished with one.
 
Patriot League baseball head coaches voted on the All-League teams and major awards and could not vote for their student-athletes or themselves.
 
2021 Patriot League Baseball Player of the Year
Casey Rother, Lehigh, Jr., 1B, Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua
2021 League Stats: .350 BA (48-for-137), .518 SLG, .441 OBP, 28 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 3 SB
*Rother placed among the Patriot League’s top-three in five offensive categories, including first in hits (48) and home runs (5), second in batting average (.350) and third in RBIs (32) and slugging percentage (.518).
*In 28 League games, Rother was second in the League in batting (.365) and on-base percentage (.468), while finishing fourth in slugging percentage (.519). His 24 runs scored in League play topped the Patriot League rankings.
*He also posted a .992 fielding percentage on 124 chances, with 120 putouts and three assists.
 
2021 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year
Mason Black, Lehigh, Jr., RHP, Archbald, Pa./Valley View
2021 Stats: 11 GS, 64.2 IP, 7-2, 2.51 ERA, 90 SO, 26 BB, .213 OPP. BA, 1.18 WHIP
*Black leads the Patriot League in wins (7), ERA (2.51) and strikeouts (90) while placing second in opponent’s batting average (.213). He is among the top-26 in NCAA DI in wins and strikeouts.
*The four-time Patriot League Pitcher of the Week is 6-1 with a 2.44 ERA and 74 strikeouts in nine starts, spanning 55.1 innings in League play. He closed the regular season with two-consecutive 7.0-inning, complete-game shutouts.
*Heading into the postseason, the junior right-hander is four strikeouts shy of tying Lehigh’s single-season strikeouts records.
 
2021 Patriot League Rookie of the Year
Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Fr., OF, Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury
2021 Stats: .281 BA (41-for-146), .445 SLG, .375 OBP, 17 R, 6 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 32 RBI, 5 SB
*Ruta led the Patriot League in RBIs (32) and finished fourth in home runs (4) while batting .281 (41-for-146) in 42 regular-season games.
*In League play, Ruta led all Patriot League rookies with a .337 (30-for-89) batting average while tying for the League lead with 24 RBIs and finishing third in slugging percentage (.528), helping the Black Knights’ offense lead the League in batting (.304) and runs scored (174).
*In the field, Ruta had 69 putouts and seven assists on 77 chances with a fielding percentage of .987. He made starts in left field and at first base this season.
 
2021 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year
Tim Simoes, Army West Point, Sr., 2B, Hopkinton, Mass./Xaverian Brothers
2021 Stats: 132 chances, 49 putouts, 81 assists, two errors, .985 fielding pct., 22 double plays
*Simoes finished the regular season with 81 assists and 49 putouts in 132 chances at second base, ranking among the League leaders with a .985 fielding percentage and 22 double plays.
*He showed his range by leading all Patriot League second baseman with 132 chances. Simoes made just two errors to help the Black Knights’ hold opposing offenses to a League-low .243 batting average.
*The Hopkinton, Mass. native had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 83 chances with 54 assists and 29 putouts in League play. His 16 double plays in League games tied for second in the Patriot League.
 
2021 Patriot League Gene Depew Coach of the Year
Sean Leary, Lehigh
*Leary claimed his third Gene Depew Coach of the Year award by leading the Mountain Hawks to their first regular-season title since 2006.
*The Mountain Hawks’ pitching staff led the Patriot League with a 3.85 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 27 League games. Lehigh’s 4.24 ERA in 37 overall games was also the best in the League.
*Lehigh finished 14-7 in games decided by three or fewer runs, including going 2-0 in extra-inning games.
 
Patriot League Baseball All-League by the Numbers
Giachin Highlights List of Four Multi-Season All-League Honorees
Army West Point senior third baseman Anthony Giachin was named First-Team All-Patriot League for the third time. Giachin was the 2018 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and Championship MVP, in addition to earning All-Tournament Team honors twice during his decorated career. Lafayette junior shortstop Justin Johnson, the 2019 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, made the first team for the second time. Navy senior relief pitcher Trey Braithwaite is a two-time first-team All-League honoree. Mids’ junior first baseman Zach Stevens all garnered All-League accolades for the second time, making the second team in 2019.
 
Junior Class Places 11 on All-League Teams
The Patriot League’s junior class captured 11 spots on the two All-League teams, including major award winners Black and Rother. Six seniors and sophomores collected All-League honors, with five freshmen making the two All-League teams.
 
2021 Patriot League Baseball Major Awards
Player of the Year: Casey Rother, Lehigh, Jr., 1B
Pitcher of the Year: Mason Black, Lehigh, Jr., RHP
Rookie of the Year: Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Fr., OF
Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Simoes, Army West Point, Sr., 2B
Gene Depew Coach of the Year: Sean Leary, Lehigh
 
2021 First-Team All-Patriot League Baseball Team
SP: Chris DiFiore, Bucknell, So., LHP
SP: Mason Black, Lehigh Jr., RHP
SP: Matt Svanson, Lehigh, Sr., RHP
RP: Sam Wurth, Lehigh, Sr., RHP
C: Angelo D’Acunto, Holy Cross, Jr.
1B: Casey Rother, Lehigh, Jr.
2B: Nico Valdez, Navy Jr.
SS: Justin Johnson, Lafayette, Jr.
3B: Anthony Giachin, Army West Point, Sr.                                               
OF: Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Fr.
OF: Chris Cannizzaro, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Eric Cichocki, Lehigh Sr.
At-Large: Christian Policelli, Navy, Jr.
 
2021 Second-Team All-Patriot League Baseball Team
SP: Anthony LoRicco, Army West Point, So., RHP
SP: Luke Rettig, Lehigh, Jr., LHP
SP: Charlie Connolly, Navy, Sr., RHP
RP: Connelly Early, Army West Point, Fr., LHP
RP: Trey Braithwaite, Navy, Sr., RHP
C: Adam Retzbach, Lehigh, So.
1B: Zach Stevens, Navy, Jr.
2B: Joe Gorla, Lehigh, Jr.
SS: Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, So.
3B: Logan Keller, Navy, Fr.
OF: Justin Grech, Lafayette, Fr.
OF: Peter Ciuffreda, Lafayette, So.
OF: Zane Raba, Navy, Fr.
At-Large: Nick Manesis, Army West Point, Jr.
At-Large: Ross Frederick, Army West Point., So
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.