BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh senior outfielder Casey Rother and Army West Point right-handed pitcher Tanner Gresham received Patriot League Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, when the League office announced honors on Tuesday. Holy Cross freshman CF/LHP Tyler Mudd earned rookie of the week.
Rother collected his second Patriot League Baseball Player of the Week this season after batting .529 (9-for-17) with three home runs and 13 RBIs, helping Lehigh take two of three games against Holy Cross. He also tossed 3.1 shutout innings of relief in the Mountain Hawks’ game-two win against the Crusaders in Saturday’s doubleheader.
Gresham picked up two saves to earn his first Patriot League Baseball Pitcher of the Week this season. He tossed a pair of scoreless innings to help the Black Knights claim the Patriot League baseball regular-season title.
Mudd earned Patriot League Baseball Rookie of the Week for the first time batting .429 (6-for-14) with three runs and two RBIs in addition to pitching 5.0 innings and allowing one unearned run in a Crusaders’ win over Lehigh in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Army West Point senior OF Nick Manesis, Bucknell senior OF Chris Cannizzaro and Lafayette junior 3B Seif Ingram received honorable mentions for their performances last week.
PATRIOT LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Casey Rother, Lehigh, Sr., OF/RHP, Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area
*Rother batted .529 (9-for-17) with three home runs and 13 RBIs while slugging 1.353 and posting an on-base percentage of .833 to help Lehigh go 3-1 last week.
*He went 4-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, one home run and a career-high eight RBIs in Lehigh’s 17-6 victory against Holy Cross on Sunday.
*The Tamaqua, Pa. native combined to go 4-for-8 with four runs, three RBIs and two home runs to split Saturday’s doubleheader with the Crusaders.
*He also tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless relief in the Mountain Hawks’ 6-2 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.
PATRIOT LEAGUE BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, So., RHP, Charlotte, N.C./Huntersville
*Gresham earned two saves in a pair of scoreless one-inning appearances against Bucknell to help Army West Point claim the Patriot League regular-season title.
*The sophomore righty struck out one batter in a perfect seventh inning to earn a save in the Black Knights’ 3-1 victory over Bucknell in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
*The Charlotte, N.C. native pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his fifth save of the season in a 6-5 win over Bucknell on Sunday to clinch the regular-season title.
PATRIOT LEAGUE BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Tyler Mudd, Holy Cross, Fr., CF/LHP, Shrewsbury, Mass./Deerfield Academy
*Mudd batted .429 (6-for-14) with three runs, two RBIs and a triple to help Lehigh go 2-2 in games against Holy Cross and Dartmouth last week.
*The Shrewsbury, Mass. native posted a pair of multi-hit games, going 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader before going 3-for-5 with an RBI on Sunday.
*He also pitched 5.0 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits with four strikeouts in the Crusaders’ 10-inning win against Lehigh in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. He did not figure in the decision.
Honorable Mentions
Nick Manesis, Army West Point, Sr., OF, Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River
*Manesis hit .406 (6-for-13) while slugging .692 and reaching base at a .533 clip to help Army West Point go 2-2 last week. He scored five times and drove in four runs while hitting a home run in the Black Knights’ win over Bucknell on Sunday to clinch the Patriot League regular-season title.
Chris Cannizzaro, Bucknell, Sr., OF, Staten Island, N.Y./Poly Prep
*Cannizzaro batted .588 (10-for-17) with six RBIs and seven runs scored to help the Bison go 2-2 last week. He doubled three times, hit three home runs and slugged 1.188 while reaching base at a .611 clip against Penn State and Army West Point.
Seif Ingram, Lafayette, Jr., 3B, Silver Spring, Md./The Avalon School
*Ingram scored five times and drove in six runs while hitting .400 (6-for-15) with one home run and two doubles in four games last week, including taking two of three games from Navy. He went 3-for-3 with a grand slam and four runs scored in a 13-2 win in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Mids.
Patriot League Player of the Week
2.22 – Logan Keller, Navy, So., 3B
3.1 – Casey Rother, Lehigh, Sr., 1B
3.8 – Pete Ciuffreda, Lafayette, Jr., OF
3.15 – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, 2B
3.22 – Gerard Sweeney, Lehigh, Sr., 1B
3.29 – Sean Scanlon, Holy Cross, Fr., DH/RHP
4.5 – Ross Friedrick, Army West Point, 1B
4.12 – Colin Smith, Navy, Jr., OF/RHP
4.19 – Alex Smith, Navy, Jr., C/DH
4.26 – Sam Ruta, Army West Point, So.,
5.3 – Casey Rother, Lehigh, OF/RHP, Sr.
Patriot League Pitcher of the Week
2.22 – Jack DiLauro, Holy Cross, Jr., RHP
3.1 – Luke Rettig, Lehigh, Sr., LHP
3.8 – Luke Benneche, Lafayette, So., RHP
3.15 – Luke Rettig, Lehigh, Sr., LHP
3.22 – Will Greer, Bucknell, Jr., RHP
3.29 – Patrick Melampy, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
4.5 – Jake Bloss, Lafayette, Jr., RHP
4.12 – Will Greer, Bucknell, Jr., RHP
4.19 – Austin Odell, Bucknell, Sr., RHP
4.26 – Jake Bloss, Lafayette, Jr., RHP
5.3 – Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, So., RHP
Patriot League Rookie of the Week
2.22 – Jake Whitlinger, Lehigh, Fr., OF
3.1 – Nick Wang, Holy Cross, Fr., 3B
3.8 - Nick Wang, Holy Cross, Fr., 3B
3.15 – Nick Wang, Holy Cross, Fr., 3B
3.22 – Justin Butler, Lehigh, Fr., C/OF
3.29 – Nick Wang, Holy Cross, Fr., 3B
4.5 – Tyler Dunn, Bucknell, Fr., 1B
4.12 – Trevor Neff, Holy Cross, Fr., RHP
4.19 – Landon Kruer, Navy, Fr., RHP
4.26 – Tyler O’Neill, Bucknell, Fr., RHP
5.3 – Tyler Mudd, Holy Cross, Fr., CF/LHP
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athlete 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.