BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Regular-season champion Army West Point claimed two of the three Patriot League baseball weekly awards when the League office announced the final set of honors for the 2023 season on Tuesday. Lehigh claimed one weekly accolade.
Black Knights’ senior first baseman Ross Friedrick collected Patriot League Baseball Player of the Week for the second time this season after batting .524 (11-for-21) with two home runs and eight RBIs to help Army West Point go 4-1 last week.
Army West Point junior RHP Matthew Ronnebaum received his third Patriot League Baseball Pitcher of the Week. He allowed two runs, one earned, in a 7.0-inning complete game to earn his sixth victory of the season against Lehigh.
Lehigh freshman RHP Shane O’Neill was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the first time after two scoreless appearances spanning 2.2 innings, including a win against Holy Cross on Sunday.
Holy Cross senior RHP Jack DiLauro and sophomore shortstop Jimmy King, Lehigh senior RHP Ben Christian and sophomore CF Jake Whitlinger, and Navy freshman infielder Brock Murtha and junior RHP Matthew Shirah all earned honorable mentions for their performances last week.
Army West Point Breaks Patriot League Single-Season Wins Record
Army West Point won a single-season record 21 Patriot League games on the way to clinching its second-consecutive regular-season title. The Black Knights’ 21 League victories eclipsed the previous record of 19 set by Navy in 1995. Army West Point’s 438 runs scored is also eight runs shy of breaking the Patriot League single-season record of 446, set by the Black Knights in 2009.
2023 Patriot League Baseball Standings (as of 5.9.23)
| School |
Patriot League |
Pct. |
Overall |
Pct. |
| Army West Point!* |
21-4 |
.840 |
34-15 |
.694 |
| Bucknell* |
14-11 |
.560 |
21-21-1 |
.500 |
| Navy* |
14-11 |
.560 |
23-25 |
.479 |
| Lafayette* |
10-15 |
.400 |
14-35 |
.286 |
| Lehigh |
10-15 |
.400 |
24-26 |
.480 |
| Holy Cross |
6-19 |
.240 |
16-35 |
.314 |
ONLINE SCHEDULE |
ONLINE STATS
!Clinched the Patriot League regular-season title
*Clinched a berth in the Patriot League Championship
PATRIOT LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ross Friedrick, Army West Point, Sr., 1B, Alpharetta, Ga./Cambridge
*Friedrick batted .524 (11-for-21) with a .905 slugging percentage, a .565 on-base percentage, two home runs, eight RBIs and six runs scored to help the Black Knights go 4-1 last week, helping secure a Patriot League single-season record 21 League wins.
*In two games against Lafayette, Friedrick went 4-for-9 with one home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored.
*He went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs on a home run and a double against Long Island on Tuesday.
PATRIOT LEAGUE BASEBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Jr., RHP, Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West
*Ronnebaum earned a 3-2 win against Lehigh by tossing a 7.0-inning complete game, allowing two runs (one earned).
*The junior right-hander struck out seven and did not walk a batter while holding the Mountain Hawks to a .231 batting average.
*He leads the Patriot League in innings pitched (67.2), strikeouts (69) and is second in wins (6).
PATRIOT LEAGUE BASEBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Shane O’Neill, Lehigh, Fr., RHP, Morristown, N.J./Morristown
*O’Neill made two scoreless appearances spanning 2.2 innings in Lehigh’s victories against Cairn and Holy Cross.
*In his first collegiate start, O’Neill tossed 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, against Cairn University.
*He earned a win by recording Lehigh’s final two outs in the ninth inning in a 5-4 nine-inning victory over Holy Cross on Sunday.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Jack DiLauro, Holy Cross, Sr., RHP, Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury
*DiLauro struck out a season-high 11 batters in 5.2 innings to early a win over Lafayette on Saturday. The senior right-hander allowed two runs on five hits.
Jimmy King, Holy Cross, So., SS, Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep
*King batted .450 with six doubles, seven runs scored and two RBIs to help the Crusaders’ go 3-2 during the final week of the regular-season. He went 5-for-9 with three doubles and four runs scored to help sweep a doubleheader against Lafayette on Saturday.
Ben Christian, Lehigh, Sr., RHP, Audubon, Pa./Methacton
*Christian allowed one run on two hits over 5.1 innings pitched to earn a win against Holy Cross in game two of Sunday’s doubleheader. He stuck out two and held the Crusaders to a .111 opposing batting average.
Jake Whitlinger, Lehigh, So., CF, Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College
*Whitlinger batted .421 (8-for-19) with three runs and two RBIs, including a game-winning one-run single in the Mountain Hawks’ 5-4 walk-off win against Holy Cross in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader. He also went 2-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-1 win over Army West Point on Saturday.
Brock Murtha, Navy, Fr., INF, Sayville, N.Y./Sayville
*Murtha batted .500 (5-for-10), slugging .800 and reaching base at a .545 clip in three games last week for Navy. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the Mids’ 8-5 win over Elon on Sunday. He homered in Navy’s first game against Elon on Saturday. Earlier in the week, he went 2-for-3 in a loss against the George Mason, who feature the A10’s top pitching staff.
Matthew Shirah, Navy, Jr., RHP, Blue Ridge, Ga./Fannin County
*Shirah tossed 4.0 shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out four in Navy’s 8-5 upset victory over Elon on Sunday. The junior right-hander earned his fifth win of the season and has now recorded three-or-more strikeouts in each of his last 10 starts.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
2.21 – Blaze Fadio, Lafayette, Jr., INF
2.28 – Andrew Kohl, Lehigh, So., OF
3.7 - Sean Scanlon, Holy Cross, So., DH
3.14 – Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Jr., 3B
3.21 – Anthony Sherwin, Bucknell, Jr., SS
3.28- Sean Keys, Bucknell, So., 3B
4.4 – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
4.11 – Sean Keys, Bucknell, So., 3B
4.18 – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
4.25 – Ross Friedrick, Army West Point, Sr., 1B
5.2 – Sean Keys, Bucknell, So., 3B
5.9 – Ross Friedrick, Army West Point, Sr., 1B
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
2.21 – Casey Rother, Lehigh, 5th, RHP/1B
2.28 – Alex Walsh, Lafayette, Sr., RHP
3.7 – Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
3.14 – Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
3.21 – Luke Rettig, Lehigh, Gr., LHP
3.28 – Chris DiFiore, Bucknell, LHP
4.4 – Robbie Buecker, Army West Point, Sr., RHP
4.11 – Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
4.18 – Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
4.25 - Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
5.2 – Luke Rettig, Lehigh, Gr., LHP
5.9 - Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
2.21 – Ethan Swidler, Lafayette, Fr., C
2.28 – Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr., OF
3.7 – James Reese, Lafayette, Fr., RHP
3.14 – Henry Mitchell, Navy, Fr., INF
3.21 – Jackson Beattie, Navy, Fr., RHP
3.28 – Danny Macchiarola, Holy Cross, Fr., RHP
4.4 – Oliver Brown, Holy Cross, Fr., INF
4.11 – Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr., OF
4.18 – Dom Patrizi, Lehigh, Fr., INF
4.25 – Ryan Osinski, Bucknell, Fr., RHP
5.2 – Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr., RF
5.9 – Shane O’Neill, Lehigh, Fr., RHP
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.