Feb. 26, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Navy edged out Lafayette by one point for first place in the Patriot League Baseball preseason poll, and both teams showed why they have such high hopes by winning two out of three games on the first weekend of the season.The Mids won a pair of contests from Air Force before a loss to Arkansas State at the Service Academy Classic, while the Leopards took two out of three in a series at VMI. Bucknell started its season with two losses and a tie, while Army and Lehigh dropped all four of their contests over the weekend.
Patriot League Baseball Release - 2.26.08 
Player of the Week
Michael Speciale, Navy So., OF, Pearland, Texas
Speciale led the Patriot League with a .545 batting average during the first weekend of games, going 6-for-11 with six runs scored and two RBI. He also added two walks and two stolen bases, posting a .615 on-base percentage and .636 slugging percentage with one double among the six hits. He tied a career-high with three hits in a 3-for-4 day with two runs, an RBI and a stolen base in a 6-5 win over Air Force on Friday. In a 16-5 win over Air Force on Saturday, Speciale tied for the fourth-most runs in a game in Navy history with four runs scored in a 2-for-3 performance that also included an RBI, stolen base and two walks. Speciale receives his first Patriot League Player of the Week nod.
Pitcher of the Week
Greg Angelo, Lehigh So., P, Quakertown, Pa.
Angelo allowed just one run and two hits over six innings to keep the Mountain Hawks in the game in an eventual 4-1 loss to No. 21 Virginia on Saturday. He struck out five and didn't allow an extra base hit. Angelo held the Cavaliers to a .100 batting average and a .200 average with runners on base. Angelo held Virginia scoreless for the first four innings, and left the game after six innings with the score tied 1-1. Angelo earns his first-ever Patriot League Pitcher of the Week honor.
Rookie of the Week
Jonathan Wright, Navy Fr., OF, Arden, N.C.
Wright posted a .429 batting average by going 6-for-14 with four RBI in Navy's 2-1 weekend in the Service Academy Spring Classic. He served as the leadoff hitter in each of Navy's three games. He recorded a 2-for-5 day with two RBIs in a 6-5 win over Air Force on Friday, then went 4-for-5 with a run and a pair of RBI in a 16-5 victory against Air Force on Saturday. The four base hits were the most by a Navy hitter since Drew Lydon against Army on April 22, 2007. Wright receives his first Patriot League Rookie of the Week award.
Patriot League Notebook
Four-Team Tournament
A change in the format adds another team and another round to this year's Patriot League Baseball Tournament. The best-of-three semifinals will be at the site of the top two seeds on May 10 and 11, with the best-of-three Patriot League Championship at the site of the highest remaining seed on May 17-18.
Players to Watch
Army's Cole White, Navy's Mitch Harris and Bucknell's Mathew Wilson all have national eyes watching them at the beginning of the 2008 season. All three players were named to the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List.
White Gets Two More Honors
White started his 2008 season off right after ending his 2007 campaign as the Patriot League Player of the Year. He earned Third-Team Preseason All-America acclaim as a utility player from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Louisville Slugger.
New Coach on the Block
Greg DiCenzo joins the fraternity of Patriot League baseball coaches as he takes over Holy Cross this season. DiCenzo is the 18th Head Coach in the history of the program. It is his first head coaching job after serving as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Northeastern for the last five seasons.
Tournament Experience
While DiCenzo is new on the job, the remaining five head coaches all have winning experience. All five have been to at least one NCAA Tournament after Joe Kinney led Lafayette to the NCAAs last season. The five coaches have combined for 12 NCAA appearances, with eight of those coming with their current team.
Team Notebooks
Army The Black Knights dropped four games over the weekend at the UTSA Baseball Classic. Every contest they played was against an NCAA Regional participant from a year ago, including a close 2-1 loss to No. 28 Louisiana-Lafayette where freshman Joey Hernshaw allowed two runs in 4.2 innings of work. Andy Ernesto posted a .500 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot, going 5-for-14 with four walks. The Black Knights go for their first victory of the season when they play a three-game series at UMBC this weekend.
Bucknell The Bison had two losses and a tie in games against Eastern Kentucky and Toledo, with the losses coming by scores of 3-2 and 9-7. Mathew Wilson posted a career-high 10 strikeouts and left with a 4-2 lead after seven innings in an eventual 7-7 tie against Eastern Kentucky. Andrew Brouse had a career-high three hits in the contest, coming a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Bucknell travels to the state of Virginia for four games over the weekend, with two contests against both Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth.
Holy Cross The Crusaders open their 2008 season this weekend with their Spring Trip to Florida. They play a two-game series at Stetson beginning on Saturday, then play Rollins in the start of the Rollins Classic on Monday.
Lafayette Defending Patriot League champion Lafayette took two of three games in its season-opening series at VMI. The Leopards won the final two contests of the weekend after dropping the opener. Chris Luick hit .429 for the weekend with four runs scored from the leadoff spot, while freshman Rob Froio hit .364 with four RBIs. Six players had multiple hits in a 11-9 victory in the rubber game of the series. The Leopards play a two-game set at Norfolk State this weekend.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks were swept in four games by No. 21 Virginia. They dropped a 4-1 contest on Saturday that was tied at 1-1 in the seventh inning. Patrick Groome and Billy Goldman both hit .400 for the weekend. The Mountain Hawks are back in action on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Maryland-Eastern Shore, and begin their Spring Trip at the Palm Beach (Fla.) Challenge on Saturday.
Navy The Midshipmen opened the season with a 2-1 record at the Service Academy Classic, notching a pair of wins over Air Force. They extended to a six-game winning streak over Air Force. The Mids notched 20 hits, including eight for exra bases, in a 16-5 victory on Saturday. It was their most hits since a 21-hit effort against Bucknell on April 30, 2006. The 16 runs were the most since scoring 18 against Mount St. Mary's on March 27, 2007. The Mids started at least seven freshman or sophomores in each of their first three contests. Navy had its home opener against Georgetown rained out on Tuesday. It opens the home schedule with a three-game series against Dartmouth over the weekend.
