March 11, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - After a tough set of games on the season's first weekend, Patriot League teams have battled back to put the League's mark at an even .500 for the season. The cumulative record stands at 28-28-2 after Monday's games, and most of the teams in the League are playing well in the early weeks of the season. Every team but Army has won at least two contests in a row, with Bucknell leading the way with a five-game winning streak after knocking off Eastern Kentucky on Monday. Holy Cross has won four consecutive games, while Lehigh has won three and Navy and Lafayette have each triumphed in two straight. Patriot League teams have combined for a 24-16-1 record after the season-opening weekend.
Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.11.08 
Player of the Week (March 3-March 9)
Jake Gorman, Holy Cross Jr., 2B, Norfolk, Mass.
Gorman batted .387 for the week to help Holy Cross to a 4-3 record at the Rollins Winter Classic, which included wins in their final four contests. He recorded at least one hit in every game, going 12-for-31 with a home run, six RBI and nine runs scored. He also notched four doubles and a triple. He was instrumental in a pair of 11-inning wins over St. Joseph's, going 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI in an 8-6 victory and 2-for-6 with two runs and an RBI in a 7-6 triumph. Gorman was named to the Rollins Baseball Week All-Tournament Team. He earns his first Patriot League Player of the Week honor.
Pitcher of the Week (March 3-March 9)
Eric Jarrett, Bucknell Fr., P, Jersey Shore, Pa.
Jarrett threw eight scoreless innings to lead Bucknell over IPFW, 8-3, in the first game of the Bison's week in Brandenton, Florida on Sunday. He allowed just three hits with four walks with striking out six, and held opposing hitters to a .120 batting average. Jarrett earned his second collegiate win in as many starts. Jarrett earns his first Pitcher of the Week award.
Rookie of the Week (March 3-March 9)
Billy Goldman, Lehigh Fr., OF, Narberth, Pa.
Goldman helped Lehigh to four wins in the Palm Beach Classic during a 4-1 week where the only loss was at No. 8 Miami (Fla.). He batted .471 for the week, going 8-for-17 with a home run, six RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Goldman came up big in the Mountain Hawks' three victories to close the Florida trip. He was 3-for-4 with a run and a steal in a 4-2 win over Notre Dame, 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI in a 15-14 triumph over Air Force, and 2-for-4 with a run in a 7-4, 13-inning victory against Penn. Goldman receives his first Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor.
Patriot League Notebook
Shining in the Sunshine State
Strong play in spring trips to Florida has been the biggest reason for recent success of Patriot League teams. Holy Cross had a 4-5 mark in its spring trip, but was 4-3 and won its final four games last week in the Rollins Winter Classic. Lehigh posted a 5-2 record in its Florida stint, with wins in its final five contests of the Palm Beach Challenge. The Mountain Hawks posted a 4-1 record last week, with its only loss in a road contest at No. 8 Miami (Fla.). Bucknell kicked off its week in Bradenton, Florida with victories on Sunday and Monday. Lafayette and Army are the next teams to visit the Sunshine State beginning on Saturday. Lafayette has four games in Bradenton, while Army will play seven overall games in Tampa and Bradenton.
Finally Time For Home Openers
Navy has played eight home games after a doubleheader on Monday, but every other team in the League is still waiting to play its home opener. Lafayette had four home games scheduled last week, but they were all postponed due to weather. Holy Cross is set to open at home with a doubleheader against Assumption on Wednesday, while Lehigh hosts a three-game weekend set versus George Washington. Navy has another round-robin tourney at home over the weekend.
Patriot League Players on National Radar...Again
Navy's Mitch Harris, Army's Cole White and Bucknell's Mathew Wilson have all been named to the 2008 Roger Clemens Award Watch List. They are part of a group of 78 pitchers up for the award as college baseball's pitcher of the year. That same trio was also named to the Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Year Watch List before the season. Wilson is the only one to step on the mound so far, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.57 earned run average and a Patriot-League best 20 strikeouts in two starts.
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.
Team Notebooks
Army The Black Knights were swept in three high-scoring games at Liberty, falling 13-7, 15-7 and 11-5 to drop to 2-8 overall. They have a team batting average of .271, and an earned run average of 7.39. Freshman shortstop Clint Moore recorded a hit in all three games over the weekend to extend his hitting streak to five, and he leads the team with a .343 batting average. Army visits Seton Hall on Wednesday before beginning its spring trip to Florida next weekend. The Black Knights will kick off their trip with three games against Massachusetts in Tampa beginning on Saturday.
Bucknell The Bison started their spring trip in Bradenton, Florida with a pair of victories, knocking off IPFW, 8-3, on Sunday before starting the current week with an 8-1 triumph over Eastern Kentucky on Monday. They have won five consecutive games after an 0-2-2 start, scoring eight runs or more in each of the victories. Freshman Eric Jarrett threw eight scoreless innings to pick up the win on Sunday. The Bison set a school record with eight doubles in the win over IPFW, and recorded 15 hits. They lead the Patriot League with a .306 batting average through Sunday's games. The Bison continue play in Bradenton with five more games on Tuesday through Saturday.
Holy Cross After losing their first five games of the season, the Crusaders have rebounded to win the last four. They posted a 4-3 record at the Rollins Winter Classic, with a pair of wins over St. Joseph's to go with triumphs over Georgetown and host Rollins. Both of the wins against St. Joseph's were in 11 innings, and the Crusaders beat Georgetown, 4-3. Second baseman Jake Gorman and starting pitcher Bobby Holmes were named to the Rollins Baseball Week All-Tournament Team. Gorman hit .387 with a home run and six RBI for the week, while Holmes allowed two earned runs in 7.2 innings to pick up the win against Georgetown. The Crusaders play three doubleheaders this week, hosting Assumption on Wednesday and going out to Washington on Saturday and Sunday.
Lafayette Rain took out the entire week for the Leopards, as a Wednesday game against East Stroudsburg and weekend series with St. Peter's were both callled off. Their home opener is now set for March 25 against Penn. The Leopards will return to action with a two-game win streak on the line at La Salle on Tuesday, then start their four-game stretch in Bradenton, Florida on Saturday.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks put up an impressive 4-1 record during the week, winning all four of their contests at the Palm Beach Challenge with the only loss coming on the road at No. 8 Miami (Fla.). They are 7-6 on the season, with five of the six losses against ranked opponents. They notched a 4-2 victory over Big East opponent Notre Dame on Thursday, with Rob Russell throwing 6.2 innings and allowing two runs to get the win. The Mountain Hawks also notched a 15-14 victory over Air Force and 7-4 win in 13 innings against Penn to close the trip. Billy Goldman had a home run and five RBI in the win over Air Force. The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League with 72 runs and 21 stolen bases despite a League-low .240 batting average. Lehigh plays weekday games at Delaware State and Coppin State, and opens it home schedule with a three-game set against George Washington over the weekend.
Navy The Midshipmen lost two of three contests at home last week, but did get back on track with a doubleheader sweep of Iona on Monday. The Mids are 4-4 at home, while none of the other Patriot League teams has played its home opener. They lost to UMBC, 18-6, on Wednesday, and split games with Rhode Island and Central Connecticut State in a round-robin tournament over the weekend. Iona was also in the field, but the Mids' contest with the Gaels was pushed back to Monday. Steven Soares and Michael Speciale both homered in a 6-4 win over Rhode Island on Saturday, marking the first time since Feb. 5, 2006, that the Mids hit multiple home runs in the same game on their home field. They have five home runs in home games after hitting just one a year ago. Navy is at No. 16 Virginia on Wednesday, then hosts another round-robin weekend tourney.
