March 4, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Four of the six Patriot League Baseball teams posted a winning record over the past week through Sunday's games, with a 3-0-1 mark for Bucknell and a 3-1 record for Lehigh. The Bison tied Richmond on Friday, then swept a doubleheader with VCU on Saturday and beat Richmond on Sunday. The Mountain Hawks swept a doubleheader against Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday, then split their first two games in the Palm Beach Challenge over the weekend. The Mountain Hawks also started the current week with a victory over St. Bonaventure on Monday. Army won two of three games at UMBC, while Lafayette claimed two wins in a three-game series at Norfolk State.
Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.4.08 
Player of the Week
Dane Grandizio, Bucknell Jr., OF, Bloomsburg, Pa.
Grandizio batted .400 and hit his first two career home runs to lead Bucknell to a 3-0-1 weekend on the road against Richmond and VCU. He hit 6-for-15 for the week, scoring eight runs while driving in three and hitting the pair of home runs. He was also walked twice and stole a base. He notched a home run and two RBIs in Bucknell's 7-7 tie against Richmond on Friday, and hit another in the Bison's 12-3 win over VCU on Saturday. Grandizio also reached base twice in all four contests, and had a .500 on-base percentage for the week. He scored at least one run in every contest. Grandizio receives the first Player of the Week nod of his career.
Pitcher of the Week
Kevin Reese, Lafayette Sr., P, East Stroudsburg, Pa.
Reese allowed just four hits in 10 scoreless innings of work and left with a no-decision in Lafayette's 1-0, 12-inning loss to Norfolk State on Saturday. He also struck out three batters while surrendering one walk, and his 33 batters faced was just three over the minimum. Reese did not allow multiple runners on base in any inning. He lowered his ERA to 1.08 through two starts, the best mark for a Patriot League starting pitcher. Reese earns his first Pitcher of the Week honor of the season and third of his career.
Rookie of the Week
Mike Greco, Army Fr., OF, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Greco established Army single-game freshman records for total bases (11) and RBI (6), and tied the mark with two home runs, in a 23-0 victory over UMBC on Sunday. He fell two total bases and two RBI shy of overall Army single-game records. Greco went 4-for-6 with two home runs, six RBI and four runs scored in the contest, coming just a triple shy of the cycle. He batted .308 for the week, and posted an .846 slugging percentage. Greco earns his first Rookie of the Week award.
Patriot League Notebook
Everybody on the Field
Holy Cross became the last Patriot League team to open the season, as they journeyed south to play a two-game set at Stetson over the weekend. The Crusaders have dropped their first three contests of the year after also falling to Rollins College on Monday, and are the only team in the League still looking for their first win.
Fun in the Sun
Holy Cross and Lehigh became the first two teams to go on their Spring Trip to Florida. The Crusaders are playing in the Rollins Classic in Winter Park this week, while the Mountain Hawks are competing in the Palm Beach Challenge. Bucknell heads to the Sunshine State on Sunday, when they start their week of games at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. Lafayette and Army will make their way to Bradenton later in the month.
Home Openers
Navy is the only Patriot League team to play at home so far, as the Mids fell twice in a three-game series against Dartmouth over the weekend. Lafayette is the next squad to kick off the home schedule, opening up with St. Peter's on Saturday after a Wednesday game with East Stroudsburg was postponed.
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.
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 earned their first two wins of the season during a three-game series at UMBC over the weekend. Army notched a 23-0 win in the rubber game of the series. It was the largest margin of victory in the modern era, and one shy of the record of 24 that was set in 1945. It was also the highest run total since a 25-3 win over Lafayette in 1999. Army hit four home runs and five doubles in the contest, and eight players collected at least one hit. Andy Ernesto had a career-high four hits in the game, while Mike Greco set Army freshman records with six RBI and 11 total bases, while tying the mark with two home runs. Army plays another three-game series on the road at Liberty this weekend.
Bucknell The Bison put up a quality weekend in Virginia, winning and tying in two games against Richmond and sweeping a doubleheader against VCU. The Bison offense combined for 41 runs on 55 hits with 12 doubles and five home runs for the weekend. The squad has already surpassed its home run total from 2007 with seven on the year. Dane Grandizio and Andrew Brouse hit their first career home runs. Shawn Hirsch had a career-high five RBI in a 12-11 win over Richmond on Sunday. Mathew Wilson had his second 10-strikeout game of the season, matching a career high, and picked up a win with a seven-inning complete-game effort against VCU. Freshmen Trey Fahler and Eric Jarrett picked up their first collegiate wins. The Bison have two ties in a year for the first time since 1964. Bucknell returns to action on Sunday, when they start their Spring Trip in Bradenton, Fla.
Holy Cross The Crusaders dropped their first two games of the season, falling at Stetson, 18-10 and 7-3, over the weekend. They play in the Rollins Classic in Winter Park, Florida this week, which started with a 17-4 defeat against the host on Monday.
Lafayette The Leopards won two contests in a three-game series on the road for the second time this year with a series win at Norfolk State over the weekend. Lafayette lost the first game and won the last two against Norfolk State and in the opening series against VMI. The Leopards dropped the opener, 1-0, in 12 innings on Saturday, but got 10 shutout innings with only four hits allowed from starting pitcher Kevin Reese. They won two close contests to take the series, with a 5-4 victory in the second game on Saturday and a 6-3 win in the rubber match on Sunday. They scored three runs in the 10th inning to take Sunday's game. Lafayette is 4-2 for the first time since 2005. They play the home opener with a three-game series against St. Peter's over the weekend.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks posted a 3-1 week, sweeping a doubleheader at Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday and splitting their first two games at the Palm Beach Challenge over the weekend. They also started this week with a win over St. Bonaventure on Monday. Joe Ercolano had a .583 batting average and .750 on-base percentage for the week, while also stealing three bases. He was 4-for-5 with three runs, an RBI and two stolen bases in a 16-14 win over Boston College on Sunday. Andy Russell was 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBI in that victory. Lehigh has a trip to No. 8 Miami (Fla.) and then three more games in Palm Beach this week.
Navy The Midshipmen dropped two of three games against Dartmouth in their first home series of the season. Navy won the middle game 12-5, but suffered tough losses of 1-0 and 4-3 in 10 innings on the bookends. Jonathan Wright had a pair of four-hit games to end the series, and is the first Navy hitter this decade to post consecutive four-hit games and also have three four-hit games in a season. Through Sunday's games, he led the Patriot League in batting average (.536), slugging percentage (.571), hits (15) and total bases (16), was tied for the lead in RBI (7) and second in on-base percentage (.567) for the year. Navy stranded 17 runners on base in the extra inning loss in the rubber game, with 11 of those in scoring position. Oliver Drake had 10 strikeouts in his start, while Yale Eckert had nine in his. Navy hosts four games this week.
