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Date: May 12-13, 2007First Pitch: Saturday: 3:00 p.m. Sunday: 12:00 p.m.Match Up: Lafayette (30-17) vs. No. 2 Army (24-25-1) or No. 3 Navy (35-19)Site: Easton, Pa.Stadium: Hilton Rahn Field at Class of 1978 StadiumTelevision: Lafayette Sports Network (CSTV, RCN-4)Radio: SIRIUS Satellite Radio • Channel 122 (Sunday Only)
THE STORY LINE: Lafayette is making its third appearance in the last four seasons in the Patriot League Tournament. The Leopards are hosting the event at the Class of 1978 Stadium for the first time in program history by virtue of winning the Patriot League regular-season title. The No. 1 seed Leopards (30-17) will face the winner of the noon elimination game on Saturday which will feature No. 2 seed Army (24-25-1) and No. 3 seed Navy (35-19). Lafayette will play the winner in the three-game Patriot League Championship Series with the first game to be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of the elimination game. The first pitch on Sunday is slated for noon.
HOW THEY FARED: Lafayette took seven of the eight games against Army and Navy in Patriot League play during the regular season. Playing at home, Lafayette swept the Black Knights, but all four games of the series were closely contested. Lafayette won by scores of 3-2, 5-2, 5-4 and 5-3 on March 31 and April 1. Kevin Leasure drove in six runs during the Army series. The Leopards took three out of four on the road from Navy. Lafayette won both games on April 8 (3-2 and 5-0) and won the first game on April 9 (6-3) before losing the series finale, 4-3, while snapping an eight-game winning streak. James Conrad put up a .429 average with five runs scored in the series with the Midshipmen.
THE HEAD COACH: Head coach Joe Kinney has been selected by his peers as the 2007 Patriot League Coach of the Year. In eight seasons, Kinney has shaped the Lafayette baseball program into a consistent Patriot League contender. He has led the Leopards to four Patriot League Tournament appearances, the only berths in the program's history. Lafayette has qualified for the event in three of the last four seasons. Under his supervision, Kinney has guided Lafayette to four winning seasons. When Lafayette posted a 23-22 record in 2002, it marked the first time in 10 years that a Lafayette squad had won 20 games in a season. Lafayette's 27 wins in 2006 were the second-most in program history, and this season Kinney's squad has rung up a school-record 30 wins. In his eight seasons as a head coach, Kinney's players have earned 41 All-Patriot League selections while two have been named Patriot League Player of the Year (Vince D'Angelis '02 and Adam Rosenberg '04).
PATRIOT PLAY: In conference play, Lafayette posted a 17-3 mark, tying the Patriot League record for victories in a 20-game conference season. Army squads of 2004 and 2005 also reached the 17-win total. The 17 victories are the most wins ever for a Lafayette squad, surpassing the previous best mark by five games.
LEOPARDS ON THE RUN: A big part of Lafayette's offense is the running game. The Leopards have stolen 121 bases in 144 attempts and Lafayette ranks second in the nation in stolen bases per game. Five players on Lafayette's squad have stolen 10 or more bases. By contrast, Army has stolen 57 bases as a team and Navy has swiped 39.
CONRAD ON THE RUN: Senior centerfielder James Conrad leads the Patriot League and ranks third in the nation with 42 stolen bases. Each time he steals a base he breaks his own Lafayette single-season record. He has been caught stealing just four times this season and only once in conference play (19-for-20). The Columbia, Md. native needs just one stolen base to earn a share of the career lead in stolen bases at Lafayette, a mark currently held by Bert Solivan '90 who has 79 career stolen bases.
HE SCORES TOO: Based on his .456 on-base percentage, it's not surprising that James Conrad leads the team in runs scored and has set a new single-season record. His 59 runs scored also stack up on a national level where he ranks 11th in the nation.
SENIOR CIRCUIT: Lafayette features a very experienced lineup with nine seniors on the roster. Lafayette's entire outfield consists of seniors Mike Raible (RF), James Conrad (CF), Kevin Leasure (LF). Dave Drechsel sits behind the plate and catches for seniors Matt Kamine (SP), Ted Gjeldum (SP), Brian Cope (SP) and John Fugett (RP). Fellow senior Nick Benvenuto spends time in the designated hitter role.
YOUTHFUL INFIELD: There are no seniors in the Lafayette infield. Junior Tom Hayes, who made the move from the outfield to second base for 2007, is the most experienced player. Sophomore Jeff Butler is the starting third baseman, a role he moved into midway through 2006. Sophomore Daniel Bierce took over at shortstop this season after playing second in 2006, while classmate Chris Luick has planted himself in the starting spot at first base for the second straight season.
PILING UP THE W'S: The Lafayette baseball team has posted 30 victories this season, and in the process established a single-season record for victories for a program that dates back to 1865, the final year of the Civil War. The 30-victory season eclipses Lafayette's previous best of 29 wins in 1987.
IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME: Lafayette posted a 14-4 record at Hilton Rahn Field at the Class of 1978 Stadium this season and went 10-2 in Patriot League play. In a related note, hosting the Patriot League Tournament has proven to be quite an advantage as 10 of the 13 host teams have won the event, including the last five Patriot League Tournaments. Lafayette has never hosted the Patriot League Tournament prior to 2007.
THE WEEK THAT WASN'T: Lafayette did not play a game in the week leading up to the Patriot League Tournament due to finals. Lafayette last played vs. UMBC on May 6. Navy did not have a game scheduled for the week prior to the PL Tournament, but Army beat New York Tech, 5-4, in 10 innings on Wednesday.
EXTRA--EXTRA: Lafayette has played nine extra-inning games in the 2007 season and the Leopards hold a 6-3 record in those contests.
CONRAD NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Centerfielder James Conrad has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II First Team for the second straight season. The award, which is selected regionally by sports information directors, recognizes those student-athletes who maintain a 3.2 cumulative GPA while playing a key role on their team. The All-Patriot League selection, who holds a 3.58 GPA while majoring in Mathematics, will now have his name placed on the national ballot to determine Academic All-America status.
LAST TIME OUT IN P.L. TOURNEY: Bucknell ended the third-winningest season in Lafayette baseball history by scoring seven runs in the seventh inning to notch a 10-6 come-from-behind win over Lafayette in the elimination game of the 2006 Patriot League Tournament on May 13, 2006. Lafayette led 6-0 through three innings and 6-3 through six and a half innings before the Bison banged out three RBI-singles and a grand slam to win 10-6.
Patriot League Tournament2002Lehigh 12 (No. 2), Lafayette (No. 3) 62004Lafayette (No. 2) 7, Lehigh (No. 3) 6Army (No. 1) 3, Lafayette 1Army 16, Lafayette 22006Bucknell (No. 2) 10, Lafayette (No. 3) 6
LAFAYETTE ON THE TUBE: Lafayette will be making its fourth and fifth television appearances of the season this weekend. All of Lafayette's Patriot League Tournament games will be televised by RCN-4 and CSTV. Game one of the Patriot League Championship Series will be played on Saturday at approximately 3 p.m. and aired Saturday night at 7 p.m. on RCN-4 and RCN-8 and Lafayette Sports Network All-Access at www.GoLeopards.com. Game two will be broadcast live on both RCN and LSN All-Access on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for noon. Game three, if necessary, will air live 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two. CSTV will re-broadcast games one and two on Wednesday, May 16, at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. Game three, if needed, would be shown at a time to be determined. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will provide play-by-play while John Leone will serve as the analyst. Dan Mowdy and Scott Barr will report from the field. Lafayette's doubleheader vs. Army on March 31 was carried regionally by the Lafayette Sports Network and aired to a national television audience on CSTV, as was the Leopards' appearance in the Liberty Bell Classic championship game.
LET'S GET SIRIUS: Sunday's Patriot League Tournament action will be broadcast on SIRIUS satellite radio on channel 122. Frank Santore will call the action.
LEFTY--LEFTY: Sophomore Jeff Butler, a left-handed hitter, has been tearing up left-handed pitching. Butler is batting .457 against southpaws and .336 against righthanders.
THE CAPTAINS: Seniors Dave Drechsel, Matt Kamine and Mike Raible are serving as team captains in 2007. Drechsel is the team's starting catcher and Raible holds down the starting spot in rightfield for the Maroon and White. Kamine is one the Leopards' top weekend starters.
SLOWING DOWN THE RUN: The Lafayette pitching staff and starting catcher Dave Drechsel have allowed opponents to steal just 39 bases this season, an average of less than one stolen base per game. Drechsel has personally thrown out 20 runners attempting to steal and picked off three others.
FAMILY AFFAIR: Matt Kamine represents the second generation of the Kamine family to play baseball at Lafayette. Matt's father, Hal, graduated in 1978 after a successful baseball career. He still ranks 18th in career stolen bases. Matt's mother and his older sister also attended the school. In the fall, Matt's brother Justin will begin his career several hundred feet away at Lafayette where he will play men's soccer for Dennis Bohn at Bourger Field.
