May 29, 2007

EASTON, Pa. - It had been two weeks since the Lafayette baseball team won its first ever Patriot League championship. After its nine seniors received their diplomas at commencement on May 19, the team faced back-to-back weeks of practice and a doubleheader against Brown. On Sunday morning, the team kept busy by traveling to downtown Easton to pick up trash along the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers.

Patriot League Coach of the Year Joe Kinney dropped off parts of his squad throughout the banks of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, as the team picked up trash for the better part of the day.

"This time of the year, we've been together two or weeks or so after school had let out and after graduation and finals," Kinney told a crowd of over 100 that gathered to watch the NCAA Selection Show on Monday afternoon.

"Usually, once baseball season is over, guys are out of here the next day. One of the many great things other than the challenges it has presented, we've had a chance to spend some time interacting as people, as opposed to coach and student-athlete. That's been one of the most enjoyable parts of these last two weeks for me."

Lafayette was named to the Charlottesville Regional at the University of Virginia, beginning on Friday. The fourth-seeded Leopards will take on host and top-seed Virginia at 4 p.m., followed by second-seeded and Big East champion Rutgers battling defending national champion and third-seeded Oregon State.

The Leopards will travel to Charlottesville on Wednesday afternoon and use Thursday for practice at Virginia's Davenport Stadium, site of the double-elimination regional weekend.

Lafayette swept Army in the Patriot League Championship Series to win its first title since the league's inception in 1990 on May 12-13.