May 8, 2007
EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette has placed nine players on the All-Patriot League Baseball Teams, including five on the first team and four on the second team.
Lafayette's entire outfield was named to the All-Patriot League First Team. Senior James Conrad (Columbia, Md./Atholton) adds his 2007 first-team selection to a first-team honor in 2005 and a second-team honor in 2006.
The three-year starter has twice been named Patriot League Player of the Week this season. Conrad leads the team with 42 stolen bases and needs just one more theft to become the career stolen bases leader at Lafayette. The centerfielder currently ranks third in the nation in that statistical category. The Columbia, Md. native is second on the team in hitting (.352) and on-base percentage (.456).
Rightfielder Mike Raible (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) earns his first All-Patriot League First-Team honor in his final season at Lafayette. The team captain is fourth on the squad in hitting with a .324 overall average and swings at a .354 clip in conference play. Raible is second on the team with 34 RBI and has stolen 13 bases in 14 attempts.
Raible is a three-year starter in rightfield, having played in 111 games with 101 starts. He boasts of a career .345 batting average and ranks in the top 25 in career RBI (73). The senior was selected as the Patriot League Player of the Week on May 1 after hitting for a .467 mark with seven RBI.
Kevin Leasure (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. St. Joseph's) has split time between leftfield and designated hitter, but earned conference honors in the DH spot. It is the second straight season that Leasure collected All-Patriot League First-Team honors. He leads the team with 44 RBI and is hitting for a .299 average. Half of his RBI have come in Patriot League play where he is hitting for a .329 average. He has started all but one game this season.
Leasure is a three-year starter who has played in 142 career games and holds a .305 career batting average. The senior, who ranks 10th in career RBI (111), has been named the Patriot League Player of the Week twice this season (3/5, 4/17).
Fellow senior Matt Kamine (Oldwick, N.J./Voorhees) is the lone representative of the Lafayette pitching staff on the First Team, the second straight season that the Patriot League coaches have awarded him the distinction. Kamine holds a 6-3 record with a 2.55 ERA and six complete games. His strikeout (62) to walk (9) ratio rests just below seven. He has been at his best in conference play, rolling up a 4-0 record with a 1.63 ERA in five appearances. That mark includes three complete games and one shutout.
A team captain, Kamine is in his third season as a weekend starter. The southpaw earned Patriot League Pitcher of the Week honors on April 3. Kamine ranks 10th in career wins (13) and innings pitched (194.2) and eighth in career strikeouts (152).
Sophomore Jeff Butler (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) is Lafayette's final selection on the All-Patriot League First Team. Butler collected the honor for his play at third base where he is in his second season as a starter. Butler leads the team and is second in the Patriot League with a .366 batting average. He has started 39 games this season.
The Leopards placed four players on the All-Patriot League Second Team and three of them occupy a spot in the infield. Behind the plate, Dave Drechsel (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) earned All-Patriot League honors for the first time in his career. The senior has set new personal bests for home runs (4), doubles, hits, RBI (16) and stolen bases in his final season. Drechsel is hitting .262 for the season, but much of his contribution has come on defense where he has gunned down 20 would-be base stealers.
The right side of the infield was also honored by the Patriot League coaches. Sophomore Chris Luick (Manasquan, N.J./Wall) garnered his All-League laurels at first base. Luick is third on the team in hitting with a .327 overall batting average. Luick led the way in league play with a .366 average, and three of his four home runs came in the 20-game conference slate.
Second baseman Tom Hayes (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) made it consecutive seasons with All-Patriot League honors, as the junior was a member of the First Team in 2006 when he hit for a .372 clip. This season Hayes made the move from the outfield to the infield and has started 41 games. Hayes is hitting for a .274 average with 21 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Hayes made his case in Patriot League play, ripping off a .345 batting average with 11 RBI.
All Kevin Reese (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Blair Academy) did to earned Patriot honors was go undefeated in five league starts. Reese threw four complete games on his way to a 5-0 mark and a 2.67 ERA in Patriot League play. He collected Patriot League Pitcher of the Week laurels on March 19. Reese's overall numbers (2.30 ERA, 6-1) were equally as impressive despite undergoing knee surgery just week before the start of the season.
Lafayette's nine All-Patriot League selections are the most in program history. During head coach Joe Kinney's tenure, Lafayette has had 41 All-Patriot League selections and two Patriot League Players of the Year. The Player, Pitcher, Rookie and Coach of the Year awards will be announced on Friday morning.
Lafayette (30-17) will have the week off from competition for final exams and will then host the Patriot League Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Hilton Rahn Field at the Class of 1978 Stadium. On Saturday, Lafayette will play the winner of No. 2 Army vs. No. 3 Navy in the three-games Patriot League Championship Series. Lafayette's game will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of that game which begins at noon.
