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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team embarks on its third weekend of the season, visiting Delaware State for three games, kicking off the series Friday at 2 pm from Bob Reed Field. The Mountain Hawks (4-3) are coming off their first series victory of the season after taking three of four from Mount St. Mary’s in Colonial Heights, Va. last weekend.
Lehigh’s led by Patriot League Player of the Week Casey Rother and Pitcher of the Week Luke Rettig, who both played brilliantly against the Mountaineers. Rother hit .600 (9-for-15) with three doubles, four runs scored, five RBIs and 12 total bases against Mount St. Mary’s. He walked once, was hit once and reached base at a .611 clip with an OPS of 1.411. In the field playing first base, Rother made 30 putouts and two assists in 32 chances. He also showed his prowess on the mound, earning his first career save in Sunday’s Game 2 victory over The Mount.
Rettig improved to 2-0 on the season with his game win of the series last opening Friday night vs. the Mountaineers. He threw five innings, allowing one run (none earned) on one hit with 10 strikeouts. In his nine innings pitched in two appearances, Rettig has yet to allow an earned run with just three hits allowed and 14 strikeouts.
The first-year contingency of Jake Whitlinger and Rafe Perich follow Rother offensively with averages of .423 and .357, respectively. Sophomore Tyler Young is fourth on the team with an average of .333 while junior Adam Retzbach leads the Mountain Hawks with nine RBIs. First year Justin Butler is hitting .417 over three games with five hits, six RBIs and a homer.
Rettig has led a rotation with both right-hander Carlos Torres and fellow lefty Matt Stamford pitching well. In the bullpen, junior right-hander Will Grisack was charged with his first loss over the weekend, but has a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings, striking out five and walking four.
Delaware State dropped its first four games of the season at Charleston Southern, falling by a combined 36-15. The Hornets led for most of Sunday’s contest before losing control of the lead in the sixth inning, falling 7-6 in nearly four hours of game action.
Trey Paige leads DSU with an average of .429, slashing .429/.857/.529 with an OPS of 1.386. He has three doubles, three runs, a homer and five RBIs over four games. Alan Alonso is second on the team on average (.357) with five hits, a home run and two RBIs. On the mound, Peter Carreca has a 4.50 ERA in two relief appearances for the Hornets. Delaware State has a team ERA of 10.93 with 15 strikeouts and 25 walks.
The Mountain Hawks are 12-7-2 all-time vs. DSU with their last matchup coming back during the 2013 season. Lehigh fell, 10-8 back on April 10, 2013 the last time out.
Live stats will be provided this weekend (link TBA). Both Saturday and Sunday are scheduled to have first pitch at 1 pm
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