Bucknell University Athletics
Seven Bucknell Baseball Players Named to 2001 All-Patriot League Team
5/9/2001 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 9, 2001
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Patriot League announced its All-Patriot League Baseball Team today and seven members of the Bison squad were selected for postseason honors. It is the second straight year in which Bucknell has had seven players earn the high distinction.
Seniors Ian Joseph (Novelty, Ohio/West Geauga), Russ Lindberg (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) and Mike Ritz (Old Tappan, N.J./Northern Valley Regional), and junior Gregg Farmery (Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney) were all selected to the first team. Senior John DiBonaventura (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland), and juniors Chris Lackett (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) and Larry Scheetz (Newtown, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep), were named to the second team.
Joseph, the Bison center fielder and leadoff batter, earned first team honors in the outfield for the second straight year and all-league honors for the third time in his Bucknell career. He and teammate John DiBonaventura are the only two three-time selections on this year's All-Patriot League team.
Entering the league tournament this weekend, the switch-hitting speedster ranks second on the team with a .321 average and leads the team and the Patriot League with 42 runs scored. He ranks second in the conference with 24 stolen bases, and became the league's career-leader this season with 96 thefts during his Bison career (he was already the Bison career leader entering the season). Joseph also became the league's and Bucknell's career-leader in runs scored with 159, and in total at-bats with 662. He has a team-high 23 walks, also breaking the Bucknell record in that category with 96 bases-on-balls in his career. Joseph has topped the 50-hit plateau for the third straight year and has raised his career batting average to .304 (201-662). He was named to the all-tournament team at the Pepsi-Johnny Quik Classic at Fresno State as a utility fielder. During that week, he hit .455, scored eight runs, and stole five bases.
Lindberg earned all-league honors for the first time in his career with the Orange and Blue. The 6'4," 235-pound first baseman leads the team and ranks fifth in the Patriot League with a .379 average, and was one of the candidates for league Player of the Year. He also leads the team and the league in home runs (8), RBIs (52) and sacrifice flies (6), and is second in the conference in slugging percentage (.621) and total bases (90). In the field, he leads all players with 362 putouts and 387 chances. Lindberg joined Joseph on the all-tournament team at the Pepsi-Johnny Quik Classic, earning the honors at first base. He hit .458 during the week, including a blistering .647 (11-17) over the final four games of the tournament.
Ritz also received all-league honors for the first time. He is having the best season of his career, batting .313 with six home runs and 29 RBIs. In addition to his home runs (which rank second on the team and fifth in the Patriot League), Ritz has nine doubles and a triple, and a .507 slugging percentage. He has scored 27 runs, fifth-best on the team, and stolen seven bases in eight attempts. Maybe most impressively, in eight more at-bats than he had a year ago (150-to-142), he has struck out 20 fewer times (13-to-33). The right fielder ranks second on the team with three outfield assists.
Farmery makes his second straight appearance as the first team relief pitcher. The junior right-hander leads the team and the league with six saves and a 1.71 earned run average. He has tied the school record by appearing in 20 games, and is 3-2 overall. In 26.1 innings pitched, Farmery has allowed five earned runs, struck out 16, and walked just five batters. He has appeared in 51 games in his three-year career, all in relief.
For the third straight season, DiBonaventura finds himself as the second team third baseman. He is hitting .313, has driven in 29 runs, and scored 36 for the Orange and Blue. He tied the school single-game mark when he scored five runs in Bucknell's win over Towson on April 26, and has set a school single-season mark this year by being hit with a pitch 14 times. DiBonaventura has six doubles, two triples and three home runs, and has stolen seven bases in nine attempts.
Lackett earns all-league honors for the second time in his career. The junior right-hander was the first team reliever as a freshman, and was selected as one of the four starting pitchers on this year's squad. He leads the team and the league with six wins (6-2) and has an ERA of 6.25. Lackett has appeared in 11 games, starting 10, and has tossed five complete games this season. He has a team-high 63.1 innings pitched and 33 strikeouts, and in conference play he went 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA.
Scheetz, having a fine season at shortstop for the Bison, makes his first appearance on the all-league team. The junior right-hander has played in 42 games, starting 41, and is hitting .259 with 19 runs scored and seven RBIs. He ranks second on the team with 20 walks, has stolen four bases, and leads the team and ranks second in the league with 120 assists. He has had personal bests this year in runs scored, hits (28), doubles (3), walks and stolen bases.
Bucknell (28-17, 14-6) will be the No. 2 seed in this weekend's Patriot League Tournament at the United States Naval Academy. The Bison will face No. 3 Holy Cross (19-22, 11-9) in a nine-inning elimination game on Saturday beginning at 12:00. If they win, they will face Navy in a best-of-three series. Saturday's action can be heard on the Bison Sports Network at WMPL-1380 AM, or by linking to the Bucknell athletic department web site at www.BucknellBison.com.
Following is the complete listing of the team:
2001 Patriot League Baseball All-League Teams
First Team Name, Institution Pos. Yr. Hometown Previous All-League Russ Lindberg, Bucknell 1B Sr. Cleveland Hts., Ohio Peter Summa, Holy Cross 2B Jr. Florham Park, N.J. Buddy Gengler, Army SS Sr. Shoreham, N.Y. Nick Sylvester, Navy 3B Sr. Greenwood, Ind. Dale Johnson, Holy Cross C So. Beecher, Ill. Buck Adams, Army P Sr. Hightstown, N.J. 2nd '00 Matt Foster, Navy P So. Ventura, Calif. Gregg Farmery, Bucknell RP Jr. Punxsutawney, Pa. 1st '00 Kyle Kalkwarf, Army OF Jr. San Antonio, Texas Ian Joseph, Bucknell OF Sr. Novelty, Ohio 1st '00, 2nd '98 Mike Ritz, Bucknell OF Sr. Old Tappan, N.J. Willie Gury, Navy DH Sr. Boulder, Colo.
Second Team Name, Institution Pos. Yr. Hometown Previous All-League Matt Tambellini, Lafayette 1B So. Millville, N.J. Miguel Gastellum, Army 2B Jr. Tucson, Ariz. Larry Scheetz, Bucknell SS Jr. Newtown, Pa. John DiBonaventura, Buck. 3B Sr. Breinigsville, Pa. 2nd '00, 2nd '99 Craig Alexander, Lafayette C Fr. Fairport, N.Y. Chris Lackett, Bucknell P Jr. Wall Township, N.J. 1st '99 RP Dave Cerminaro, Lehigh P Jr. Pottstown, Pa. Brad Deafenbaugh, Navy RP Sr. Annapolis, Md. Corey Cazjka, Holy Cross OF Sr. Slingerland, N.Y. Tye Gonser, Lafayette OF Jr. The Dallas, Ore. 2nd '99 Adam Rosenberg, Lafayette OF Fr. Ocean Grove, N.J. John Cocca, Navy OF Jr. Whitehall, Pa. Ian Burley, Lafayette DH Sr. Nazareth, Pa.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Paul Pearl, Holy Cross (Second selection) PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Peter Summa, Jr., Second Base, Holy Cross PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Buck Adams, Sr., Right-hander, Army
* Due to a tie in the voting, four outfielders were awarded Second Team All-League honors.
