Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Baseball's Brouse, Donato Pick Up Patriot League Awards
3/16/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 16, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell junior Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) was named the Patriot League Baseball Player of the Week and freshman Bob Donato (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors, the league office announced Monday. Brouse hit .423 with 17 RBIs in six games last week, while Donato hit .318 and became the third player in school history to hit for the cycle.
Brouse's bat helped the Bison to a solid 5-2 record during a trip to Florida. He accumulated two home runs and 17 RBIs over the final six games of the trip. The eighth-leading hitter in the Patriot League, Brouse owns an eight-game hitting streak and has posted at least one RBI in seven straight games. With five multiple-RBI contests last week, Brouse vaulted his season total to 21, one more than he had in all of 2008.
Brouse ended Bucknell's trip to Florida on a high note Saturday evening when he lofted a three-run double to left field in the bottom of the ninth against UConn. The three runs gave the Bison an 11-10 walk-off victory over the Huskies.
A career .275 hitter entering this season, Brouse is hitting .368 and owns a remarkable .702 slugging percentage this year. He leads Bucknell in at bats (57), runs (13), hits (21), doubles (5), home runs (4), total bases (40), on-base percentage (.429) and stolen bases (3). Brouse is one of two Bison to have started all 14 games this year.
In just his ninth career game, Donato etched his name into the Bucknell record book when he hit for the cycle against the Rockets. The outfielder had a double to left in the first, a triple to left-center in the third and a home run to left-center in the fifth before singling up the middle in the sixth. Donato was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and one RBI in that game, a 14-8 Bison victory.
Donato is just the third person in program history to hit for the cycle, and the first freshman. Brian Hirschberg was the last Bison to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat in 2003. Ted Aceto was the first when he did it in 1989.
Overall last week, Donato hit .318 and had at least one hit in three of his five starts. Four of his seven hits last week went for extra bases as he recorded two triples, one double and one home run.
A regular starter in the Bucknell outfield, Donato is third on the team with a .318 batting average this season. He has started 12 times and is the only regular starter to not make an error this year.
Thanks to its strong showing in Florida, Bucknell is now 5-9 this season. The Bison will play at Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday, March 18, at 3:30 p.m.
