Baseball Places Four on Preseason All-Patriot League Team, Picked Second in Preseason Poll

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell baseball team garnered four of the 16 Preseason All-Patriot League Team selections, and the Bison were picked second in the annual preseason poll, which were announced on Wednesday afternoon by the league office. Junior third baseman Sean Keys, junior second baseman Billy Kender, and senior outfielders Jacob Corson and Grant Voytovich were all named to the Preseason All-PL squad.

Bucknell has advanced to the Patriot League Tournament championship series in each of the last two seasons, falling both times at regular-season champion Army West Point. The league's head coaches and sports information directors predict a similar final this year, as Army was selected as the preseason favorite with the maximum 10 first-place votes. Bucknell received the two remaining first-place votes and 38 points in the poll, followed by Navy (32), Lehigh (27), Lafayette (23), and Holy Cross (10).

Army had a league-high five Preseason All-Patriot League honorees, followed by Bucknell with four, Navy with three, Holy Cross with two, and Lehigh and Lafayette with one each.

All four of Bucknell's selections were All-Patriot Leaguers last spring. Keys, Kender, and Votovich were all First Team honorees, while Corson was slotted on the Second Team.

Seniors Corson and Voytovich bookended one of the league's premier outfields last season. Corson, who started all 47 games, playing primarily in left field, slashed .304/.462/.532 for a .994 OPS. He belted eight home runs, drove in 33 runs, and scored 41. Corson's .462 on-base percentage was the second-best in the league, behind only teammate Anthony Sherwin, and he also ranked in the top 10 in runs, OPS, and walks. The native of nearby Muncy (Hughesville H.S.) homered six times against Patriot League competition and also went deep against ACC opponents Pittsburgh and Boston College. Corson provided one of the biggest hits of the season, a dramatic two-out, three-run home with the Bison trailing by two runs in the top of the ninth inning at Lehigh.

Voytovich last season was a mainstay in the middle of the Bison lineup, and he also played a terrific right field. He slashed .293/.418/.500 and belted eight home runs, two of which were grand slams. Voytovich ranked ninth in the Patriot League in RBIs with 37, and he finished the year with four three-hit games and three four-hit games. One of the best performances of his career came in a crazy 17-14 win at Penn State, when he went 4-for-6 with a grand slam and six RBIs. He later topped that with a seven-RBI game at Lehigh that included a grand slam and a three-run shot.

Keys returns after a breakout sophomore season in which he developed into one of the Patriot League's most feared mashers. Keys started all 47 games at third base, slashed .339/.444/.679, and led the league in both slugging and OPS (1.123). He blasted 13 home runs and drove in 61, becoming only the third Bucknell player ever to knock in 60 or more runs in a season. Keys came up big in the clutch time and time again, highlighted by a walk-off three-run homer against Lehigh and a tie-breaking three-run shot in the top of the ninth in the win at Penn State. All told, Keys reached base via a hit or walk in 43 of the 47 games, and in the Patriot League Tournament he went 7-for-13 with a home run and seven RBIs in four games.

When Bison fans last saw Kender in action at Depew Field, he was getting mobbed by his teammates after delivering a dramatic two-strike, two-out, two-run single that gave Bucknell a series-ending 7-6 win over Navy in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. After appearing in only seven games as a freshman in 2022, Kender took hold of the starting second base job, playing in 45 of the team's 47 games last season. He slashed .265/.342/.337, had 10 multi-hit games, and also had a walk-off base hit in a home win over Rhode Island.

Army swept the three preseason major awards. Third baseman Sam Ruta was named Preseason Player of the Year, Mike Ruggieri was picked as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and catcher Derek Berg was the choice for Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Bucknell's four selections are its most since 2019, when Jeff Gottesman, Evan Klugerman, Tyler Wincig, and JohnPaul Bell were all picked.

The Bison open their 2024 campaign in Spartanburg, S.C., on Feb. 17-18. They will take on Towson and Wofford on Saturday, Feb. 17, followed by a single game with Towson on Sunday, Feb. 18.

2024 Patriot League Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Army West Point (10 first-place votes), 50
2. Bucknell (2), 38
3. Navy, 32
4. Lehigh, 27
5. Lafayette, 23
6. Holy Cross, 10

2024 Patriot League Baseball Major Award Winners
Preseason Player of the Year – Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Sr. 3B
Preseason Pitcher of the Year – Mike Ruggieri, Army West Point, Sr., RHP
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Derek Berg, Army West Point, Sr., C

2024 Preseason All-Patriot League Baseball Team*
SP: Mike Ruggieri, Army West Point, Sr.
SP: Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Sr.
SP: Matthew Shirah, Navy, Sr.
RP: Landon Kruer, Navy, Sr.
C: Derek Berg, Army West Point, Sr.
1B: Michael Zarrillo, Lafayette, Jr.
2B: Billy Kender, Bucknell, Jr.
SS: Tyler Young, Lehigh, Sr.
SS: Eduardo Diaz, Navy, Sr.
3B: Sean Keys, Bucknell, Jr.
3B: Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Sr.
OF: Braden Golinski, Army West Point, Sr.
OF: Jacob Corson, Bucknell, Sr.
OF: Grant Voytovich, Bucknell, Sr.
OF: Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, So.
At-Large: Sean Scanlon, Holy Cross, Jr.

Baseball Places Four on Preseason All-Patriot League Team, Picked Second in Preseason Poll

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Jacob Corson

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Anthony Sherwin

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