March 21, 2011

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy baseball players Jeff Bland and Taylor Cato were both recognized by the conference this week as they were named Patriot League Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively, it was announced on Monday. The two helped Navy to a 5-2 record last week.

Bland led Navy at the plate as he hit .500 (9-for-18) in the Mids' seven games last week. The senior captain produced four doubles, one triple and nine RBIs and posted a slugging percentage of .833. Bland had at least one RBI in five of the six games in which he appeared and now has 16 RBIs on the season.

Bland's most impressive effort of the week came on Saturday in Navy's 15-7 win over Yale where he went 5-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs.

The catcher from Basking Ridge, N.J., also threw out four runners last week.

Cato appeared in all seven games and had an outstanding week both at the plate and on the mound. The freshman had four multi-hit games as he batted .455 (10-for-22), including four extra-base hits, and drove in six runs.

In his third-career start on the mound, Cato picked up his first collegiate win in Navy's 8-5 victory over Jacksonville State - a 2010 NCAA Tournament participant. The right-hander started strong by retiring the first 10 hitters and ended up allowing just two earned runs off four hits in 5.1 innings. Cato also struck out a season-high six batters.

The honors for both Bland and Cato are the first of their careers.

Navy (11-9-1) will return to action at home on Saturday when it takes on Princeton in a doubleheader, beginning at 12 p.m.