May 9, 2018 CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Coming after a regular season in which the team finished atop the Patriot League standings, the Navy baseball program was rewarded with eight All-Patriot League honors and two major conference accolades. Sophomore second baseman Zach Biggers was selected as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, while head coach Paul Kostacopoulos garnered the nod as Patriot League Coach of the Year.
This is the fourth straight season that the Mids have finished in first place in the regular season and then were able to take home multiple major awards. Biggers is the first Midshipmen to collect the top defensive honor as the award was put into circulation last season. Kostacopoulos is now a four-time Patriot League Coach of the Year.
In addition to Biggers, Noah Song, Christian Hodge, Logan Knowles and Liam Lowery gave Navy a league-high five members on the All-Patriot League First Team. The trio of Jared Leins, Michael Coritz and Stephen Born made it eight Midshipmen to collect accolades for their efforts during the 2018 regular season. That number is the most honorees this century by a Navy squad and rank second all-time to the 1996 club that had 10 players selected over the Patriot League First and Second Teams.
The league's head coaches, who could not select their own student-athletes, voted on the awards.
A skilled technician at second base, Biggers had the highest fielding percentage amongst non-OF, -1B and -C Patriot League defenders with a .979 mark. Biggers made 86 putouts with 144 assists and only five errors. He has been a part of 19 double plays this season through 47 games. The sophomore's performance on the field is only one part of his outstanding 2018 campaign as he leads the Patriot League in batting average (.351), doubles (18), while standing third in slugging percentage (.492), fifth in runs (41), fifth in triples (3), sixth in RBIs (31) and seventh in on-base percentage (.410). The Walhalla, S.C. native has been a staple at the top of Navy's batting order as he has hit in the two- (27) and the three-hole (17) a combined 44 times.
Now a three-time All-Patriot League honoree, Song earned his first career first-team nod on Wednesday after a dominant regular season. A two-time Louisville Slugger Player of the Week and three-time Patriot League Pitcher of the Week, Song leads the conference in ERA (1.42), strikeouts (106), shutouts (4), complete games (5), innings pitched (76.0) and opponents' batting average (.168). He's second in both wins (6) and WHIP (1.01). He ranks in the top-20 nationally in shutouts, complete games, strikeouts, hits allowed/9 innings (5.21), ERA and opponents' batting average. Over his 12 starts in 2018, he's held opponents to three or less hits (in 6.0 or more innings) in seven starts, including a one-hit, 15-strikeout outing versus Lafayette and a two-hit, 16-strikeout start against Air Force. The Claremont, Calif. native is one of just seven Midshipmen pitchers in program history to have ever eclipsed the 100-strikeout mark in a season.
A first-time honoree, Hodge was selected as the Patriot League's best first baseman in 2018. In his second year as the Mids' full-time first baseman, Hodge proved himself to be one of the best power bats in the Patriot League with five home runs and 15 doubles to go along with 34 RBIs. Hodge's home run and doubles totals are both tied for third in the conference, while his RBI tally is fifth overall. A .262 hitter overall for the Mids' 49-game regular season slate, the Winder, Ga. native picked up his level of play in league action with a .275 mark and 13 of his 20 combined extra-base hits. He drove in 18 of his RBIs versus Patriot League opposition.
The Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year, Knowles lived up to the high expectations and thrived once again as the Mids' leadoff hitter and starting centerfielder. After a slow start to the season, Knowles was a major weapon for Navy in Patriot League play with a conference stat line of .333 batting average, 27 runs scored, 33 hits, 11 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and seven stolen bases. Overall for 2018, Knowles hit .288 with 49 runs scored, 55 hits, eight doubles, seven triples, 25 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Hailing from Port Orchard, Wash., the Mids' 2018 team captain, ranked first in the Patriot League in runs and triples, while placing sixth in both total hits and stolen bases.
The final Midshipmen honored on the 2018 All-Patriot League First Team was Lowery. After combining for just 36 at bats over his first two seasons with the program, Lowery found that next gear this season and took full-time ownership of the designated hitter position this spring. A power threat for the Mids, Lowery connected for 19 extra-base hits with 16 doubles, a triple and two home runs, while driving in 20. A junior from Williamsburg, Va., Lowery augmented his power numbers with a .319 batting average, 19 runs scored and a .390 on-base percentage. In league play he was even more efficient with a .342 batting average, 10 runs scored, 27 hits, 12 doubles and eight RBIs. He has played in 45 games with 40 starts for Navy in 2018.
A two-time All-Patriot League honoree, Born leads a trio of Midshipmen on the second team. An All-Patriot League First Team selection as a DH in 2016, Born was honored as one of three outfielders on the second team in 2018. Owner of the second-most RBIs in the Patriot League with 40 through 49 games in 2018, Born is closing out his standout four-year career in fine form as he's batted .320 with 42 runs, 62 hits, 11 doubles, five triples and 15 stolen bases. All six stats rank amongst the top-10 in the conference.
A pair of first-time honorees close out Navy's haul of All-Patriot League accolades as the Mids' shortstop, Coritz and their closer, Leins each were recognized on Wednesday. A skilled defender up the middle, Coritz has shown himself to be an asset to Navy's offense in 2018 with a .279 batting average, 26 runs scored, eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs. Looking deeper into Coritz' statline you would notice his .394 on-base percentage, an 8:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a team-high eight sacrifice bunts. In league-play, he upped his average to .321 with 15 runs scored.
Leins stepped up immediately as a freshman and became one of the best closers in the league. A four-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week, Leins accumulated five saves, four wins, 49 strikeouts and a .197 opponents' batting average over 39.2 innings and 17 games. In Navy's single-season record books, his save total is seventh all-time, while his 11.9 strikeout/9 inning ratio would rank sixth all-time should he eventually meet the 50-inning minimum. The Raleigh, N.C. native has thrown 1.1 innings or more in 14 of his 17 appearance, including three or more innings on seven different occasions.
Kostacopoulos' Patriot League Coach of the Year honor is the fourth of his career over 13 seasons in Annapolis. He previously won in 2011, 2015 and 2016. The 29th-year collegiate baseball head coach led the Mids to a 36-13 regular season and 18-7 mark in Patriot League play. The 2018 squad is one win away from moving into a tie for second place all-time with 37. Navy's past four teams have turned in the four highest win totals in program history with the 2016 squad winning 43 and the 2015 and 2017 teams each tallying 37 victories. Kostacopoulos has led Navy to its fourth straight number one seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
Across both All-Patriot League teams, Army finished with eight honorees, while Bucknell had four and Holy Cross notched three. Both Lafayette and Lehigh had two players recognized.
Amongst the other major award winners, Army's Jon Rosoff was the Patriot League Player of the Year, Bucknell's Connor Van Hoose was the Patriot League Pitcher of the Year and Army's Anthony Giachin was the Rookie of the Year.
The postseason begins for Navy, Army, Bucknell and Holy Cross this weekend with best-of-three semifinal series. The Mids will host the fourth-seeded Crusaders on May 12-13 in Annapolis with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. The if-necessary game three will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m. The second-seeded Black Knights and third-seeded Bison will face off in West Point with the same alignment of games with a doubleheader on Saturday and a potential game three on Sunday.
2018 Patriot League Baseball Major Awards
Player of the Year: Jon Rosoff, Army West Point, Sr., C
Pitcher of the Year: Connor Van Hoose, Bucknell, Sr., RHP
Rookie of the Year: Anthony Giachin, Army West Point, Fr., 3B
Defensive Player of the Year: Zach Biggers, Navy, So., 2B
Coach of the Year: Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy
First-Team All-Patriot League Team%
SP: Connor Van Hoose, Bucknell, Sr.*
SP: Noah Song, Navy, Jr.
RP: Danny Barlok, Holy Cross, Jr.*
C: Jon Rosoff, Army West Point, Sr.*
1B: Christian Hodge, Navy, Jr.*
2B: Zach Biggers, Navy, So.
SS: Chris Rinaldi, Holy Cross, So.
3B: Anthony Giachin, Army West Point, Fr.
3B: John Marti, Lafayette, So.
OF: Logan Knowles, Navy, Sr.
OF: Luke Robinson, Lafayette, Sr.
OF: Jacob Hurtubise, Army West Point, So.
OF: Austin Masel, Holy Cross, So.
DH: Liam Lowery, Navy, Jr.*
Second-Team All-Patriot League Team^
SP: Daniel Burggraaf, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Tyler Giovinco, Army West Point, Jr.
RP: Cam Opp, Army West Point, Jr.
RP: Jared Leins, Navy, Fr.
C: Jeff Shanfeldt, Lehigh, Jr.
C: Evan Klugerman, Bucknell, So.
1B: Tony Gallo, Lehigh, So.
2B: Josh White, Army West Point, Jr.
SS: Michael Coritz, Navy, So.
OF: Stephen Born, Navy, Sr.
OF: Chuckie Scales, Bucknell, Sr.
OF: Drake Titus, Army West Point, So.
DH: Dom Toso, Bucknell, Fr.
* - Unanimous first-team selection
% - 14 players on the first-team due to ties in voting
& - 13 players on the second-team due to ties in voting
^ - No 3B on the second-team due to a tie in voting for the first-team
