Bucknell Baseball Places Eight on All-Patriot League Teams

Brouse, La Rosa, Yamaguchi Named to First Team

Andrew Brouse was one of three First Team All-Patriot League selections for Bucknell.

May 5, 2009

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell baseball team tied a program record as it had eight players named to the All-Patriot League Teams, which the league office announced Tuesday. Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West), B.J. LaRosa (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal) and Chris Yamaguchi (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) were first-team selections for the Bison, while Trey Frahler (Northfield, Ill./New Trier), Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg), Andrew Loucks (Mississauga, Ontario/Appleby College), Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill) and Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) earned second-team citations. The eight honorees equaled Army for the most in the league.

Bucknell (21-23, 13-7 Patriot League) last had eight All-Patriot League players in 2003, which was also the last year they claimed the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. The three first-team selections were the most for a Bison squad since the 2006 edition had four.

Brouse, a two-year starter in the outfield who is among the league leaders in home runs (10), triples (5), runs batted in (56), total bases (109) and slugging percentage (.665), is having one of the best offensive seasons in Bison history. The right fielder ranks tied for fourth on the single-season home run list, is fourth in RBIs, seventh in slugging percentage and fifth in total bases.

The Patriot League Player of the Week on March 16, Brouse has compiled 17 multi-RBI games, 17 multi-hit outings and recently had a career-best 16-game hitting streak snapped. The junior has driven in at least one run in nine of his last 11 games and has failed to record at least a hit or an RBI just four times this season.

LaRosa latched onto the starting catcher position this year after two seasons in a backup role. The strong-armed backstop has thrown out 19 of 34 (.559) would-be basestealers, including 9 of 11 (.818) against Patriot League opposition.

A junior, LaRosa has been strong at the plate as well, hitting a solid .316 with 22 RBIs and 24 runs scored. The durable player has started 32 games and appeared in 35 overall. He is Bucknell’s first First Team All-Patriot League catcher since Phil Bunting in 2003.

Yamaguchi missed all of 2008 after arm surgery and bounced back with a flourish in 2009. He is tied for the Patriot League lead with seven wins and his 3.53 ERA leads the league by more than one-half of a run. The right-handed starter went 4-1 with two complete games and walked just five hitters in 33.2 innings of work against Patriot League foes. Overall, he is averaging just over a walk per nine innings with nine in 58.2 innings of work.

Yamaguchi limited opponents to three or fewer runs in 11 of his 12 appearances, including five of six starts. In his career, opponents have registered more than three earned runs just once in eight starts. The Lincroft, N.J., native has benefited from strong run support as the Bison have outscored their opponents 114-67 in his 12 appearances, including 63-25 in his starts.

Yamaguchi’s ERA has hovered below 4.00 all year, reaching a high of 3.99 after yielding eight earned runs to Lafayette in early April.

Frahler, who was one of Bucknell’s five second-team honorees, was nearly as strong as Yamaguchi, posting a 5-4 record with a 4.18 ERA during the regular season. He currently stands third in the Patriot League in ERA.

A sophomore in his first year as a regular starter, Frahler went 4-0 with a stellar 2.84 ERA in Patriot League play. He is durable, ranking fourth in the Patriot League in innings pitched (60.1) and third in complete games (3), while his 37 strikeouts are second among Bison hurlers.

Frahler picked up his five victories despite Bucknell averaging just over three runs in his first nine starts. Overall, the Bison scored 4.1 runs per start for Frahler.

Grandizio, one of just two Bison, along with Yoder, who had previously been named All-Patriot League, earned his third consecutive second-team citation after hitting .269 with two home runs, 25 RBIs and 35 runs scored. The center fielder was also played his normal strong outfield, making a number of acrobatic catches and covering immense amounts of territory.

A three-year starter, Grandizio is climbing up a number of Bucknell career lists, including at bats, games played, stolen bases and sacrifice bunts. He leads the team with 12 stolen bases and eight sacrifice bunts while hitting primarily in the second spot in the lineup this season.

Grandizio is the seventh Bucknell player to earn at least three career all-league citations.

Loucks, a senior, earned his spot on the second team with his bat. After playing sparingly his first three seasons, the senior leads the team with a .368 batting average. He also has eight doubles, two home runs, 16 runs batted in and 19 runs scored, mainly from the designated hitter position.

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Loucks posted eight multi-hit games this year, including a 6-for-7 performance at Mount St. Mary’s. The six hits tied a 40-year-old Bucknell record that had been held only by Vic Cegles.

After a freshman year where he concentrated on pitching, Shribman moved over to first base this year and found his niche. The sophomore will enter this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament with a 15-game hitting streak intact and owns a .353 batting average overall this season. He also has five home runs and has driven in 37 runs to rank second on the team to Brouse.

A starter in 42 games, Shribman has piled up a team-best 14 doubles to rank fifth on the Bison single-season list, while his 17 multi-hit games are tied for second on the club. He is hitting a stellar .387 in Patriot League play and has nine multi-hit outings during his current hitting streak.

A Second Team All-Patriot League selection last year and the 2007 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Yoder will once again pick up some end-of-season hardware despite a position switch. After entering the season as the second baseman, Yoder moved to third base and has been strong there, committing a total of seven errors on the season. He has played errorless baseball over his last 11 outings.

A remarkably consistent hitter, Yoder is hitting .318 this year, following his .317 as a freshman and .318 as a sophomore. The left-handed hitter has at least one hit in eight consecutive games and has piled up career bests in home runs (7), RBIs (33) and runs scored (33) while hitting third in the high-powered Bison lineup. Yoder ended the season with a career-high four hits in the regular-season finale against Lehigh. His average spiked 15 points after that 4-for-6 performance.

The Patriot League will announce its major award winners (Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year) on Wednesday.

Bucknell, which had seven All-Patriot League selections last year when it won the Patriot League postseason title, will begin defense of its championship this weekend when it hosts Lafayette in a best-of-three series at Depew Field. The Leopards won three of four from the Bison last month, the only team in the Patriot League to win the regular season series against Bucknell. Second-seeded Army and third-seeded Holy Cross will battle in the other semifinal series this weekend.

2009 All-Patriot League Baseball Teams
First-Team All-League*
Name, School, Pos., Yr.
Ben Koenigsfeld, Army, SP, So.
Chris Yamaguchi, Bucknell, SP, Sr.
Tyler Anderegg, Army, RP, Sr.
Luke Roberts, Navy, RP, So.
B.J. LaRosa, Bucknell, C, Jr.
Kevin McKague, Army, 1B, So.
Zach Price, Army, 2B, Fr.
Clint Moore, Army, SS, So.
Matt Perry, Holy Cross, 3B, Jr.
Andrew Brouse, Bucknell, OF, Jr.
Ben Koenigsfeld, Army, OF, So.
Andy Russell, Lehigh, OF, So.
Joey Henshaw, Army, DH, So.

Second-Team All-League
Name, School, Pos., Yr.
Trey Frahler, Bucknell, SP, So.
Dan Seip, Holy Cross, SP, Sr.
Corey Shea, Lafayette, SP, So.
Steven Soares, Navy, C, Jr.
Doug Shribman, Bucknell, 1B, So.
Geoff Campbell, Lehigh, 2B, Sr.
Dan Bierce, Lafayette, SS, Sr.
Ben Yoder, Bucknell, 3B, Jr.
Billy Cupelo, Holy Cross, OF, Sr.
Kyle Fleming, Army, OF, Sr.
Dane Grandizio, Bucknell, OF, Sr.
Matt Hall, Lafayette, OF, Jr.
Andrew Loucks, Bucknell, DH, Sr.