LHU Baseball puts 7 on All-Conference Team; Leitholf named PSAC East Freshman of the Year
In all, seven LHU baseball players earned 2018 All-PSAC honors including Second Team pitcher Scott Leitholf who was named the PSAC East Freshman of the Year
LOCK HAVEN – In all, seven members of the Lock Haven University baseball team were named 2018 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) honorees including pitcher Scott Lietholf who was named the PSAC East Freshman of the Year.
The Bald Eagles put four on the First Team and Leitholf was one of three players who earned Second Team honors.
Cayden Stover (Beech Creek, Pa./Chesapeake College), Liam McArthur (Basking Ridge, N.J./Seton Hall), Breton LaRose (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Sacred Heart) and Kolby DeHaas (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho/Wenatchee Valley C.C.) all earned First Team honors.
Nick Stotler (Pittsburgh/Coker College) and Justin Sleigh (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) joined Leitholf on the Second Team.
Leitholf is the first LHU player to earn rookie of the year honors since Heath Repard was named PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2001. The seven All-Conference honorees are the most since Lock Haven had eight student-athletes earn All-PSAC West honors following the 1997 season.
Stotler, Stover, McArthur, DeHaas and Sleigh account for Lock Haven’s top-five hitters on the season. Their dominance at the plate helped LHU hit. 332 as a team, the best average in the PSAC (No. 7 NCAA DII).
Stover, a First Team pick at second base, did it at the plate and in the field. He hit .391 with 44 runs scored, 29 RBIs and 11 doubles, while fielding .922 in 40 games played. Stover stole 17 bases (17 of 20).
McArthur, a First Team pick in the outfield, hit .384 with two home runs, six doubles and 15 RBIs. He had eight stolen bases and committed just one error in 37 games.
DeHaas (1B) earned First Team honors as an infielder. He hit .374 with 35 RBIs. DeHaas had just four errors in 40 games and he registered an on-base percentage of .461.
LaRose earned First Team honors as a relief pitcher and rightfully so after leading the way for the Bald Eagles as their closer. His six saves ranked second in the PSAC. In 15 innings pitched, he registered six saves, one win, 15 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.00.
Stotler (2nd Team, OF) hit a team-best .393 with seven home runs, 37 RBIs, 10 doubles and 43 runs scored. He was also 11 for 14 on stolen base attempts and registered a .607 slugging percentage.
Sleigh (2nd Team, DH) hit .353 with 31 RBIs and 10 doubles. He had 48 hits and scored 32 runs in 39 games.
Leitholf was one of the top weekend starters in the PSAC East as a rookie. His seven wins (7-2) were tied for second in the league. In 10 games, all starts, he registered five complete-games, an ERA of 3.82, 54 strikeouts and held the opposition to a .244 batting average.
Under first-year interim head coach Heath Stover – a longtime assistant coach and 20 –plus year LHU baseball veteran – the Bald Eagles went 22-19 overall. Lock Haven was 12-14 in PSAC East play and went into the final weekend with a playoff berth on the line.
