The college baseball season opened in mid-February and awards came early and often to area ballplayers, who shone with no-hitters, walk-off dingers and hitting for the cycle.
Lehigh’s Justin Butler (Quakertown) and Julio Ermigiotti (Central Bucks West) won the Patriot League’s first Player and Rookie of the Week respectively on Feb. 20, a week where Lehigh won two games against Big 10 foes.
First baseman Butler hit .417 with six RBIs, three home runs, a 1.250 slugging percentage and a 1.750 OPS. Ermigiotti earned the save in Lehigh’s upset win over ranked Iowa, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings.
Ermigiotti repeated as Rookie of the Week two weeks later. He threw 5.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen and struck out six in a win over Queens.
On March 11, senior Mike Rabayda (Council Rock South) picked up his second Centennial Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week award. Haverford’s Rabayda, who missed 2023, struck out 11 and scattered three hits in a 2-1 won over Skidmore. He won the first Centennial Pitcher of the Week in 2024 by throwing five scoreless innings with seven Ks to beat Gwynedd-Mercy.
On March 18, St. Joseph’s third baseman Owen Petrich (Central Bucks South) won the Atlantic-10 Player of the Week. Petrich became just the third Hawk to hit for the cycle in a win against Monmouth. He homered two games before and drove in three the day after, giving him a .474 average and 1.711 OPS for the week.
The day before, Susquehanna’s Tony Rossi (Central Bucks East) earned the Landmark Player of the Week. Junior Rossi hit .600 and slugged 1.150, driving in 11 and scoring 10 runs. He also stole four bases. On March 1, Rossi hit a walk-off homer against Eastern Connecticut State.
Lastly, Slippery Rock junior Joey Purcell (Council Rock South) won his first of two consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Pitcher of the Week awards. Purcell was crowned on March 18 for throwing seven innings of a combined nine-inning no-hitter against St. Anselm. He struck out nine. On March 25, Purcell repeated for throwing a two-hit shutout against Pitt-Johnstown. His eight strikeouts were one off his career mark.
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