April 19, 2004

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Freshman pitcher Brian Cope (Whitehall, Pa./Parkland) has been selected as the Patriot League Baseball Freshman of the Week for the week ending April 18.

Cope, who is the only underclassman to earn a spot in the Leopards' weekend rotation, struck out 10 and scattered two runs on six hits in the Leopards' 8-2 win over Bucknell on Saturday. The 10 strikeouts are the second most of his career, one short of the 11 batters he retired in a no-decision at Army on April 3.

He holds a 1-1 record in his seven starts and maintains a 4.38 ERA. Cope boasts the best strikeout-to-walk ratio on the Leopards' staff, striking out 3.6 batters for every time he issues a walk.

The Lafayette baseball team currently sits in second place in the Patriot League standings with a 9-7 conference clip and a 16-18 overall mark. The Leopards return to action on Tuesday in the Liberty Bell Classic semifinals. Lafayette will play its nemesis, Lehigh, at 6 p.m. at Limeport Stadium, a neutral site. The winner of that game will play in the Liberty Bell Classic finals on Thursday at Citizen's Bank Park.