April 30, 2009

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette senior shortstop Daniel Bierce (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) has been named to the Brooks Wallace Shortstop Award Watch List. He is the only Patriot League player to earn a spot on the list.

For the first time since its creation in 2004, the Wallace Award will honor the country's finest shortstop. Previously, the Wallace Award was given to the national player of the year.

Bierce, an Economics and Business major, has started all 44 games for the Leopards this season, one of only two players on the team to do so. He leads the Patriot League in doubles (17) and leads Lafayette in numerous offensive categories, including average (.390), hits (64), doubles (17), RBI (37), slugging percentage (.610) and on base percentage (.450). In addition, his 39 runs scored and 17 walks are good for second on the squad while his five home runs are a career-high.

On the base paths, Bierce has swiped a league-leading 20 bases this season and has yet to be caught. Dating back to April 12, 2008, he has stolen 27 bases without being caught, the seventh longest such streak in all divisions of college baseball. He is currently ranked 44th nationally in stolen bases among Division I players.

Bierce, a 2008 All-League player, also stands in the top-10 of several Lafayette single season and career lists. He has played in 185 career games, the most in Lafayette history, and his 188 career hits are seventh all-time. Bierce has also stolen 55 career bases, fifth all-time, and his 20 steals this spring are tied for seventh most in a single season.

Off the field, Bierce is enrolled in four courses during his final semester on College Hill: Alienation, Women and the Economy, Economic Growth and Introduction to World Music Traditions. Last fall, he earned a 3.15 grade-point average (GPA), one of 21 Leopards to earn a 3.0 PA or higher under head coach Joe Kinney.

Lafayette, which earned the No. 4 seed in next weekend's Patriot League Tournament, will travel to Le Moyne for a three-game series that opens with a doubleheader on Saturday.

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