Billigen, Hermans and Robinson Receive First Baseball Weekly Awards

Photos courtesy of Cornell Athletic Communications, Dartmouth Athletics Communications and Princeton Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The 2012 Ivy League baseball season officially began on Thursday, March 1, when Columbia opened a three-game set at Citdel with a 4-1 loss. The next day, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Princeton saw action for the first time and Yale played its season-opener on March 3.

Dartmouth acquitted itself well against No. 13 LSU. Although the Big Green was swept in three games, it showed promise, losing game one by a score of 8-4 and game three by a score of 5-4. In the first contest, Dartmouth was able to collect 10 hits and four runs off of Kevin Gausman, marking the most hits the 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers draft pick had ever given up in a single game.

Player of the Week
Other highlights for Ivy League baseball include a sweep by the Big Red of Maryland-Eastern Shore in four games, including a pair of shutouts. Cornell senior outfielder Brian Billigen (Carnegie, Pa.) was a big factor in his team’s 4-0 start, recording 10 RBIs in the four games. For his efforts, Billgen was named Ivy League Player of the Week.

In the span of two innings in the season-opener, Billigen recorded a three-run triple and a two-run double. In the series finale, he finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with two runs, four RBIs and a stolen base. The senior batted 8-for-18 (.444) in the four games, while slugging .833. He finished the weekend with six runs, two doubles, one triple, one home run, one stolen base and 10 RBI.

Billigen’s Weekly Stats
4 GP, .444 AVG (8-for-18), .833 SLG%, 2 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB

Pitcher of the Week
Princeton opened its season with a four-game set at Florida Atlantic. The Tigers finished 2-2 in the series, including an 11-4 season-opening victory. Junior Zak Hermans (Coppell, Texas) got the win in that first game and was named Ivy League Pitcher of the Week.

Hermans pitched five innings and limited the Owls to two hits and a walk in 18 at bats for an opponents batting average of .118. The junior struck out eight and finished with a 0.00 ERA.

Hermans’ Weekly Stats
1 APP, 5.0 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 2 Hits, 0.00 ERA

Rookie of the Week
Dartmouth freshman outfielder Matt Robinson (Chesterfield, Mo.) was not affected with his team’s matchup at the 13th-best team in the country, finishing with a batting average of .667 (4-for-6) with three runs, an RBI, a walk and a .714 on-base percentage. For his efforts, Robinson was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

In his very first collegiate game, Robinson hit 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs in Dartmouth’s 16-3 loss at LSU. He stayed in the starting lineup the next game, batting 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI as the Big Green fell to the Tigers, 5-4.

Robinson’s Weekly Stats
2 GP, .667 AVG (4-for-6), .714 OBP, 1 BB, 3 Runs, 1 RBI

Honor Roll
Nick Ferraresi, Columbia, Jr., OF (Wellington, Fla.)
4 GP, .333 AVG (5-for-15), .600 SLG%, 4 2B, 3 Runs, 1 RBI, Team: 1-3

Kevin Fortunato, Yale, So., IF/P (Wall, N.J.)
4 GP, .267 AVG (4-for-15), .533 SLG%, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, Team: 0-4

Brent Jones, Cornell, Fr., RHP (Albuquerque, N.M.)
1 APP, 1 CG, 5.0 IP, 6 K, 2 BB, 3 Hits, 0.00 ERA, 1-0

Jeff Keller, Dartmouth, So., OF (Atherton, Calif.)
3 GP, .333 AVG (3-for-10), 2 Runs, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, Team: 0-3

Pat Ludwig, Yale, Sr., P (Okemos, Mich.)
1 APP, 6.0 IP, 9 K, 3 BB, 7 Hits, 3.00 ERA, ND

Will Marcal, Brown, Fr., LHP/OF (Lexington, Mass.)
1 APP, 4.0 IP, 6 K, 4 BB, 3 Hits, 2.25 ERA, 0-1
3 GP, .500 AVG (4-for-8), .625 SLG%, 1 Run, 1 2B, 1 RBI, Team: 0-3

Jordan Serena, Columbia, Fr., INF (Parker, Colo.)
3 GP, .333 AVG (2-for-6), .444 OBP, 2 Runs, 1 RBI, 2 BB, Team: 1-2

Kevin Tatum, Cornell, Fr., IF/OF (Woodbridge, Va.)
4 GP, .400 AVG (6-for-15), 5 Runs, 3 RBI, Team: 4-0

Zack Tax, Columbia, So., RHP (White Plains, N.Y.)
2 APP, 3.0 IP, 3 K, 2 Hits, 0.00 ERA, 1-0