LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA. (April 21, 2008) – Although, the Lincoln University of Pennsylvania baseball team endured some rough moments, there were still plenty of positives from a 1-22-1 season. (CLICK HERE FOR 2008 BASEBALL SEASON IN REVIEW MEDIA GUIDE)
The biggest bright spot of the season was the performance of junior Joe Kruemmer (Middletown, DE/Hodgson Vo-Tech). He was one of six Lincoln players to finish with at least 10 hits this season. Kruemmer led Lincoln in hits with a career-high 32. It was the third straight year Kruemmer led the baseball team in hits and second straight season he finished with the highest average. Kruemmer had some insane numbers.
Among the national leaders in batting and on-base percentage, Kruemmer proved to be a difficult out. Kruemmer seemed to sparkle whenever the situation mattered. Kruemmer batted .500 with runners in scoring position (15-for-30), .459 with the bases empty (17-for-37), .474 with two outs (9-for-19), .600 with RBI opportunities (12-for-20), .600 when leading off an inning (6-for-10) and 1.000 with a runner at third base and less than two outs (4-for-4).
Kruemmer finished 2007 with a .421 batting average. Over the last two years, Kruemmer is hitting .526 with runners in scoring position (30-for-57). He will enter his senior season with 86 career hits. This season, Kruemmer had eight multi-hit games.
In addition to Kruemmer's brilliance, freshman Melvin Robinson (Wilmington, DE/William Penn) showed plenty of brilliant flashes. Robinson finished with a .292 batting average. He was second on the team with 21 hits (five doubles and two home runs) and he led the team with 17 runs scored.
Among some of Robinson's highlights this season was a four-hit game at Lancaster Bible, in which he finished a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Robinson also belted a home-run over Widener's 60-foot high blue monster fence in leftfield. Robinson also stole 10 bases. His rocket arm in centerfield has thrown out at least five runners attempting to advance on fly balls.
Other strong efforts have been turned in by senior Josh Graber (Baltimore, MD/Our Lady of Mt. Carmel), who finished the season with 12 runs batted in. Freshman Omar Glinton (Nassau, Bahamas/St. Augustine's) made an immediate impact after joining the team in the middle of the season. He finished second in batting with a .356 average. He finished the season with 16 hits, nine stolen bases and a .397 on-base percentage.
Glinton scored the winning run in Lincoln's lone victory of the season after Robinson beat out a potential double-play ball. That play displayed the true tenacity and heart of the Lions baseball team this season. Despite long odds and some one-sided defeats, the Lions continued to battle despite being inexperienced and undermanned.
Freshman Harvey Barnes (Richmond, VA/Peekskill) showed some promise on the mound, striking out 38 batters in 40 innings. His pitching efforts have allowed him to be ranked among the nation's top 150. Barnes also had some pop at the plate where he finished with nine hits, including a pair of doubles, and seven runs scored. Senior Duane Wyse (Philadelphia, PA/West Catholic) battled through a difficult season to finish with .280 average, 14 hits, 10 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Wyse ended his career with 77 stolen bases. Wyse had a memorable three-hit afternoon against Pitt.-Bradford. In that game, Wyse slugged his only home run of the season.
Freshman Percy Bullock (Pittsburgh, PA/Susquehanna Twp.) made his first career plate appearance one to remember as he became the first freshman player in Lincoln baseball history to slug a home run. Bullock hit a two-run blast in the top of the second inning against Benedict that tied the game, 2-2. Bullock also scored eight runs.
Sophomore Peter S. Reyes (Bronx, NY/Environmental Studies) made nine pitching appearances this season and was a workhorse. He struck out 11 batters in 33.2 innings. Two of Reyes' six hits were doubles. The Lions got some solid contributions from freshmen Robert Brandon Coleman (Dresher, PA/Woodlynde School), Daryl Cherry (Queens, NY/Uniondale) and Rodney Reid (Queens, NY/Law Enforcement) midway through the season. Reid solidified second base for the Lions.
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