The No. 4 seeded Holy Cross baseball team hits the road to No. 2 seeded and regular-season co-champion Bucknell for the Patriot League Championship Series beginning with game one on Monday, May 18 at 2 p.m. with game two coming on Tuesday, May 19 at 2 p.m. and a potential game three following if necessary, on Wednesday, May 20 at 1 p.m. The series will stream live on ESPN+ with Corey Nidoh (play-by-play) and Addison Sondberg (analyst/sideline) on the call.
 
Game one of the Patriot League Championship Series in the only NCAA Division I baseball game currently scheduled to be played on Monday, May 18.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT #4 HOLY CROSS (23-27, 13-13 PL): 

• Holy Cross has won seven of its last 10 games including a 6-2 victory in game two over No. 1 seeded Army West Point to complete the semifinal series sweep. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jake Lenahan picked up the win establishing career-highs in innings pitched (7.1), strikeouts (10) and pitches (115). Junior outfielder Gianni Royer was 3-for-5 with a double, home run and three RBI while classmate, first baseman Braden Connors also recorded three hits going 3-for-5 with an RBI.
• Senior outfielder CJ Egrie was named the Patriot League Player of the Year on Wednesday, May 6. Egrie, the first two-time Player of the Year in program history was also a first team All-League selection and voted Academic All-Patriot League. Egrie ranks second in the NCAA in stolen bases per game (0.95) and fourth in stolen bases (40). He is 40-for-42 (95.2 percent success rate) on steals in 2026. Egrie was also ranked #100 on D1Baseball's Week 12 Top 100 Outfielders list.
• Egrie is the Holy Cross all-time career stolen base leader with 92. His 40 steals in 2026 are the single-season program record. Egrie needs eight more steals to move to second all-time in Patriot League history and eight more runs scored to set the Holy Cross program record.
• Egrie thrived in the series at Bucknell in mid-April. The lead-off hitter slashed .462/.611/.538 for a 1.149 OPS with four stolen bases, two walks, a double and three runs scored. Junior outfielder John LaFleur recorded a home run, and a team-high seven RBI while hitting .313 in the series at Bucknell in 2026.
• Senior right-handed pitcher Jaden Wywoda, also a first team all-league selection is one of the best pitchers in program history. The NCAA leader in complete games (4), Wywoda ranks third in the Patriot League in innings pitched (79.2), strikeouts (68), and batting average against (.212), fourth in earned run average (3.50), and tied for fifth in wins (5). In Patriot League contests, Wywoda ranks second in innings pitched (53.0), third in BAA (.195), tied for third in wins (4), fourth in strikeouts (52) and fifth in ERA (2.89).
• Wywoda recently became only the third pitcher in program history to achieve 200 career strikeouts in a Crusader uniform on May 2, 2026 in a win at Lafayette. In the program record books, Wywoda ranks second all-time in innings pitched (257.1), third in strikeouts (209), fourth in wins (21), tied for third in starts (40), seventh in appearances (58), and tied for 10th in shutouts (3).
• Lenahan, an All-League second team selection as a reliever has made a flawless transition from the bullpen to a starting role. His last three appearances are starts and Lenahan has posted a 1-1 record with a 1.86 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP and a .188 BAA with a 22/3 K/BB ratio across 19.1 innings pitched.
• Junior infielder Alex Sandell, a second team All-League selection has one of the best gloves at the keystone in the conference. Sandell has made multiple highlight reel plays in 2026 and is a perfect 112-for-112 (1.000 fielding percentage) on chances with 60 putouts and 52 assists in regular-season conference contests.
• Royer, also an All-League second team choice is back in the lineup after missing time due to injury. In the nine games he's played since returning, the Crusaders are 6-3 and he is slashing .290/.395/.548 for a .943 OPS with team-bests in home runs (2), RBI (9) and runs scored (10).
• Overall this season, Royer ranks third in the Patriot League in average (.316), fourth in slugging (.537), sixth in OPS (.916) and eighth in home runs (6).
• On the season, infielder Ryan Grundy is hitting .327 (16-for-49) with runners in scoring position which ranks third on the team behind Egrie (.394, 13-for-33) and Royer (.348, 9-of-17).
• Almost half of John LaFleur's 27 RBI have come with two outs (13 RBI with two outs) in 2026.
• As a team in league games, Holy Cross ranks second in the league in average (.258), runs (154), RBI (135), walks (111), on-base percentage (.375), stolen bases (51), and third in ERA (4.99), third in strikeouts (210), third in runners caught stealing (10).

HOLY CROSS IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:

• The Crusaders have won two Patriot League Championships in 2017 and in 2025. In 2025, they took two-of-three against Lehigh in Worcester then swept Army West Point for the conference championship. In 2017, they swept Army West Point in the semifinals and Bucknell in the championship series. They are looking to become the first No. 4 seed to win the title since Bucknell in 2010.
• Overall, Holy Cross is 27-27 (.500) in the Patriot League Tournament and have appeared 16 times. The Crusaders are 6-1 (.857) over their last seven tournament games and have outscored their opponents 62-to-29 in that stretch.
• This is the Crusaders seventh overall appearance in the Patriot League Championship Series. They are a combined 7-8 (.467) in series games and 2-4 (.333) in the championship series.
• Holy Cross is 5-3 (.625) against Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament. They have won four straight meetings against the Bison dating back to 2013. The Crusaders are 3-2 (.600) against the Bison in championship series games and 1-1 (.500) in the championship series losing to the Bison in three games at home in 2010 before defeating them in the championship in two games in 2017.

SCOUTING THE #2 BISON (26-22, 17-9 PL): 

• Bucknell is 6-8 (.429) since splitting a mid-April series with Holy Cross in Lewisburg. They have won five of their last six games including a 6-4 decision over No. 3 Navy to advance to the championship series on Monday, May 11. Michael Trommer was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored while Brady Hoar earned the win going 5.2 innings allowing six hits, four runs – three earned with two strikeouts.
• The Bucknell coaching staff led by head coach Scott Heather was voted the Patriot League Coaching Staff of the Year following a collection of votes by the leagues head coaches. Bucknell was picked to finish fifth in the 2026 Patriot League Preseason Coaches' Poll. Heather's 265 career wins are the second-most in program history. Heather is not with the team due to a medical emergency before Bucknell's final series against Lehigh.
• Bucknell relief pitcher Hadley Maxwell was named the Patriot Legue Scholar Athlete of the Year on May 7 as well as the Patriot League First Team and to the NCWBA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. Maxwell, the Patriot League leader in saves (11) is tied for eighth in the nation. Maxwell has made 20 appearances and has a 1.98 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across 27.1 innings pitched with a 30/14 K/BB ratio. Opponents are hitting .225 against him in 2026.
• Trommer also was an All-League First Team selection. Trommer leads the Patriot League in hits (56) and doubles (13), is tied for second in runs scored (43), ranks third home runs (9) and OPS (.949), fifth in slugging (.536) and on-base (.413) and seventh in average (.306).
• In conference games, Bucknell leads the league in average (.274), hits (236), doubles (55), triples (8), total bases (343), slugging (.398), sacrifice flies (14), shutouts (3), saves (12), hits allowed (196), while ranking second in ERA (4.68).

BUCKNELL IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:

• The Bison have won six Patriot League Championships most recently in 2014. They have appeared in the Patriot League Tournament 21 times and have a 37-31 (.544) record in the conference tournament.
• This is the Bisons' seventh overall appearance in the Patriot League Championship Series. They are a combined 7-7 (.500) in series games and 3-3 (.500) in the championship series.
• Since winning the title in 2014, Bucknell is 1-6 (.143) in Patriot League championship series games.

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