ERIE, Pa. - Zak Blair, who will be entering his senior season with the Mercyhurst University baseball team in 2013, is currently leading the historic Cape Cod League in hitting, highlighting current Lakers playing summer league baseball this offseason.

The Cape League is recognized as the best amateur summer leagues in the country by college coaches, as well as professional baseball scouts. Players from around the USA and all college divisions are recruited to play in the ten-team loop. The list of Cape League all time alumni in MLB totals more than 830 names, including those of Baseball Hall of Famer Harold “Pie” Traynor (Falmouth '19); former New York Yankee greats Red Rolfe (Orleans '30) and Thurman Munson (Chatham '67); Major League managers Bobby Valentine (Yarmouth '67) and Buck Showalter (Hyannis '76); Cy Young Award winners Steve Stone (Chatham '68) and Mike Flanagan (Falmouth '72); Firemen-of-the-Year Wayne Granger (Sagamore '62) and Jeff Reardon (Cotuit '74-76); Major League scout Lennie Merullo (Barnstable '35); slugging first baseman Jeff Bagwell (Chatham '87-'88); and Craig Biggio (Yarmouth-Dennis '86), the only former Cape Leaguer to amass over 3,000 hits in the major leagues.

A native of Jefferson, Ohio, Blair leads all Cape Cod League hitters with a .402 batting average (35-for-87), which includes seven hits in his last nine at-bats. His .485 on-base percentage also leads the league and his 1.014 OPS ranks in the top five. Blair has belted two home runs for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Blair finished third on the Lakers' roster in hitting this past spring, finishing the year with a .369 batting average. His 18 stolen bases led Mercyhurst, despite missing 14 games due to a broken wrist midway through the season.

Several other current Lakers are also playing this summer:

Sophomore Dan Altavilla, an ABCA/Rawlings Atlantic Region First Team selection, an NCBWA Atlantic Region First Team member, a PSAC West First Team selection, and a Daktronics Atlantic Region Second Team member as a freshman, is also having success this summer. Pitching for the Pittsburgh Pandas in the Tri-State League, the native of Greenock, Pennsylvania is currently second on the team with a 2.15 earned run average, while leading the squad with 39 strikeouts. Altavilla finished his freshman season at Mercyhurst with a 0.91 ERA, striking out 38 batters in 29.2 innings.

Junior infielder Colin Loughner is a teammate of Altavilla's with the Pandas this summer. Loughner, hailing from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, batted .279 with a homer and 20 runs batted in for the Lakers last season.

Junior catcher Anthony Tomasone is currently batting .303 (10-for-33) with the Chardon Blizzard in the Tri-State League. A native of Solon, Ohio, Tomasone has driven in eight runs this summer while posting a .489 on-base percentage. Tomasone batted .250 for the Lakers last season.

Sophomore Kolin McMillen, who finished second on the Lakers in hitting as a freshman, is batting .250 (13-for-52) this summer for the Wellsville Nitros in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. The native of North Canton, Ohio has posted a .443 on-base percentage to date, drawing 17 walks while striking out just five times. He batted .380 for the Lakers during his rookie season.

Senior lefthander Ben Rawding, who earned a laundry list of postseason accolades after his remarkable junior campaign with the Lakers, is currently pitching for the Slippery Rock Sliders in the Prospect League. Hailing from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, Rawding is 1-3 with a 7.39 ERA with the Sliders after posting a 9-0 record an a 2.78 ERA for Mercyhurst this past spring.

Finally, senior Matthew Jimenez, a native of Elma, New York, is pitching for the Florence Red Wolves in the Coastal Plain League. He is 1-1 with a 5.17 ERA for the Red Wolves this summer. Jimenez went 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA for the Lakers as a junior last season.