STANDISH, ME – The 2010 Saint Joseph's College Baseball team entered the spring with lofty expectations and something to prove after losing in the conference championship in 2009. The Monks traversed their way through a rocky start to the 2010 campaign and, when the dust settled, had posted one of the most memorable seasons in program history.

St. Joe's posted a 35-13 overall record and went 11-3 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference games last spring under 18th year Head Coach Will Sanborn '86. After a 6-6 start, with all six defeats being one-run setbacks, the Monks rattled off 22 wins in the team's next 26 games and headed into the GNAC Tournament with a 28-10 record as the #2 seed.

Saint Joseph's proceeded to dispense of Johnson & Wales in a quarterfinal contest at Larry Mahaney Diamond and twice defeated top-seeded Suffolk University in the GNAC Tournament, including a thrilling walk-off triumph in the title contest, to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years. After falling to #1 seed Tufts University in the New England Regional opener, #8 St. Joe's avoided elimination by defeating the likes of Worcester State, Western New England and Wheaton before falling to Tufts in 11 innings on the final day of the tourney.

As a result of the successful season, Saint Joseph's was well-represented in the postseason accolade department. For the second straight year, eight Monks received All-GNAC honors, including GNAC Player of the Year Todd Keneborus '11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus) and GNAC Pitcher of the Year Sam Murray '12 (Walpole, MA). In three seasons as a GNAC member, Saint Joseph's has earned 21 All-Conference honors, three Player of the Year accolades, two Pitcher of the Year awards and a pair of Rookie of the Year honors. With the addition of Keneborus' yearly award, the Monks have now sported six consecutive Player of the Year recipients.

Keneborus, a First Team All-NEIBA selection, led the SJC offensive effort with a breakout season, as the junior hit .464 (77-166) with 52 runs and 65 RBI during an accolade-filled season. He became the 14th player in program history to earn All-America honors, as the third-year outfielder received third team nominations from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

For St. Joe's, the win tally is the second-highest in team history, second only to the 38-6 record posted by the 2001 club, and the 48 games played is tied for the most by a Saint Joseph's team with the 1985 baseball squad. The Monks broke the program's all-time season record for hits (531), at bats (1505) and double plays turned (45), as well as saves (13) and fewest walks allowed (97). In fact, Saint Joseph's led all of NCAA DIII Baseball with 2.38 walks allowed per nine innings.

Coach Sanborn recorded the 450th victory of his esteemed career with a win over Johnson & Wales on April 3rd and became the winningest single-sport coach in SJC Athletics history after guiding the Monks to a 5-4 triumph against Suffolk in the GNAC Championship on May 2nd. With a 471-273-6 record going into next spring, Sanborn is a lock to reach the 500-win plateau as well as surpass SJC Athletics all-time wins leader Rick Simonds, who registered 504 victories as the men's basketball coach for 23 years and the softball skipper for one season.

With eight starters and six 2009 All-GNAC honorees returning, the Monks were anticipating big things in 2010. Saint Joseph's was listed among the top teams in the country in a pair of preseason polls, including 26th in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball rankings. The returners, looking to erase the memory of the team's numbing loss to Suffolk in the 2009 GNAC Championship at Mahaney Diamond, entered fall ball with one goal: win the GNAC and return to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

But all did not go as planned during the early part of the season. The Monks suffered four one-run losses during their spring trip and returned to New England with a 3-4 record. St. Joe's went on to win three of four against New Jersey City and St. Joe's (LI) during a weekend trip to those locales, but headed home somewhat disappointed after suffering a bitter walk-off loss to St. Joe's (LI) in the trip's final contest.

Saint Joseph's would face off against UMass-Boston, the eventual Little East Conference and NCAA New England Regional Champion, in the team's 2010 home-opener on March 25th. Despite scoring eight runs on 11 hits, the Beacons bettered the Monks with nine runs, six of the unearned variety as the Royal Blue defense committed an astounding six errors in the loss. For St. Joe's, which lost eight games by one run, the defeat was the sixth one-run loss of the year.

With the bulk of the season looming, including 14 conference contests, in late March and the month of April, the Monks proceeded to win eight of their next ten games and held a 14-8 record going into a home game against Bowdoin College on April 6th. The Monks earned an important 7-3 win over the Polar Bears, who rolled into Standish as the top-ranked team in New England with a 14-5 record, as Kyle Dorr '10 (Berwick, ME), Chad Rafferty '13 (Keene, NH) and Adam Stanclift '13 (Chesterfield, NH) combined to allow three earned runs and eight hits with seven K's in the victory.

With the victory over the well-established Bowdoin nine, the confident Monks went on to win 13 of their next 15 games, including two pivotal in-region victories over Southern Maine and seven of eight GNAC contests, heading into the conference tournament.

On April 12th, the SJC bats exploded for 28 runs off 26 hits in a two-game sweep over Emerson College. The Monks registered 17 extra-base hits on the day, including six long balls, and Moran became the sixth player in team history to hit 20 career home runs when he connected for a solo blast in the fifth inning of the nightcap contest. Keneborus went off with a 7-9 performance at the plate with four runs, three doubles, three triples, a homer and a staggering 10 RBI in the twinbill. Several days later he was selected as the NCBWA NCAA DIII National Hitter of the Week and is believed to be the first SJC player to receive the national honor.

Three days later the Monks made a trip to Gorham to take on in-state rival University of Southern Maine. Trailing 5-1 after four frames, St. Joe's scored three in the sixth off an Ian Lee '11 (Hampden, ME) tater and two in the eighth to collect a 7-6 victory. Moran tossed 3.2 innings in relief, with six strikeouts, to earn the victory on the hill.

As it turned out, the come-from-behind win over the Huskies sparked the Royal Blue to an 11-game winning streak that would carry the team through the GNAC playoffs. Starting pitchers Murray and Kevin Chamberlain '11 (Scarborough, ME) along with reliever Mason Roberge '11 (Franklin, NH) combined to scatter seven hits, all singles, in a pair of 4-0 wins over Albertus Magnus on April 18th to help the Monks improve to 23-10 and 9-3 in GNAC play. The double-shutout effort was just the third in program history and first since the 2006 season.

Next up was a contest against Southern Maine at Mahaney Diamond on April 21st. The Huskies looked to even the score for the 2010 campaign, but would make the short trek back to Gorham in disappointment on this windy day as the Monks prevailed, 11-8, with Rafferty holding the vaunted USM offense to just five hits over five innings to improve to 5-0 on the year. Both teams smacked three home runs in the rivalry contest, with Travis Adams '10 (Saco, ME), Craig Woodbrey '10 (Gorham, ME) and Ben Grant-Roy '10 (Biddeford, ME) all slamming big flies for the Monks.

Sweeps against GNAC-foe Norwich University and in-state rival Colby College ensued as the Royal Blue carried a 28-10 mark into the conference tournament, which opened with a quarterfinal contest against third-seeded Johnson & Wales University on April 29th. St. Joe's walloped the Wildcats, 11-1, at Mahaney Diamond in the tourney opener behind a stellar pitching effort from Moran, who fanned nine in seven innings, and multiple-hit performances from Keneborus, Woodbrey, Mike Burdin '10 (Gardiner, ME) and Chris Campbell '11 (Rochester, NH). Also, Grant-Roy became the 21st player to reach the 20-home run plateau when he belted a solo shot in the sixth inning.

With the win, St. Joe's moved on to face top-seeded Suffolk in a semifinal matchup on May 1st at Pierce Field in East Providence, RI. The Monks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Rams charged back to tie the game with three unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning. Unfazed, the Royal Blue proceeded to score seven times in the team's next four trips to the plate and rolled to a 12-4 win to remain in the winner's bracket and advance to the championship. Murray was dominant on the mound for the Monks, as the sophomore southpaw tossed a complete game allowing seven hits and one earned run off seven hits. Grant-Roy paced the SJC offense, which accounted for 12 hits, and went 3-4 with two runs scored and five RBI.

Suffolk, having just lost to the Monks that same day, toppled JWU in the losers' bracket contest and advanced to face Saint Joseph's in the title game for the third consecutive season. Rafferty started on the mound for the Monks, but didn't have his usual stuff on this day and the Rams led 4-0 after three innings. With one out in the third inning, Coach Sanborn lifted the rookie righty in favor of Roberge, who hadn't worked more than 3.2 frames since making a start in Florida and had developed into one of the Monks' top relievers. Roberge proved up to the task and proceeded to keep the Rams' bats at bay for the final 6.2 innings while scattering five hits, all singles, with a pair of punch-outs.

It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth, however, until St. Joe's was able to solve Suffolk starter Andrew Babb, who held the SJC hitters to just two hits over the first five innings. The Monks tallied four runs off four hits, all with two out, to tie the game in the sixth with Campbell delivering the game-tying two-run double. The following five at bats by the teams yielded just one hit as it became obvious that Babb and Roberge would duel until the finish. In the bottom of the ninth, Campbell led off with a single up the middle and was lifted in favor of pinch-runner Danny Achorn '12 (Bow, NH), who was moved to second on a Burdin sac bunt and scored the winning run on a Woodbrey single through the right side with two out. The Monks were headed back to the NCAA Tournament.

After a pair of tune-up games against MIT, which resulted in a split and another one-run loss, Saint Joseph's travelled to Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, CT for the NCAA DIII New England Regional Tournament. St. Joe's squared off against the region's top-ranked team, NESCAC Champion Tufts University, in the opener on May 19th and immediately fell into the losers' bracket with a 12-3 loss. Although the Monks scored first and tied the game at three apiece with two more runs in the second frame, the Jumbos put up seven runs in the opening three innings and controlled the game from the third inning on.

Facing the unenviable task of working their way to the title game out of the losers' bracket, it's likely the rocky start to the season paid dividends in the long run, as the Monks proved their level of mental toughness by eliminating three better-seeded teams in the regional, starting with #5 Worcester State.

Extra frames were required to determine a winner between the Monks and Lancers on May 20th, but St. Joe's was able to outlast the MASCAC champions as Adams delivered the game-winning hit, a double, in the bottom of 12th. Moran started the game on the mound for St. Joe's and tossed nine strong innings with two earned runs and seven hits allowed while fanning five. Kevin Chamberlain '11 (Scarborough, ME) worked a scoreless 10th and Chris Nanof '10 (Clinton, MA) earned the first of his two wins in the tourney with a pair of scoreless frames in the 5-4 triumph.

St. Joe's was able to enjoy the win for one evening, or even less if the team subscribed to Coach Sanborn's "30-minute wins and 30-minute losses" philosophy, before turning its focus to #3 Western New England College the following day. SJC starter Andrew Keirstead '10 (Westbrook, ME) baffled the Golden Bears' hitters for 5.1 innings, with seven hits and two earned runs allowed, before yielding to Roberge, who notched his second save of the year with 3.2 frames of shutout relief. The Monks scored all three of their runs in the third inning and turned a program-record five double plays in the 3-2 victory.

The road didn't get any easier, however, as the Royal Blue were forced to take on #2 seed Wheaton College several hours after the WNEC triumph. Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the third inning, the SJC bats came to life and scored five runs off four hits and a Wheaton error. Lee plated a pair with a bases-loaded single and rookie third baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, MA) tattooed a three-run jack high off the light tower in left field to provide his team with a 5-4 advantage.

The Monks scored three more in the bottom of the fifth and added an insurance run in the seventh to secure a 9-4 lead, a cushion that nearly wasn't enough as the Lyons fought back with three runs in the top of the eighth to make it a two-run game. With bases loaded and two out, Wheaton was literally an inch away from regaining the lead in the frame, but Keneborus made a diving catch down the right field line to prevent what would certainly have been a bases-clearing double. Saint Joseph's held on to the 9-7 lead and Nanof, who threw four innings of three-hit, one-run baseball, earned his second victory of the tournament.

With the win, St. Joe's was one of three teams remaining in the New England Regional, along with #1 Tufts and #7 UMass-Boston. The victory over Wheaton the night before provided the Monks with an opportunity to avenge the team's opening-round loss to the Jumbos, but more importantly a chance to face off against the Beacons in the New England Regional Championship.

Things started off well for Saint Joseph's, as the Monks held a 4-1 lead over Tufts after four full innings thanks in part to the rookie pitcher Chad Rafferty, who was called upon to pitch in the team's most important game of the year. The young righthander responded by fanning seven batters with five hits and three runs allowed before being lifted in favor of Roberge in the top of the seventh. The Jumbos tied the game with three runs that inning, but the Grant-Roy notched an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Monks to a one-run cushion. Tufts knotted the game at five-apiece in the eighth, and the score would remain 5-5 until the Jumbos managed to push a run across in the top of the 11th. St. Joe's, unable to get anything going offensively in their final four turns at bat, saw its improbable regional run come to an end with a 6-5 loss to Tufts.

Despite the difficult loss, Saint Joseph's fortified its place among the elite programs in New England and was one of just six programs in eight regional tournaments nationally to win three straight after losing in the first round. The Monks led the New England Regional in hits (54), sac bunts (11) and pitching strikeouts (34) and the team's five double plays turned against WNEC fell just one shy of tying the NCAA Tournament record for twin killings. Individually, Nanof was the only New England pitcher with two wins, Grant-Roy led all batters with 12 hits and Pratt was the only freshman to hit a long ball at the New England Regional.

The loss to Tufts not only signaled the end of the 2010 campaign, but also the end of competitive baseball for eight seniors: Adams, Burdin, Dorr, Grant-Roy, Keirstead, Moran, Nanof and Woodbrey all played huge roles – on and off the diamond – for the Monks and will undoubtedly be missed in the coming seasons. The five hitters in the group combined to play in 591 games with a .350 (580-1656) batting average, 114 doubles, 55 home runs, 432 RBI and a .546 slugging percentage. The four pitchers tallied a 4.32 ERA with a 55-24 record, 11 saves, and 409 K's - against 142 walks - in 552 innings. The group helped the Monks post a four-year record of 124-56 (.689).

Several players enjoyed outstanding seasons individually:

• Keneborus, a New England Regional All-Tournament choice, led the team in virtually all offensive categories, including batting (.464), hits (77), doubles (15), triples (13) and RBI (65). He broke the program's single-season and career record for triples during the 2010 campaign and tied the all-time mark for hits. He also broke the team's single-game record for RBI with nine runs batted in against New Jersey City on March 20th.
• Grant-Roy, the 2010 GNAC Tourney MVP and Regional All-Tourney selection, leaves the program ranked in the top five in 11 career categories, including hit by pitch (30), games played (173, 2nd), on-base percentage (.486, 3rd), runs (155, 4th), hits (206, 4th) and RBI (159, 4th). He became the fourth player in team history to reach the 200-hit mark with a single in the bottom of the first inning against Wheaton College on May 21st. He is the first SJC Baseball player to collect three First Team All-GNAC honors (and the second in all of SJC Athletics, Mikayla Call - W. Soccer)and hit .408 (62-152) with 42 runs, 13 doubles, five home runs and 51 RBI as a senior. Defensively, he made just three errors in 367 chances (.992) at first base in 2010.
• Campbell became the first player in program history to notch back-to-back 60-hit seasons with a double against Tufts in the second inning against Tufts on May 19th. The second-year starter hit .405 (64-158) with a team-high 54 runs during his junior season.
• Burdin hit .403 (58-144) with 41 runs, 10 doubles and 34 RBI as a senior tri-captain and was a major factor in the Monks' record-breaking 45 double play total in 2010. Also a fine fielder, Burdin made just six errors in 193 chances at second base and sported a .969 fielding percentage.
• Adams enjoyed a solid all-around senior season, as the fourth-year backstop posted career highs in all offensive categories. A 2010 Third Team All-GNAC and All-Tournament honoree, Adams hit .347 (42-121) with 25 runs, 10 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI as a senior. Due to injuries, Adams started behind the plate in the teams last 18 games and caught 113 straight innings, including all 50 in the NCAA Tournament, through the end of the season.
• Moran closed out his three years at Saint Joseph's as one of the finest two-way players in team history. As a pitcher, Moran went 7-2 with a 3.52 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 12 walks in 64 innings. With the bat, he hit .300 (39-130) with 27 runs, eight doubles, eight home runs and 39 RBI. Just the fifth player in SJC Baseball history to be selected to play in the NEIBA Senior All-Star Game at Fenway Park, Moran capped his career ranked third in wins (19), fifth in strikeouts (183) and eighth in innings (175.1). As a hitter, he ranks fourth in slugging percentage (.634) and sixth in career home runs (21).
• Woodbrey broke out as a senior and hit .327 (33-101) with 30 runs and 22 RBI in 2010. The speedy outfielder did not make an error in 60 chances.
• Murray posted a 7-2 record with a 2.45 ERA and 35 K's in 58.2 innings as a sophomore. He led the SJC pitching staff in starts (10), complete games (5), shutouts (2) and fewest walks per nine innings (1.07).
• Nanof went 4-0 with a 2.95 ERA and 23 K's, against five walks, in 21.1 innings and Roberge was 4-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Although the Monks lose five starters to graduation, SJC followers should expect the Monks to contend once again in 2011. The 2010 club was among the deepest and most talented in Coach Sanborn's 18 seasons, and many of the young players gained valuable experience during the team's postseason run. This group, along with a highly-touted incoming class of recruits, will be charged with the task of taking the SJC Baseball program to the next level starting with the 2011 campaign.

Back Row (L-R): Sean Drake, Dan Brown, Kyle Neagle, Mike Pratt, Chris Campbell, Eric LaBatte, Mike Burdin, Kyle Dorr, Ben Grant-Roy, Ian Lee, Chad Rafferty, Dan Achorn Middle Row (L-R): Asst. Coach Rod Choroszy, Matt Bickford, Sam Murray, Matt Mullen, Adam Stanclift, Tyler Laverriere, Chris Nanof, Craig Woodbrey, Pat Moran, Mason Roberge, Nick Saunders, Kevin Chamberlain, Andrew Keirstead, Andy Devereaux, Asst. Coach Keil Martin, Asst. Coach Corey McCarthy Front Row (L-R): Asst. Coach Nick Mirabello, Chris Dion, Jimmy Rouse, Nate Martin, Sam Butts, Todd Keneborus, Travis Adams, Jon Dahms, Jimmy Kennedy, Head Coach Will Sanborn