STANDISH, ME - The sixth-seeded Monks begin NCAA DIII Baseball New England Regional Tournament play with a game against #3 Wheaton College at 4:30 PM on Wednesday at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Massachusetts.
Although the opening day of the 2011 New England tourney features four strong matchups, the Monks-Lyons tilt may be the most intriguing. Both teams are fundamentally sound with well-constructed lineups, solid pitching and defense. Both clubs handle the bat well and both have plenty of NCAA Tournament experience.
Saint Joseph's heads into the regional tourney with a 30-13 overall record and played to a 12-2 mark in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play this spring. The Monks claimed the GNAC 2011 regular season crown, along with the top seed in the conference tourney, and won all three playoff games – including a come from behind 8-6 win over Suffolk University in the championship game – en route to collecting the GNAC title for the third time in the last four seasons. The conference title is the Monk's sixth in the last seven years.
Wheaton College, 29-10 overall and 13-5 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tilts this season, earned the top seed in the NEWMAC Tournament and defeated MIT, which earned an at-large bid and is the #4 seed in the New England Regional, by a 4-3 margin in the league championship to claim the program's 10th berth into the national tourney.
For the Monks, the NCAA Tournament appearance will be the fifth in program history with all five coming over the last six seasons. St. Joe's has notched six thirty-win campaigns over the last seven years and ranks as one of the top programs in New England in wins, winning percentage and NCAA tourney appearances over the same time period.
Wheaton, the 2006 New England Regional Champion and DIII World Series participant, has proven to be a true powerhouse in the New England Region. With 29 victories this spring, the Lyons are one win shy of posting seven consecutive 30-win seasons and the program has collected 11 NEWMAC crowns over the last 12 years.
Saint Joseph's, the #8 team in the latest New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Poll, is led offensively by a trio of outstanding hitters: senior right fielder Todd Keneborus (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus), senior second baseman Chris Campbell (Rochester, NH), and sophomore first baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, MA).
Keneborus, the GNAC Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons and 2010 Third Team All-America selection, paces the Royal Blue in a plethora of categories including hits (60), home runs (5), RBI (39), slugging (.631) and OBP (.509) and is currently hitting .426 (60-141). Campbell, one of the finest leadoff hitters in the region and three-time All-GNAC honoree, leads the Monks with a .438 batting average and sports an outstanding .490 on-base percentage. Pratt, a 2011 First Team All-Conference selection, enters the regional hitting .396 (55-139) with a program-record 22 doubles, three homers and 35 RBI.
The Lyons, ranked first in the most recent NEIBA Poll, feature one of the most potent lineups in DIII Baseball. As of May 8th, Wheaton ranked 17th in the country in batting average and the team enters postseason play hitting at a .343 clip.
Junior third baseman Dan Haugh (Andover, MA), the 2010 NEWMAC Player of the Year and 2011 First Team All-NEWMAC honoree, is a force in the Lyon's lineup and enters the playoffs hitting .416 (64-154) with 38 runs, 20 doubles, four jacks and 56 RBI. Sophomore shortstop Eric Jensen (Gorham, NH) leads the team with a .419 (49-117) batting average and junior center fielder Hal Landers (Salem, NH), the team's leadoff hitter, serves as the Lyons' offensive catalyst with a .395 (68-172) average, 49 runs and 15 steals in 16 attempts.
The SJC pitching staff features eight hurlers who have logged 20 or more innings and seven have started at least three games this spring. Most have also worked out of the bullpen this season and the staff's versatility will certainly be a strength as the Monks look to make a long run in the regional tourney.
Sophomore right-hander Chad Rafferty (Keene, NH) has emerged as a legitimate staff ace in his second year of college ball. He is 5-1 with a sterling 1.82 ERA and 57 K's in 54.1 innings and has not allowed a run with 22 K's and just 14 hits allowed in his last 21 innings on the mound. Seniors Mason Roberge (Franklin, NH) and Kevin Chamberlain (Scarborough, ME) both enjoyed success in the 2010 regional and will be heavily relied upon again this year. Junior southpaw Sam Murray (Walpole, MA), the 2010 GNAC Pitcher of the Year, looks strong after a slow start to the season and is in line to make a start in Harwich.
Two young pitchers, freshman Joe Gruntkosky (Peabody, MA) and sophomore Tyler Laverriere (Biddeford, ME), are likely to play pivotal roles in the Monks' pitching plans during the tourney as well.
Wheaton's pitching staff features several top-flight arms as well. Right-hander Frank Holbrook '13 (Middletown, RI) is a perfect 7-0 with a 2.18 ERA and just seven walks in 53.2 innings and junior Nolan Corr (Somersworth, NH), the 2010 NEIBA Co-Pitcher of the Year and Third Team All-America selection, is 6-2 with a 4.10 ERA and 12 free passes in a team-high 59.1 innings. Freshman reliever Ryan Grant (Easton, MA) has been nearly unhittable with a 0.47 ERA and nine saves with 15 K's in 19 innings this spring.
One of the Monks' staples all season long has been defense and the team feeds off strong play up the middle. Senior catcher Ian Lee (Hampden, ME) is a wily veteran with a strong arm and solid blocking skills and junior shortstop Dan Achorn (Bow, NH) is in the midst of one of the finest defensive seasons for an SJC infielder in recent memory, with just eight errors in 180 chances for a .956 fielding percentage. Campbell serves as the pivot man at second base and speedster Nate Martin '13 (Chebeague Island, ME) patrols center field for the Royal Blue.
The Lyons are also strong up the middle with sophomore Dan Gusovsky (Andover, MA) behind the dish, Jensen at short, senior Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH) at second and the swift Landers manning center field.
Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 (501-286, .637), now in his 19th year at the helm, is the winningest and most successful skipper in SJC Baseball history. He has guided the Monks to eight 30-win seasons and 13 conference championships in his esteemed career.
Head Coach Eric Podbelski (431-165, .723) is not only the most successful and winningest bench general in team history – he is the only coach in program history. Podbelski started the Wheaton Baseball program and has led his team to unprecedented success in the Lyons' first 13 years of collegiate play.
The Monks and Lyons have met five times on the diamond and Wheaton has won four of them, including a 6-1 victory over the Royal Blue in Auburndale, FL earlier this season. The Monks' lone win over the Lyons was a 9-7 triumph in an elimination contest of the 2010 New England Regional Tournament.
Team Comparisons:
2011 New England Regional Tournament Bracket
