STANDISH, ME – The SJC baseball team recorded another superb season last spring as the Monks went 32-15 overall, 12-2 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, won a conference crown for the sixth time in the last seven years, and made an appearance in the NCAA DIII Tournament – the team's fifth in the last six seasons – in 2011.
With yet another successful season in the books, St. Joe's has clearly established itself as one of the finest NCAA DIII programs in the entire region. Saint Joseph's is one of four New England Region programs to have recorded at least six 30-win seasons since 2005 and the owner of the fifth-highest winning percentage (.709, 222-91) over the same span.
Will Sanborn '86, the winningest skipper in program history (503-288-5, .636), became just the second SJC head coach to reach the 500-win plateau last spring and heads into his 20th season requiring just two victories to surpass longtime men's basketball coach Rick Simonds as the Saint Joseph's Athletics all-time wins leader.
Saint Joseph's, the top seed in the GNAC tourney and tournament host, came from behind to defeat #3 Suffolk University in the conference championship to claim the GNAC title for third time in four seasons as a member of the conference. The Monks and Rams have now faced off in the GNAC Championship game in each of the last four seasons, with the Royal Blue winning three of those meetings.
With the conference crown in tow, St. Joe's advanced to the NCAA New England Regional – which was played at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Massachusetts – and for the second consecutive season the Monks made some major noise in the regional showcase.
As the #6 seed, Saint Joseph's rode the arm of sophomore ace Chad Rafferty (Keene, N.H.) to defeat #3 Wheaton College, 4-2, in the opening game. The second-year righthander fanned 11 batters and senior second baseman Chris Campbell went 3-4 with a pair of runs scored in the win.
Unfortunately, the Monks fell into the losers' bracket with a 4-1 loss at the hands of #2 Western New England College – the eventual 2011 regional champion – the next day. St. Joe's, which knocked WNEC out of the 2010 New England Regional, held a 1-0 lead after four innings but the Golden Bears produced four unanswered runs en route to victory.
The loss set up a grudge match for the Monks, as the Royal Blue would face top-seeded Tufts University - the same team that knocked them out of the 2010 tournament - the following afternoon in a win-or-go-home contest. It took 11 innings, but Saint Joseph's managed to turn the tables on the Jumbos when senior catcher Ian Lee (Hampden, Maine) capped a nine-pitch at bat against the New England Pitcher of the Year with a game-winning two-run double to right-center.
If the win over Tufts was regarded as the most memorable New England Regional contest, it is fairly likely that the Monks' following game, a 5-3 loss to Wheaton, will be regarded as one of the most unique in recent history. The elimination game started shortly after 8:00 PM on a Friday evening and would not end until later the next morning as a pair of fog delays, totaling 76 minutes, would force tourney officials to halt play due to unsafe playing conditions. Trailing 2-0 with a Lyons runner on second in the top of the seventh when the game was suspended, the Monks allowed a run to score the next day to fall behind by three. Unfazed, Saint Joseph's was able to plate three runs in the bottom of the eighth but Wheaton proved too much as the third-seeded Lyons pushed across two runs in the ninth to effectively end the Monks' season.
The loss signaled the end of college baseball for six SJC seniors: Lee, Todd Keneborus (Hollis, Maine/Cheverus), Chris Campbell (Rochester, N.H.), Kevin Chamberlain (Scarborough, Maine), Chris Dion (Lawrence, Mass.) and Mason Roberge (Franklin, N.H.). The Monks went 126-59 (.681) with three GNAC crowns and three NCAA Tournament berths with this class on the field.
The season-ending setback was certainly disappointing for Saint Joseph's, but few would have forecasted that the Monks would advance to, and win a pair of games in, the NCAA Tournament as the team was forced to overcome plenty of adversity early in the season.
The year began on an encouraging note as junior southpaw Sam Murray (Walpole, Mass.) stymied Curry College with a complete-game two-hit shutout in the 2011 season-opener on the campus of Webber International in Babson Park, Florida on March 13th. Murray, the 2010 GNAC Pitcher of the Year, yielded just one walk and fanned two over seven frames in the win.
Saint Joseph's continued to play well at times during the spring trip, but struggled to maintain consistency as the Monks proceeded to drop seven of the next eight games and headed north with a paltry 2-7 record, the team's worst southern-swing mark since 2004.
Looking back, the slow start seemed to motivate the veteran club, as St. Joe's posted a 24-4 record leading up to the conference tournament. The Monks quickly turned things around with a nine-game winning streak, beginning with a 5-4 victory over Roger Williams University on March 25th. The team then swept a three-game set with New Jersey City University over the next two days to improve to 6-7 on the young season.
Saint Joseph's hosted UMass.-Boston on March 30th in the Monks' 2011 home-opener and the team's modest four-game win streak seemed to be in jeopardy as the visiting Beacons – the 2010 New England Regional Champions – jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 4 ½ innings. Trailing 7-4 through seven frames, the Monks scored three times in the top of the eighth and Alex Lorenc '14 (Nanuet, N.Y.) plated the game-winning run with a single in the bottom of the 11th to lift the Royal Blue to an 8-7 win and even the Monks' record at 7-7.
St. Joe's would run its win streak to nine games before falling to Colby College, 5-3, on April 8th. Before falling to the Mules (for the first time the 2000 campaign), the Monks registered victories over Maine-Farmington and Husson and swept a GNAC doubleheader with Lasell College.
After a pair of convincing conference wins over Rivier College on April 9th, Saint Joseph's traveled to Johnson & Wales University the following day for a twinbill featuring two of the best teams in the GNAC. The Wildcats served the Monks a 5-2 loss in the opener, but the Royal Blue was able to pull out the split with a 7-0 triumph in the nightcap. Freshman pitcher Joe Gruntkosky (Peabody, Mass.) was brilliant in the SJC win as the righthander recorded a complete-game shutout with six hits allowed and seven strikeouts.
The Monks went on to notch doubleheader sweeps over Thomas College and Albertus Magnus College and held an 18-9 record – including a 7-1 mark in GNAC play – heading into a two-game set with conference-rival Suffolk University on April 16th. The SJC bats fell silent in the opener, as the Royal Blue mustered just a pair of hits in a 4-0 loss to the Rams, but St. Joe's rallied in the second game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 4-3 win and the split. Lorenc was the culprit once again, as the first-year slugger drove in the winner with a single in the final frame.
The Royal Blue then posted a pair of one-sided triumphs over Emerson College before travelling to Gorham for a nine-inning tilt versus in-state rival University of Southern Maine on April 20th. Keneborus hit a towering solo home run in the first inning and Mike Pratt '13 (Dartmouth, Mass.) broke the Monks' single-season double record that day, but it was not enough as the Huskies put an end to a see-saw battle with a run in the bottom of the 12th inning to steal the 6-5 victory.
The hardfought loss may have sparked the SJC nine, as the team would not lose again until the Royal Blue suffered a sweep at the hands of Bates College in an NCAA Tournament tune-up three weeks later. Included in the Monks' second nine-game winning streak of the season was a 10-5 triumph over Gordon College April 25th, a game in which Keneborus became the fifth player in program history to reach the 200-hit plateau.
Saint Joseph's held a 26-11 record overall and a conference-best 12-2 GNAC record heading into the conference tournament which, for the top-seeded Monks, began with a quarterfinal contest versus #4 Lasell College at Larry Mahaney Diamond on April 28th. The Lasers came within six outs of shocking the Royal Blue, as the visitors held a surprising 9-4 cushion after 7 ½ innings, but the Monks pulled off a miraculous comeback with nine unanswered runs in the bottom of the eighth to remain in the GNAC Tournament winners' bracket. Lorenc and Pratt both belted two-run homers and Keneborus poked a two-run double in the Monks' offensive outburst. Campbell tied a team record with five hits and slammed his first collegiate home run in the thrilling victory.
With the win over Lasell St. Joe's advanced to the semifinal round where the Monks faced #2 Johnson & Wales at Mahaney Diamond on April 30th. It was clear from the onset that Rafferty had his best stuff as the second-year righty fanned six through three innings and struck out a career-high 12 batters in a nine-inning complete-game shutout in a Monks' 4-0 victory.
Later that same day #3 Suffolk topped JWU to set up what would be the fourth consecutive GNAC Championship meeting between the Monks and the Rams. The 2011 title match lived up to its billing, as St. Joe's erased a 6-2 deficit with six unanswered runs from the sixth inning on to claim the conference crown. Junior infielder Dan Brown (Portland, Maine/Deering) pushed across the eventual game-winner with a two-out double in the top of the ninth while Gruntkosky netted the win in relief and Tyler Laverriere '13 (Biddeford, Maine) notched his first career save after posting a scoreless ninth.
Rafferty garnered GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors while Campbell – who hit a scorching .733 (11-15) in three tourney tilts, Brown and Lee all earned All-Tournament team mention. For Coach Sanborn, the win over Suffolk was the 500th victory of his 19-year career.
As is customary, Saint Joseph's played several games following the GNAC tourney in preparation for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Monks traveled to Bowdoin College on May 8th to face an excellent Polar Bears team and Coach Sanborn tapped Rafferty for the start on the hill. The sophomore continued his dominance by posting his second consecutive complete-game shutout and fanned eight batters en route to a 1-0 SJC victory. Rafferty also broke the team's scoreless innings streak in the triumph as the sneaky-fast righty had not allowed a run in 21 innings with 22 K's and just 14 hits allowed during the dominant span.
Following the regular season a bevy of postseason honors were bestowed upon the Monks' top players. Keneborus earned his second consecutive GNAC Player of the Year honor and also collected First Team All-GNAC, First Team All-NEIBA, First Team All-ECAC and NEIBA Senior All-Star recognition.
Campbell and Pratt collected First Team All-GNAC accolades while Lorenc was listed on the Second Team and Rafferty and shortstop Dan Achorn (Bow, N.H.) both collected Third Team honors. Rafferty and Pratt also earned Second Team All-NEIBA mention.
Achorn anchored an SJC defense that set new team single-season records for fielding percentage (.966), putouts (1121), assists (501), total chances (1679) and fewest errors (57) last spring. A steady defender with good range, quick feet and a lightning-quick release, Achorn posted a .954 fielding percentage with just nine errors in 197 chances and led the GNAC with 124 assists – the most by a Monks player since Luke Enman '08 recorded 137 in 2008. His 2011 fielding percentage is the highest recorded by an SJC primary shortstop in the last 15 years.
Rafferty came into his own last spring when he went 6-1 with a 1.87 ERA and 68 K's in 62.2 innings. He recorded a miniscule 0.97 ERA with 52 K's and 29 hits allowed in his final six appearances, a span of 46.1 innings.
Keneborus closed out his career by hitting .414 (65-157) with 38 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 40 RBI and four stolen bases and paced the Royal Blue in at bats, hits, triples, homers, RBI, total bases (97), slugging (.618), OBP (.497), walks (20) and hit by pitch (10), and was intentionally walked a team-record eight times. For his career he hit .399 (213-534) with 141 runs, 40 doubles, 22 triples, 14 home runs, 150 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 162 games and leaves the program as the Monks' all-time leader in triples. The 2011 SJC Male Athlete of the Year also ranks second in HBP (24), third in doubles, slugging (.635) and OPS (1.110), fourth in games played, hits, batting average, OBP (.475), total bases (339) and extra-base hits (76), fifth in at bats and RBI, and sixth in runs scored.
Campbell hit .420 (60-143) with 29 runs, five doubles, a home run, 15 RBI and eight stolen bases as a senior and completed his career as the only player in program history to notch three 60-hit seasons and, with 190 career hits in essentially three seasons, fell just shy of joining the team's exclusive 200-hit club.
Last spring, Campbell also became the first SJC baseball player to earn Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Region honors as the senior captain claimed District 1 Second Team honors. He was the only player from a GNAC program or Maine institution to receive the academic honor and nominees must have a minimum GPA of 3.30 and achieved sophomore athletic eligibility. District 1 includes all DII and DIII colleges and universities in the New England region and the state of New York.
Pratt, along with Keneborus and outfielder Sam Butts '13 (Saco, Maine), was one of three Monks to appear in all 47 contests and ranked third in the country with a program-record 23 doubles last season. He hit .385 (60-156) with 24 runs, four home runs, 38 RBI and two stolen bases as a sophomore.
