STANDISH, ME – The 2012 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America Teams have been released and Saint Joseph's junior righthanded pitcher Chad Rafferty (Keene, N.H./Keene) has collected Third Team honors.
Rafferty, the D3baseball.com New England and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Pitcher of the Year, claimed D3baseball.com Third Team All-America accolades last week and is the second St. Joe's player to earn Third Team mention from both organizations. Todd Keneborus '11, a slugging outfielder and Rafferty's teammate for two seasons, was the first player in program history to collect a pair of All-America honors.
In 2012, Rafferty went 10-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 74 strikeouts – against only 20 walks – in 68.1 innings. Opponents hit just .213 (53-249) off him and the Monks' staff ace led the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in victories, strikeouts, ERA and innings pitched en route to claiming 2012 GNAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Conference accolades.
Rafferty has also collected D3baseball.com New England Region Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-New England (NEIBA), and First Team All-Region (D3baseball.com) honors this spring.
Rafferty owns an astounding 21-1 career record and is currently tied for second with Brent Dan '01 on the SJC pitching victories list. Just the third pitcher in St. Joe's baseball history to reach the 20-win plateau, Rafferty needs only three wins to surpass Richard Flaherty '86 as the Monks' career victories leader.
With one year of eligibility remaining, Rafferty also ranks fourth in SJC baseball history in career ERA (2.83), fifth in WHIP (1.21) and H/9 (7.93), sixth in strikeouts (182), seventh in K/9 (9.38), and ninth in innings pitched (174.2).
Rafferty has proven to be especially strong for the Monks late in the season. As a sophomore, he allowed just two runs over his last 29.2 innings, a span which included a program-record 21.1 consecutive scoreless frames, and closed out his junior season having not yielded an earned run over his last 18 innings.
The third-year standout has not suffered a loss since his first start of the 2011 campaign, a 4-2 loss at the hands of Curry College in Babson Park, Florida on March 13th.
In 31 career appearances, including 28 starts, Rafferty has allowed more than three runs in just four outings, including only one game this season. His 2012 totals for wins, innings, ERA and strikeouts all count as career-bests.
Rafferty is one of seven players from the New England Region to be listed on one of the three teams, joining First Team outfielder Conor Bierfeldt (Western Connecticut), First Team second baseman Tim Clark (Western New England University), Second Team designated hitter Tucker White (Southern Maine), Second Team outfielder Sean Ryan (Wheaton College), Second Team second baseman Sean Riley (Bridgewater State University), and Third Team pitcher Tyler Erickson (Castleton State College).
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
