STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College rising juniors Thomas Fortier (Falmouth, Maine) and Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) signed contracts with teams in prominent collegiate summer leagues earlier this month.

Fortier, a left-handed pitcher, inked a contract with the Sanford Mainers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) on July 9th. McCoomb, the Monks' starting shortstop the last two seasons, signed on with the Seacoast Mavericks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) on July 6th.

As a sophomore for the Monks, Fortier made one start with 10 appearances overall and posted a 4.00 ERA with 21 strikeouts while allowing 15 hits and seven walks in 18 innings. He held opponents to a .224 (15-67) batting average and allowed just three extra-base hits in his second collegiate season.

Fortier is the fourth Saint Joseph's player to don the Mainers jersey. Left-handed hurlers Greg Kimball '05 and Andrew Keirstead '10 logged time for the 2004 and 2008 teams, respectively, and infielder Lincoln Sanborn '14 played for Sanford in 2011. Fortier made his NECBL debut against the Mystic Schooners on July 15th, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.

Widely regarded as one of the best college summer leagues in the country, the NECBL has produced over 100 major leaguers since 1993. In the 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft, 93 NECBL alumni were drafted, including three on the first day.

McCoomb, a two-time All-Conference honoree, hit .313 (35-112) with 21 runs, eight doubles, 12 RBI and four stolen bases in 35 games during his second season with the Monks. He goes into his third NCAA campaign with a .312 (88-282) career batting average along with 59 runs, 17 doubles, 31 RBI and 11 stolen bases over 79 contests.

Since signing on with the Mavericks, McCoomb has started 12 games – all at shortstop – and is currently hitting .227 (10-44) with five runs, three RBI and a pair of stolen bases with a .346 OBP. He is also playing well defensively and has recently moved to the leadoff spot in the batting order.

The FCBL, founded in 2011, has quickly become one of the best collegiate summer leagues and has seen 80 alumni or current players drafted to the big leagues, including 2015 first-rounder Chris Shaw, a Boston College product who played for Nashua in 2012 and was picked 31st overall by the San Francisco Giants.

 

 

 

 

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.