STANDISH, Maine – Various organizations have announced regional accolades and two Saint Joseph's College players have been recognized.
Senior reliever Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) has claimed D3Baseball.com Second Team All-New England honors while graduate catcher Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) has earned ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-New England and NEIBA First Team All-New England accolades.
McNamara, a 2016 Second Team All-GNAC selection, posted a 2.97 ERA with a 4-2 record and seven saves while fanning 40 batters with only seven walks in 39.1 innings during his senior season. The right-hander led the team in saves and appearances (20) and played a hand in nearly half of the Monks' victories this spring.
For his career, McNamara recorded a 2.94 ERA while going 12-9 with 20 saves and posting 130 strikeouts – against just 34 walks – in 147 innings. He closed out his collegiate career ranked second in SJC baseball history in appearances (74) and WHIP (1.07), third in saves, sixth in hits/9 (7.53), seventh in BB/9 (2.08), and eighth in ERA. McNamara played a role in 32 victories (20 saves, 12 wins) during his career, the highest such tally in team history.
For McNamara, the regional accolade is the third of his career. As a sophomore, he claimed NEIBA Third Team and D3Baseball.com Third Team All-New England honors after going 5-1 with five saves and a 1.49 ERA while striking out 32 batters – and walking just eight - in 48.1 innings.
Lops, also a 2016 Second Team All-Conference choice, collects a pair of First Team All-New England nods after hitting .376 (56-149) with 23 runs, 12 doubles, two home runs, and 40 RBI during his final collegiate campaign. He paced the team in batting, hits, doubles, RBI, multiple-hit games (18) and multi-RBI performances (11) and ranked second on the squad in slugging (.497) and OBP (.425) this spring.
The four-time All-Conference honoree registered impressive career numbers with a .357 (193-541) average, 82 runs, 38 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 130 RBI over 154 contests. Currently, Lops ranks seventh in SJC baseball history in at-bats, eighth in RBI and hits, 11th in doubles, and 13th in batting average.
For Lops, the regional honors are the fourth and fifth of his NCAA career. The 2012 GNAC Rookie of the Year and Tournament MVP earned NEIBA and D3Baseball.com Third Team All-New England acclaim following his freshman season and was listed on the NEIBA Second Team in 2014.
Led by 24th-year Head Coach Will Sanborn '86, Saint Joseph's College posted a 26-15 record with a 12-2 mark in conference play en route to earning the top seed in the GNAC Tournament, which played out on the weekend of May 7th in Providence. In a quarterfinal matchup on May 5th, the Monks defeated #4 Johnson & Wales University, 8-1, to advance to the final winners' bracket game, where the Royal Blue suffered a 10-0 setback at the hands of #2 Suffolk University, falling into the losers' bracket in the process. St. Joe's escaped elimination with a 2-0 win over #3 Lasell College and remained in contention for the title, and forced an if-necessary game, with an 8-7 triumph over the Rams on championship Sunday. Unfortunately, the Monks fell short, 5-4 in 10 innings, in the finale.
D3Baseball.com All-New England
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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.
