STANDISH, Maine – The ABCA/Rawlings and New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) regional awards have been released and a trio of Saint Joseph's College seniors have been honored.
Senior shortstop Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) has claimed a pair of First Team All-Region accolades while senior outfielder Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) and senior catcher Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) have earned Third Team All-Region accolades.
Murphy, who last week garnered D3Baseball.com First Team All-New England acclaim, completes the trifecta of regional honors after hitting .427 (70-164) with 50 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, one home run, 24 RBI, and a program-record 37 stolen bases this spring. The 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year posted a .478 OBP with a .549 slugging percentage, registered 23 multiple-hit games, and ended his senior campaign riding a 17-game hitting streak. Murphy was held hitless in just four of the Monks' 44 games in 2019.
Gagne collects ABCA/Rawlings and NEIBA Third Team All-New England honors for the second-consecutive season after batting .387 (60-155) with 48 runs, 11 doubles, six triples, one home run, 33 RBI, and 35 stolen bases during his senior campaign. The team tri-captain boasted a .555 slugging percentage with a .438 OBP and logged 18 multiple-hit games while starting all 45 of the Monks' games this spring.
Emanuelson earns a pair of All-New England nods after registering a breakout senior season, during which he hit .346 (53-153) with 35 runs, 10 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 51 RBI, and eight stolen bases. The senior backstop led the team in slugging percentage (.588, the ninth-best mark in team history) and posted a .406 OBP while recording 14 multiple-hit games and 12 multi-RBI performances in 2019.
In 152 career games Murphy hit .363 (192-529) with 138 runs, 27 doubles, five triples, three home runs, 80 RBI, and 74 stolen bases. The senior standout broke the Monks' career stolen bases record this spring and currently ranks seventh in team history in runs, eighth in hits, and 10th in batting average. Murphy is one of just four players in program history to notch 70 hits and 50 runs in the same season.
Gagne appeared in 148 career games, including 111 starts, and hit .366 (138-377) with 112 runs, 23 doubles, 11 triples, two home runs, 71 RBI, and 70 stolen bases over four seasons. He leaves the program ranked second in Monks baseball history in steals and ninth in batting average.
In 122 career contests – including 84 starts – Emanuelson batted .321 (98-305) with 57 runs, 20 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs, 91 RBI, and 10 steals. He capped his career with a respectable .544 slugging percentage, a mark that falls just outside the top 15 in team history.
NEIBA and ABCA honored 50 players from 31 different schools, highlighted by the selections of UMass Boston senior Nick Herzog as the player of the year, and University of Southern Maine junior Ben Lambert as the pitcher of the year. Additionally, Southern Maine skipper Ed Flaherty was tabbed as the NEIBA Division III Coach of the Year.
Under the watch of 27th-year Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 this season, Saint Joseph's posted a 33-12 overall record – including a 13-3 mark in GNAC play – en route to earning the #2 seed in the conference tournament. The Monks advanced to the GNAC Championship game with wins over Johnson & Wales and Suffolk and – after the Wildcats forced an if-necessary contest – received a walk-off RBI double off the bat of senior catcher Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) in the bottom of the 11th to claim their first conference title since 2014.
With the GNAC Championship Saint Joseph's earned an automatic berth into the NCAA DIII Tournament for the ninth time since 2006. The Monks opened with a loss to Wheaton College, stayed alive with a lopsided victory over Baruch College, and saw their season come to a close with a 7-3 loss at the hands of the Lyons.