BOSTON, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College seniors Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) and Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) have been chosen to play in the 45th Annual New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Joe Walsh All-Star Game, which will be played on Friday, May 31st at Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut. First pitch at the home field of the Hartford Yard Goats - the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies - is slated for 12:00 PM.
Murphy and Emanuelson will suit up for the College Division team, which consists of the top Division II and III seniors in New England, which faces off against the University Division squad, which enlists the top DI players from the region.
The selection of Murphy and Emanuelson marks the first time in SJC Baseball history that the Monks have had a pair of players play in the annual exhibition. Saint Joseph's is the only DIII program to have two individuals listed on the 2019 College Division squad.
Murphy, who was named as a D3baseball.com Fourth Team All-American earlier this week, hit.427 (70-164) with 50 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, one home run, 24 RBI, and a program-record 37 stolen bases during his senior campaign. 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 the season riding a 17-game hitting streak. Murphy was held hitless in just four of the Monks' 44 games in 2019.
Emanuelson batted .346 (53-153) with 35 runs, 10 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 51 RBI, and eight stolen bases during a breakout season. The senior catcher 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.
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.
Murphy and Emanuelson are the ninth and 10th SJC players to be chosen to play in the prestigious event, following Steve Osborne'01, Derek McIntosh '05, Sam Tupper '07, Luke Enman '08, Pat Moran'10, and Todd Keneborus '11, Joe Coyne '15, Nic Lops '16, Taylor Black '17, and Josh Partridge '18. He is the only Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) representative and is one of two players hailing from a Maine college or university - along with USM's Jake Dexter - to be selected for this year's exhibition contest.
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.
2019 NEIBA ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS