Monks Win Second Consecutive North Atlantic Conference Championship - Make First Ever NCAA Northeast Regional Tournament Appearance
Saint Joseph's College Baseball produced another
record setting season in 2006, finishing Coach Sanborn's latest
campaign with a 34-10-1 record, another North Atlantic Conference
Championship, and St. Joe's first-ever bid to the NCAA Northeast
Regional Tournament in Harwich, Massachusetts. Over the last two
seasons (2005 record of 32-10) the Monks have posted one of the top
winning percentages in the nation at .758 with an incredible
66-20-1 record.
Saint Joseph's season started on March 12 at the Tampa Bay
Invitational Tourney in Florida. Highlights of the Florida trip
included:
- Charlie Furbush posting a 7-2 victory over the University of Rochester in the first game of the season.
- A double header sweep on day two over Defiance College featuring solid pitching performances by Ben Cutter and Sam Tupper. Dustin Spiller and Chris Doughty each had three hits in game one to pace an 18-hit attack. Third baseman Mark Clapp provided key hits in both games with 4 hits and 5 RBI on the day.
- An exciting double header sweep of in-region opponent Rhode Island College - again Tupper and Cutter picked up the wins! Hitting stars included Dustin Spiller with 4 hits (3 doubles) and Andrew Dvilinsky with a 3-run home run.
The Monks returned from Florida with a respectable 5 win-4 loss
record looking to hit stride in the Northeast Region.
The Monks returned to New England and went on a tear, compiling a
29-6-1 mark in the Northeast, highlighted by winning streaks of 7
and 14 games. A few of the many highlights of the Monks regular
season included:
- Taking two out of three games from Endicott College at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland in late March. Charlie Furbush earned his first shutout of the season for a 3-0 victory in the first game. His high school teammate, Andy Wood, led the way offensively with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. After dropping game two the Monks rebounded in game three behind the stellar pitching performance of Jack Hughes for the 8-2 win. Dustin Spiller added 3 hits and Luke Enman 2 hits including a triple.
- A conference double header sweep of Husson College on April 6. Jack Hughes pitched one of the best games of the season for the 1-0 victory in game one. Hughes struck out 9, giving up just 4 hits for the shutout. The Monks scored their only run in the 6th inning on a safety squeeze when Wade Oliver raced home from third on Luke Enman's bunt. In game two Charlie Furbush posted the 7-4 win for his fourth victory of the season. Andrew Dvilinsky had 3 hits and 2 RBI and Chris Doughty had 2 hits, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored and the Monks swept a key conference double header from the Eagles.
- A double header sweep of #1 ranked Keene State College on the road in Keene, N.H. In game one Sam Tupper pitched 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win and Charlie Furbush came into the game in relief to shut the door on the owls. In what might have been the most exciting win of the regular season, Keil Martin was 3-4, including a three-run home run to tie the game late. A Ben Muniz home run and the stellar relief of Charlie Furbush (6 k's) again provide the key win.
- A 7-4 victory over the University of Southern Maine at USM. Trailing 4-2 in the eighth, the Monks rallied for 5 runs. Jack Hughes improved his record to 4-0 as he notched the win in relief by fanning 3 out of the 4 batters he faced. Charlie Furbush came in to seal the win by striking out 4 of the 5 batters he faced. Dustin Spiller led the offense with three hits for SJC.
- A double header sweep of conference opponent Becker College - winning two 1-run games. Once again the pitching combination of Hughes and Furbush was the key. In game one, Hughes struck out 10 batters and Andrew Wood supplied the walk-off home run the eighth inning. In game two, freshman Chris Leger pitched four outstanding innings and Charlie Furbush notched the save.
St. Joe's moved on to host the North Atlantic Conference
Tournament at Larry Mahaney Diamond. In the opening game, SJC
defeated Thomas College 4-0 behind the dominant performance of
Charlie Furbush. Furbush struck out 15 batters allowing only two
hits (both in the first inning) for the complete game victory.
Furbush was also the hitting star - going 2-3 with a solo home
run.
Game two of the NAC Tournament pitted the Monks against rival
Husson College in what turned out to be an epic battle. Clutch
hitting was the key, as Monks sophomore Dustin Spiller homered in
the eighth inning to give SJC the lead. Husson tied the game and
sent things into extra innings, but Mark Clapp's two-run home run
gave the Monks the margin of victory. Freshman Wade Oliver was 3-6
with 1 run scored and 3 RBI and Brian Schools went 3-5.
The NAC Championship game featured St. Joe's in the winners'
bracket and Husson in the losers' bracket. It was all St. Joe's, as
the Monks pounded Husson's pitching for 17 runs en route to the
17-6 victory. Sophomore Steve Stout notched the pitching victory as
St. Joe's won their second NAC Championship in two years.
Saint Joseph's College baseball was rewarded for an outstanding
season with the #2 seed for the New England NCAA Division III
Regional in Harwich, Mass. Saint Joseph's faced #7 seeded Bowdoin
College in their first game. Bowdoin jumped out to an early 6-0
lead and things did not look good for the Royal Blue early on, but
Coach Sanborn's team responded to tie the game in the fourth. Luke
Enman hit a solo home run in the 7th to put SJC ahead, and Brian
Schools followed with a two-run home run in the eighth to cap the
victory. Monks ace Charlie Furbush overcame early troubles to
strike out 10 for the complete game victory.
The second game of the regional proved to be a hard-fought loss as Saint Joseph's rallied several times to force extra innings with Western New England College, only to loose a heart breaker in 10 innings. Forced to start their third game at 10:00 p.m. later that same day, Saint Joseph's was eliminated by the University of Southern Maine.
Although elimination from the NCAA Division III New England Regional was disappointing, Saint Joseph's Baseball took a big step forward with another NAC Championship - finishing with a remarkable 34-10-1 record.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS
NCAA III New England Pitcher of the Year -
Charlie Furbush
NCAA III All-Region First Team - Charlie Furbush
NCAA III New England Region All-Tourney Team - Charlie Furbush
New England Intercollegiate Baseball Coaches Association
All New England First Team - Charlie Furbush
North Atlantic Conference All-Tournament Team
Wade Oliver - MVP
Charlie Furbush
Brian Schools
NAC All-Conference Team
First Team
Luke Enman
Charlie Furbush
Jack Hughes
Brian Schools
Second Team
Wade Oliver
Andrew Wood
NAC Player of the Year - Charlie Furbush
NAC Rookie of the Year - Wade Oliver
Team Honors
Robert R. Doyle Award - Corey McCarthy
Most Dedicated Player - Jake Rodden
Pitcher of the Year - Jack Hughes
Rookie of the Year - Wade Oliver
Hitter of the Year - Andrew Wood
Most Valuable Player - Charlie Furbush