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Athletics Recreation
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MONKS
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Season Review: Monks Make 2007 A Year to Remember Standish, ME - The Saint Joseph’s College
baseball team saw their season come to an end on May 17th at the NCAA
New England Regional tournament in Harwich, MA. If you look a little
closer at the Monks' season, however, you will see a great deal to celebrate. Leading the way on the mound was senior ace
Sam Tupper (Yarmouth, ME). Tupper posted an incredible
8-1 record, good for the third highest single-season win total in program
history. Tupper struck out 35 hitters in 55.2 innings pitched to produce
a 3.07 ERA. 2007 SEASON PREVIEW Monks Look to Win Third Sraight North
Atlantic Conference In 2005, Saint Joseph’s College Baseball finished with a 32-10 record and captured their first NAC Championship and ECAC berth. The 2006 version of Monks Baseball took the program to new heights by posting a second consecutive 30-win season (34-10-1), second consecutive North Atlantic Conference Championship, and first ever appearance in the NCAA New England Regional. In 2007 Saint Joseph’s College looks to continue the program's ascendancy to the top of New England Division III baseball by winning their third straight North Atlantic Conference Championship and returning to the NCAA New England Regional Tournament. Once again North Atlantic Conference baseball will be very competitive in 2007. With quality teams from Husson, Thomas, University of Maine at Farmington, Castleton State, Becker and Elms, the Monks will have all they can handle with a demanding conference schedule. If hard work, a positive attitude, and a competitive spirit are any indication, St. Joe’s Baseball is poised to make a repeat appearance in the NCAA Tournament. St. Joe’s will open the schedule with a trip to Long Island, New York to play a three-game weekend series with Worcester State College at Baseball Heaven on March 3 & 4. Spring training for the Monks will find them in Orlando, Florida, for nine games at Disney’s Spring Training. Coach Sanborn on the 2007 southern swing, “This should be a great trip – the spring trip to Florida is always something to look forward to, but this year we will be spending our time at one of the greatest attractions in the world – Walt Disney World. I am confident that our team will be focused on winning baseball games and getting our season off to a good start. We have been gearing all of our efforts in the early season toward making sure we are ready to compete on day one. This team has a the veteran leadership needed to put together another run at the NCAA New England Regional.” The New England portion of the schedule should be very challenging in ‘07. Coach Sanborn on the 2007 New England schedule, “I feel our schedule has the right balance for the upcoming season. We have a solid in-region schedule and if we do the job, we should have a shot at not only getting back to the Regional, but at winning it. We have strengthened this years schedule by adding teams that we will have to face next year in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. We believe this team will exhibit good balance of solid pitching, timely hitting, and outstanding defense. We are looking to improve our running game – in 2007 you can look for the Monks to be on the move. Since the North Atlantic Conference has an automatic qualification to the NCAA Regional – our conference schedule will certainly be the focus of our efforts in the month of April.” Catching The Monks will feature talented group of young catchers. Junior catcher Andrew Wood will be the leading candidate behind the plate after hitting .324 and .375 in his first two seasons with the Royal Blue. Freshmen Travis Adams of Saco, Maine (Thornton Academy) and first-year transfer Ben Grant-Roy (Biddeford High School) will also vie for time behind the dish. Utility players Michael Hebenstreit and Sean O’Brien add to the depth at this position. Coach Sanborn on the importance of this group of catchers, “Everything starts with the catchers for this ball club. We have a young pitching staff who will feed off the leadership of the catching corp. Depth behind the plate may also help us to plug a hole at first base and also fill into the designated hitters spot." Infield The Monks infield should be a real strength of the ball club with veterans returning at every position except first base. First base presents several options for Coach Sanborn. Senior Dan Enman will be looking to win the position. Junior Andrew Wood has shown that his experience behind the plate lends itself to playing first base. Transfer Ben Grant-Roy could also get a shot at taking over at first base. It may take some time in the first half of the season to determine who will ultimately be the starting first baseman for Coach Sanborn. The hot corner will feature veteran SJC infielder Mark
Clapp. Mark was an All-Conference Selection in 2005 as he hit
.320 with 29 RBIs. As a junior Mark hit .266 with 26 RBI. Vying for time
at third base will be transfer Ben Grant-Roy. Coach Sanborn on the prospects for the infield, “It is great to have such talent and experience returning in the infield. They all have strong arms and should be able to really cover some ground. My biggest concern is at first base – we need to find someone to anchor the infield, provide quality defense, and add offensive pop at this position. Look for us to experiment at first base – the sooner we can find an answer the more solid our infield will be.” Outfield The Monks return a veteran outfield group for 2007 along with some young talent that should make things very competitive. Sophomore Wade Oliver (.357, 21 Runs, 29 RBI) returns after a stellar freshman year in which he was named North Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Year and NAC Tournament MVP. Junior Dustin Spiller will return in center field and is looking to improve on a fine first year for SJC in which he led the team in hits with 52 and hit .344 with 30 Runs and 23 RBI. Senior captain Keil Martin is ready for his final campaign after hitting .333 while scoring 22 runs and driving in 26 in ’06. Senior Chris Doughty (.311, 24 Runs, 25 RBI) will once again be in the mix and freshman Craig Persechini of Middleboro, Massachusetts and Tabor Academy was impressive in the fall. Coach Sanborn on the outfielders, “We have a veteran outfield who knows how to play together. We should have one of the top defensive teams around and I am confident we will have outstanding outfield play in 2007. I also look for these guys to be the offensive backbone of the team.” Pitching Once again the Monks possess a great deal of potential in this the most important aspect of the game. If the young pitchers on the staff can develop quickly, the Monks could have one of the strongest pitching staffs in New England again this year. With the Monks top two arms from 2006 gone, things will be wide open as former SJC pitching standout J.P. Pyne takes the reigns as the Monks pitching coach. Seniors Sam Tupper (4-1, 4.78 ERA) and Ben Cutter (4-3 6.29 ERA) will vie for spots at the top of the rotation. Other returners who should compete for spots in the rotation include Chris Leger (3-1, 1.69 ERA), David Doucette (4.50 ERA), Steve Stout (3-2, 5.21 ERA) and right hander Andy Pooler. The development of some of the first-year pitchers could
be the key to the Monks' success. Perhaps the most impressive prospect
coming out of fall baseball was left hander Kyle Dorr
of Berwick, Maine. Kyle has a good fastball that can keep hitters honest
and he is developing consistency with his breaking ball and change up.
Right-handed Gorham, Maine, native Craig Woodbrey and
left-hander Andrew Keirstead of Westbrook, Maine, have
the potential to contribute early on. One of the most pleasant surprises
could well be right-hander Mike Burdin of Gardiner, Maine.
A real competitor, Mike has a solid repertoire of pitches and exhibits
poise beyond his years. Left-handed transfer Cole Filosa
of Milford, Massachusetts, and right-handed transfer Ryan Boucher
could also be big surprises to the opposition. Freshman Chris
Nanof of Lancaster, Massachusetts, Billy Creed
of Roslindale, Massachusetts, and Brandon Wyman of Harpswell,
Maine, are also talented newcomers who could develop into quality college
arms. Overall Coach Sanborn with his thoughts on the upcoming season – his fifteenth year as the Monks skipper, “Expectations are extremely high for this group, but even more so within this group. After two 30+ win seasons, back-to-back NAC titles and a trip to the NCAA New England Regional, these veterans expect to win, and they know what it takes to win. Despite the success of the past couple of seasons, I think everyone feels we really have something to prove this year. One of the things that may set this group apart is the team chemistry. We have strong leadership and the guys really pull together. The work ethic is outstanding and they are very competitive. I look for this to be an extremely exciting year.”
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