BB: GNAC: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[Paul Heering]

I don't think I ever said that St. Joe's pitching was a weak point.  I said (in my last post) that they would have to use four starting pitchers in their difficult conference games (with all honesty, neither JWU, Suffolk, and St. Joe's have no business losing to anyone other than each other in the GNAC).  I also said (in the new england preview) that they would have to replace a lot of their pitching from last year.  From what it looks like their pitching staff should be one of the top in the conference. 

I was only giving my opinion about who I thought would win the conference and point out the facts that Suffolk returns their top two pitchers while St. Joe's loses theirs (advantage Suffolk) and that Suffolk can pitch their their #1 and #2 against both St. Joe's and JWU while St. Joes will have to pitch #1, #2, #3, & #4 in those games (advantage Suffolk) and (someone else pointed out) that Suffolk swept St. Joe's in two close games last year while pitching their #1 & #2 while St. Joe's did not (push).

Good thing what I think (and what everyone writing a post) means almost nothing, we can see what happens on the field.

[TheGNAC]

I'm not sure why you guys are so quick to look at St. Joe's pitching as a weak point.  They did lose their ace from last year (Sam Tupper) although Moran should at least replace him.  Andrew Kierstead and Kyle Dorr were a pair of freshmen southpaws last year that each had very respectable seasons.  Kierstead went 4-2 with a 3.46 ERA over 54.2 innings including 2 complete game efforts and showed great control with a 25/6 k/bb ratio.  Dorr finished 4-1 with a 4.15 ERA over 30.1 innings holding opponents to just a .217 BA.   Andrew Pooler the main arm out of the bullpen who led the team in appearances last season with 17 posted a 3.09 ERA.  Newcomer Mason Roberge should have at least similar seasons to that of Kierstead and Dorr last season. Their pitching should prove to be good enough to keep them in just about every game as long as their offense does as they have the past couples years and there is no reason why they shouldnt considering they boast about a half dozen players who have some sort of all conference honor under their belt including the previously mentioned 2nd team all-american Luke Enman.   Their lineup top to bottom will do a number on opposing pitching staffs as they averaged over 7 runs per game last year.    I think it would be pretty difficult to not considering these guys the favorites going into the season....

Suffolk swept St. Joe's right before the regionals last year, with both Jackson and Durant earning wins in those contests. I'm basing that as my reason for picking Suffolk over St. Joe's.

[soxfan42585]

How do teams look early on- if there has been action.  I know St Joes came out of Florida 6-3 but looked rusty and young.  They swung the bat well but didnt play cleanly overall.

What would you say is a good early season GNAC showdown that may indicate how the playoffs would look- i.e. a nice matchup of what you'd think was a 1 v 3 or 2 v 4 ?

I think Rivier migh have some firepower this year.  Thats a team that has turned a corner and may perhaps have a chance at becoming a solid program

[TheGNAC]

Here's an update on the top teams in the GNAC thus far.

St. Joe's finished their spring trip in Florida by posting a 6-3 record, however none of their victories were too impressive. Perhaps their best win came against WPI, but beating teams like Northland, Misericordia, and losing to teams like Clark and Thomas More doesn't exactly look good at the end of the year.

Luke Enman has once again proven himself to be one of the premier players in the Northeast, if not the country, as he has gotten off to a very hot start. Luke hit .500 on the trip in 9 games, going 15-30 with 11 RBI. Brian Schools and Dustin Spiller are also hot for the Monks, hitting at .484 and .444, respectively.

On the mound, the Monks used 7 different starting pitchers in 9 games. They lost their top two starters from a year ago, so this most likely means there is some uncertainty as to the rotation at SJC. Pat Moran, one of my finalists for the GNAC Pitcher of the Year, was a tough luck loser in his only start down south, going 6 innings against WPI and surrendering 2 earned runs in the Monks 3-0 loss.

Johnson and Wales currently sits at 3-5 with their spring trip concluded. With a lack of statistics available online, it is hard to say how they are doing individually, however it looks like this may end up being a tough season for JWU.

Suffolk, my pick to win the GNACs, is currently 3-1 on their spring trip, with an impressive victory today over perennial New Jersey powerhouse Montclair State, 9-4. The Rams only loss came at the hands of the College of New Jersey, the 8th-ranked team in the nation. Due to a lack of updated stats on the Suffolk website, it's difficult to say how they are doing individually, also. The Rams have games remaining against WNEC and two versus Southern Maine, so it will be interesting to see how they end up.

I'll keep everyone updated as the season progresses.

[soxfan42585]

It appears that the top female (and only) baseball player in New England is off to a quick start.  She's a pitcher/infielder for J.P.Pyne at Daniel Webster.  She's from Australia and leads her team (granted, one appearence) in ERA

Player                          ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO   SV    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO

77 Christal Fitzgerald  0.00   0-0     1      0     0   0/0    0     2.0   2   1    0   0      2   0

Any thoughts on this?  Anyone know of any other females playing d3 ball in new england in their memory?

[soxfan42585]

3/11/08 - Enman & LaBatte Honored by Conference
STANDISH, ME - The Great Northeast Athletic Conference has announced their weekly award honorees for the March 2nd-March 8th reporting period. Monks senior shortstop Luke Enman (Milan, NH) has been named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week.

Enman receives the weekly award after hitting .500 (15-30) with 9 runs and 11 RBI's in the Monks' 6-3 week in Port Charlotte, FL. The senior shortstop was 3-4 with 2 runs, 3 RBI's and a home run in a win over Northland College (WI) on March 6th and 4-6 with 3 runs and an RBI in a victory over Olivet College (MI) on March 7th. Enman also collected 3 RBI's and went was 3-5 in a win over Misericordia University (PA) on March 7th. Enman played his usual stellar defense during the trip, making only two errors in the nine SJC games.

__________________________________________________________________________

Luke is one of the top players in New England.  He continues to improve over his years and the likelyhood of him being an All-American is right up there.  Look for Luke's name all over the All region teams.  Kid can flat out play.

[TheGNAC]

Suffolk continues it's strong play down south, beating former conference rival WNEC 14-2. Western New England also lost to #10 Johns Hopkins 12-7 yesterday, falling to 0-5 to start their season.

[Jim Dixon]

Luke is one of the top players in New England.  He continues to improve over his years and the likelyhood of him being an All-American is right up there.  Look for Luke's name all over the All region teams.  Kid can flat out play.

it started before the season D3baseball.com preseason All-American Honorable Mention:  SS: Luke Enman, St. Joseph's (Me.)

[soxfan42585]

rough weekend for the monks.  Looks like they dropped 3-4.

swept yesterday by ranked salsbury

[TheGNAC]

In the biggest tilt of the season for both teams, Suffolk sweeps St. Joseph's in two pivotal conference games today, winning 7-0 and 15-11 in the two contests.

Steve Durant tossed a complete game shutout in the first game, allowing 3 hits in the Rams victory. Pat Moran took the loss for SJC, falling to 0-3 on the year.

In game two, St. Joseph's jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, only to see the Rams battle back to take the lead twice in the late innings. St. Joe's scored 4 unearned runs in the 6th inning off Suffolk starter Reid Jackson to tie the game at 11. The score would remain that way until the bottom of the 8th, when Tim Corcoran belted a pitch to dead-center to win the game for the Rams with a walk-off grandslam.

Two big wins for Suffolk, who had been scuffling since their return from Arizona. The Rams move to 10-4, while St. Joe's falls to 7-8 on the year.

SJC doesn't have it any easier tomorrow as they travel to Johnson and Wales in another big conference series.

[soxfan42585]

must wins for sjc tomorrow

[soxfan42585]

looks like JW swept st joes.  Slow start for the monks.  they will be there come end of the season.

[TheGNAC]

Suffolk improves to 19-6 and 10-0 in conference with a sweep of Rivier today. Steve Durant out-dueled 07 Pitcher of the Year Isaac Burkett in tossing a no-hitter in the 7 inning contest. Durant walked just one on a 3-2 pitch, and struck out 14 in completing the feat. He improves to 5-2 and is the early favorite to succeed Burkett as POTY for 2008.

In the second game, junior Dan Delia pitched 5.1 innings of 1-run ball and Greg Dimarco earned the save as the Rams closed out a 3-0 win over the Raiders.

Good start for Suffolk, as they have a very realistic chance to run the table in-conference, with just Albertus Magnus and Johnson and Wales to go.

[Stump]

St. Joes gets a big win at USM today. come from behind 7-6 victory.  good pitching performances from Charlie WholeStaff.  mixed and matched to keep  hitters off balance after 1st couple innings. Helped out by sloppy defense from Sullen Maine Mushies

if St. Joes could match the intensity they played with today, they could be in much better shape in the GNAC.  That seems to be the biggest missing piece to their puzzle. Can't seem to put together a real good run

[TheGNAC]

Well folks, the dust has settled in the GNAC and the tournament seedings are in place. Earlier today, #3 Rivier beat #6 Emerson to secure the #3 seed, and #4 St. Joe's beat #5 Albertus Magnus to secure the #4 seed. With #1 Suffolk and #2 Johnson and Wales already on to the weekend thanks to byes, the series is set.

Here's how I think things will shake out.

Game #1 - St. Joe's @ Suffolk, Thursday, 6 PM
- St. Joe's had a tough go-around in their first GNAC season, as they managed just an 8-6 record in conference games. The Monks, coming off two straight regional appearances, came into the GNAC with a lot of fanfare, thanks to their strong records in both 2006 and 2007. I had them pegged to battle it out with Suffolk for the regular season title, but things didn't go according to plan. Starting out their first conference weekend with double-headers against Suffolk and Johnson and Wales, the Monks didn't get much of anything going, being swept in both series to fall to 0-4 in conference. Not a great start. The Monks, however, managed to go 8-2 in their remaining games.

Suffolk, meanwhile, has had a banner season thus far. Sitting at 23-8 overall, the Rams compiled a 14-0 conference mark, just the second time any team has ran the table in a season (Suffolk was the last, in 2000). They beat all-comers, sometimes in fantastic fashion (walkoff grandslam against SJC, 10th inning walkoff against JWU this past weekend). I picked them to win the conference before the season started, and they did nothing to prove me wrong.

As for this game;

I think Suffolk will take this one, fairly handily. I don't know who threw for St. Joe's today, but they beat Albertus 10-6. That being said, the Monks aren't fooling anybody on the mound, and the kid I touted to contend for pitcher of the year (UMaine transfer Pat Moran) has struggled mightily, with a 1-4 record. Suffolk, meanwhile, has been firing on all cylinders, led by a devastating offense (.340+ BAA, 28 homers, a ridiculous .977 team-OPS), a nationally-ranked defense, and a strong pitching staff. Steve Durant should win pitcher of the year (5-2, 2.98, 53 K's in 51 IP, an other-wordly .197 BAA, and a no-hitter to go along with that), and Dan Delia's stats are even more remarkable, with a 5-2 record and a 1.67 ERA. Put hard-throwing Greg Dimarco at the back of the bullpen, and I don't see many teams being able to beat the Rams. Suffolk handles Enman and Co. 9-4.

In game two, Johnson and Wales will host Rivier on Thursday night. These two clubs are more evenly matched, and I expect this one to be a tightly-contested battle. I don't think Rivier threw their ace, Isaac Burkett, and this bodes well for them. Burkett is a legitimate pro prospect, standing 6'6 and throwing in the low 90's. He gave Suffolk all they could handle earlier in the season, and has wins against both Johnson and Wales and St. Joe's. The 07 Pitcher of the Year can beat anybody, and if he goes on Thursday night, don't be shocked to see Rivier in the winners column on Saturday.

However, JWU has a pretty good pitcher of their own, and he downright dominated Suffolk this past weekend. Erik Hufnagel is JWU's #1 arm, and his stats are just as nasty as Burkett's or Durants. For instance, the righty struck out 15 over 9 innings against Suffolk, and stands an impressive 6-0 on the season. I expect him to go for JWU, and this one could be a battle for the ages. In the end, I just don't think Rivier has the offense to get to Hufnagel, whereas I think JWU can scratch a few runs across against Burkett. Don't be surprised to see a 2-1, 1-0 game down in Providence. In the end, I think JWU prevails here, setting up a great matchup on Saturday in the winners bracket between JWU and Suffolk.

I'll be back before Saturday to preview the rest of the tournament. Hope you guys enjoyed the read.