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.

On March 11th the Royal Blue opened their season in style with a 19-2 victory over Daniel Webster College in Orlando, FL. The Monks proceeded to run the table in the Sunshine State, returning to New England with a record of 7-0. St. Joe's went undefeated in Florida for the first time since 2001. On April 1st, the Monks defeated Plymouth State University in their home opener to push their record to an amazing 12-0. The 12-0 start now stands as the best in program history.

On April 15th, the Monks swept a doubleheader against UMaine-Farmington to improve to 20-2 on the season. With the pair of victories, Monks baseball reached the 20-win mark for the tenth time in 15 years under head coach Will Sanborn. Just 10 days later, the team defeated Salem State College to improve to 25-5, and give Sanborn his eighth 25-win season. Perhaps the sweetest milestone, though, came when the Monks collected their 30th win of the season when they downed Husson College, 8-3, to capture the North Atlantic Conference championship and secure a berth in the NCAA tournament. It was the third consecutive 30-win season for the Monks and the fifth time that Sanborn had reached the prestigious mark.

On May 16th, the Royal Blue entered the NCAA New England Regional tournament for the second consecutive year. In the first round, the Monks squared off against national powerhouse Eastern Connecticut State University, dropping a 10-2 decision. The following day the Monks fell to Williams College by a count of 12-7, ending the 2007 campaign with a record of 30-12.

Several individual performances stood out for the 2007 Monks, led by NAC Player of the Year Luke Enman (Milan, NH). The junior shortstop put up monstrous offensive numbers while making things look easy in the field. Enman hit .429 (6th best in program history), blasted 7 homeruns, and posted 50 runs batted in (4th best in program history). Enman went 69-161 on the year, giving him the third highest totals in both categories in Monks baseball history.

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.

Senior third baseman Mark Clapp (Blue Hill, ME) batted .302 with 22 RBI, including 9 doubles and 9 stolen bases. Classmate Keil Martin (Saco, ME) hit .343 and drove in 16 from the two slot in the Royal Blue lineup. Senior Dan Enman (Milan, NH) posted a .391 on-base percentage, appearing in 28 games. Chris Doughty (Westbrook, ME) pounded 2 homeruns and drove in 15 runs in his final season. Joining fellow senior Sam Tupper on the mound was Westbrook, ME, native Ben Cutter. Cutter posted a career-best 6-2 record. Cutter struck out 32 batters in his 38.2 innings of work while holding opponents to a .218 batting average.

Junior catcher Andrew Wood (South Portland, ME) hit .367 with 23 RBI, and classmate Dustin Spiller (Gorham, ME) hit .344 with 3 homers and 30 runs batted in. Junior Brian Schools (Gorham, ME) posted a .357 on-base percentage and swiped 11 bases for the Monks while playing second base.

Sophomore Wade Oliver (Owls Head, ME) continued to develop into one of the most feared leadoff hitters in New England in 2007. Oliver hit .364 with a homerun and 25 RBI. The Monks rightfielder was a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts and chipped in 4 outfield assists.

The Monks got numerous contributions from the pitching staff in 2007. Tupper (8-1) and Cutter (6-2) provided veteran leadership to a young and talented group of hurlers. Sophomore Andy Pooler (Southwest Harbor, ME) anchored the bullpen for Coach Sanborn; appearing in a team-high 17 games. Pooler went 2-0 with 1 save and posted a 3.09 ERA. Southpaw Cole Filosa (Milford, MA) pitched in 14 games for the Monks, going 1-1 with 2 saves and a 3.66 ERA.

A foursome of rookies made a significant impact on the mound in 2007, lead by lefty Andrew Keirstead (Westbrook, ME). Keirstead went 4-2 on the mound and collected 2 saves along the way. He pitched in 14 games (6 starts) and put up a 3.46 ERA en route to being named the teams "Rookie of the Year". Southpaw Kyle Dorr (Berwick, ME) went 4-1 on the year in 6 starts, including a win in the season opener against Daniel Webster. Craig Woodbrey (Gorham, ME) went 1-1 on the season in nine appearances and Mike Burdin (Gardiner, ME) went 2-2. The highlight for Burdin came on May 5th against Castleton State College in the NAC tournament. Burdin allowed just one hit in 7.1 innings of work to earn the win and advance the Monks to the championship game.

Offensively, Travis Adams (Saco, ME) led the rookies with a .364 batting average. Adams started 13 games behind the plate for the Monks. Ben Grant-Roy (Biddeford, ME) hit .327 with a homerun and 26 RBI. Craig Persechini (Marion, MA) chipped in a .346 average in 16 games and Ricky Sarmento (Lowell, MA) posted a .367 on-base percentage.

As a team, the 2007 Monks hit an impressive .327 with 15 homers and 249 RBI. The team stole an amazing 106 bases in 129 attempts. The 2.55 stolen bases per game ranked them 16th nationally. On the mound, the Royal Blue pitchers posted a 30-12 record with 6 saves. The staff put up a 4.31 team ERA in 324 innings of work, striking out 197 batters and holding the opposition to a .257 batting average.

"I am very excited about the direction in which the program is going," said Coach Sanborn. "We will miss these six seniors a lot; they have been a major part of our success both on the field and off, but I am excited about the young men who are coming in this fall. We should be very competitive in 2008."

Let the record show: 2007 was yet another banner year for Saint Joseph's College Baseball.