SJC's Black, Suffolk's Gibson Headline GNAC Baseball All-Conference Teams

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GNAC announces 2017 All-Conference
Teams and major award winners

WINTHROP, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College of Maine senior infielder Taylor Black has been voted the 2017 GNAC Baseball Player of the Year, it was announced on Monday afternoon by the league office. The conference's eight head coaches also voted Suffolk University senior righthander Chuck Gibson the GNAC Pitcher of the Year.

Black led the GNAC in hitting with a .417 average for the Monks, who once again earned the league's regular-season title and top tournament seed. He also tied for the league-lead with 44 RBI and scored 37 runs.

Fresh off a complete-game three-hitter to help the Rams claim their third straight GNAC Championship on Sunday evening, Gibson was named Tournament MVP and will enter the NCAA Tournament with a minuscule 1.65 ERA for the year. He is also a perfect 7-0 and has 38 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.

Johnson & Wales University freshman infielder Joe Maracic was selected as the GNAC Rookie of the Year by the league's head coaches. In his rookie campaign, Maracic hit .292 with 19 RBI in 35 games played for the Wildcats.

Norwich University head coach Frank Pecora was voted the GNAC Coach of the year by his fellow head coaches. The Cadets went 6-8 in conference play in 2017, a four-win improvement from the 2016 squad.

Black was one of five Monks named to the First Team. Also lauded were senior infielders Brett Barbati and Max McCoomb, senior designated hitter Jameson Collins and junior lefthander Josh Partridge. Partridge led the GNAC with a 1.61 ERA and was 6-2 with 48 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.

Joining Gibson as First Team members was a pair of Suffolk teammates in senior catcher Matt Brenner and junior outfielder Brady Chant. Brenner is hitting .344 with a .460 OBP, while Chant currently owns a .345/.403/.612 slash line with 26 extra-base hits, 32 RBI and 41 runs.

Rounding out the First Team selections were Albertus Magnus College senior infielder Andrew Scully, Johnson & Wales University sophomore outfielder Dave Matthews and Lasell College seniors Brandon Valentin and Hector Coscione.  Scully led the GNAC with 10 home runs to go along with a .385 average.

For the complete All-Conference and All-Defensive selections, please see below.

First Team
C – Matt Brenner, Suffolk (Sr., Eliot, Maine)
INF – Andrew Scully, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Stratford, Conn.)
INF – Brett Barbati, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Melrose, Mass.)
INF – Taylor Black, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Cardiff By The Sea, Calif.)
INF – Max McCoomb, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., South Berwick, Maine)
OF – Dave Matthews, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Newtown, Conn.)
OF – Brandon Valentin, Lasell (Sr., Meriden, Conn.)
OF – Brady Chant, Suffolk (Jr., Warwick, R.I.)
DH – Jameson Collins, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Sandown, N.H.)
UTIL – Hector Coscione, Lasell (Sr., Newton, Mass.)
P – Josh Partridge, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Deerfield, N.H.)
P – Chuck Gibson, Suffolk (Sr., Malden, Mass.)

Second Team
C – Jacob White, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Salem, N.H.)
INF – Matthew Leahey, Anna Maria (Sr., Rutland, Mass.)
INF – Lou Umberto, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Cranston, R.I.)
INF – Dom Mascolo, Lasell (Jr., Waterbury, Conn.)
INF – Kevin Belskie, Suffolk (Sr., Norristown, Pa.)
OF – Rob Ballinger, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., South Kingston, R.I.)
OF – Dennis Meehan, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Gardiner, Maine)
OF – Luke Ronchi, Suffolk (Sr., Randolph, N.J.)
DH – Edison Mercado, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Providence, R.I.)
UTIL – Tyler Ferdinand, Rivier (Jr., Middleboro, Mass.)
P – Brandon Budlong, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Cranston, R.I.)
P – Kyle Farquharson, Norwich (Sr., South Ryegate, Vt.)

Third Team
C – Brandon Pedley, Norwich (Sr., Northfield, Vt.)
INF – Ivan Reyes, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Cranston, R.I.)
INF – Andre Marchesseault, Lasell (So., Cheshire, Conn.)
INF – Sean Cameron, Suffolk (Sr., Milford, Conn.)
INF – Kevin Higgins, Suffolk (So., North Attleboro, Mass.)
OF – Skylar Beckerman, Lasell (Gr., Pensacola, Fla.)
OF – Kevin Lynch, Norwich (So., Randolph, Mass.)
OF – Seth Coiley, Suffolk (Jr., Arlington, Mass.)
DH – Matt Sirois, Norwich (Sr., Southington, Conn.)
UTIL – Noah McDaniel, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Eliot, Maine)
P – Travis Godbout, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Portland, Maine)
P – Ryan Pordes, Suffolk (Jr., Hawthorne, Calif.)

All-Defensive Team
C – Jacob White, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Salem, N.H.)
1B – Ryan Cabral, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Scituate, R.I.)
2B – Ivan Reyes, Johnson & Wales (RI) Sr., Cranston, R.I.)
3B – Taylor Black, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Cardiff By The Sea, Calif.)
SS – Lou Umberto, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Cranston, R.I.)
OF – Rob Ballinger, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., South Kingston, R.I.)
OF – LaShawn Thomas, Norwich (Sr., San Antonio, Texas)
OF – Brady Chant, Suffolk (Jr., Warwick, R.I.)
P – Lane Compton, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Freeland, Mich.) 

Player of the Year – Taylor Black, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Pitcher of the Year – Chuck Gibson, Suffolk
Rookie of the Year – Joe Maracic, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Coach of the Year – Frank Pecora, Norwich
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Rivier University

All-Sportsmanship Team
Tom Moore, Albertus Magnus (Sr., East Haven, Conn.)
Callan Finn-McMahon, Anna Maria (So., West Hartford, Conn.)
Greg Joubert, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Cumberland, R.I.)
Matt Haskell, Lasell (Sr., Wallingford, Conn.)
Mike Lesco, Norwich (So., Somers, Conn.)
Charlie Savard, Rivier (Sr., Tyngsboro,, Mass.)
Cejay Suarez, Saint Joseph's (ME) (Sr., Abington, Mass.)
BJ Neil, Suffolk (Sr., Lynnfield, Mass.)

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

– #TheGNAC –