LINK: Complete GNAC Release
Winthrop, Mass. – The Albertus Magnus College baseball team featured four student-athletes selected for All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) honors, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
Junior Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) was named to the GNAC First Team for the second straight year. Seniors Mike Browne (New Fairfield, Conn.) and Tyriq Harris (Waterbury, Conn.) were both named to the GNAC Second Team while freshman Elijah Spataj (Cheshire, Conn.) earned a spot on the GNAC Third Team.
Warren finished out his junior year earning all-conference honors after registering 33 hits, 12 doubles, two triples and three home runs, for a .303 batting average. He collected a team-high 41 RBI and drove in 27 runs for the Falcons this spring. The third baseman also concluded the season posting a .423 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage to go with five stolen bases.
Browne ended his four-year career as a Falcon by earning conference-wide recognition. He appeared in 34 games and boasted a .430 batting average behind 55 hits, including seven doubles, ranking him first in the league as well as 27th in nation. Browne finished fourth in the GNAC with a .483 on-base percentage as well as tallied 34 runs scored and 18 RBI. The leadoff hitter posted 18 multi-hit games, highlighted by a 4-for-4 performance in the win over Johnson & Wales. In the Falcons' win over Mt. St. Vincent earlier this spring, Browne registered his 100th career hit. He concluded his career finshing fourth in the single-season record book in batting average and second in hits.
Harris received second-team distinction for the second time in his career thanks to a .402 batting average, a .466 on-base percentage and a .549 slugging percentage. The outfielder tallied an impressive 41 hits while driving in 17 RBI and 32 runs scored. Harris also recorded six doubles, three triples and a home run for 10 extra base hits. The senior was also stellar on the field committing only two errors to boast a .975 fielding percentage over 79 total chances. He concludes his career fourth all-time in stolen bases with 39.
Spataj, a two-time GNAC Rookie of the Week, had a breakout spring posting 10 multi-hit games and finished the year with a .349 batting average behind 38 hits over 109 at bats. He was second in the conference in doubles with 15 as well as ranked fourth with a .596 slugging percentage and 41 RBI. The Cheshire, Conn. native collected four home runs, including a grand slam against Anna Maria, ranking him fifth in the league. He also tallied a season-high five RBI and three runs scored in the win over Rivier.
In addition, senior David Otero earned a spot on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team. This season, Otero appeared in 13 games and accumulated two hits and a run.
GNAC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
First Team
C – Greg Emanuelson, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
INF – Matt Warren, Albertus Magnus
INF – Kosta Drosidis, Anna Maria
INF – Joey Murphy, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
INF – Blase Cormier, Suffolk
OF – Jared Gagne, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
OF – Tim Brigham, Suffolk
OF – Will Hopkins, Suffolk
DH – Colby Greenhalgh, Johnson & Wales (RI)
UTIL – David Marsell, Lasell
P – Jack Marzec, Anna Maria
P – Matt Bergeron, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Second Team
C – Joe Sullivan, Lasell
INF – Mike Browne, Albertus Magnus
INF – Joe Maracic, Johnson & Wales (RI)
INF – Andre Marchesseault, Lasell
INF – Rich Gilbride, Suffolk
OF – Tyriq Harris, Albertus Magnus
OF – Kevin Lynch, Norwich
OF – Hunter Richardson, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
DH – Connor Troio, Suffolk
UTIL – Adam Twitchell, Anna Maria
P – James Smiegocki, Johnson & Wales (RI)
P – Steven Rossi, Suffolk
Third Team
C – Greg Gehring, Anna Maria
INF – Elijah Spataj, Albertus Magnus
INF – Drew Healey, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
INF – Noah McDaniel, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
INF – Trevor Lee, Suffolk
OF – Armani Henderson, Johnson & Wales (RI)
OF – Fred Kazalski, Rivier
OF – Rich Giandrea, Suffolk
DH – Adam Diehl, Johnson & Wales (RI)
UTIL – Tim Unczur, Colby-Sawyer
P – Josh Mousseau, Johnson & Wales (RI)
P – Zach Begin, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
C – Greg Gehring, Anna Maria
1B – Blase Cormier, Suffolk
2B – Trevor Lee, Suffolk
3B – Andre Marchesseault, Lasell
SS – Joey Murphy, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
OF – Evan Michalek, Lasell
OF – Kevin Lynch, Norwich
OF – Will Hopkins, Suffolk
P – Charles Batchelder, Suffolk
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Joey Murphy, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR – Jack Marzec, Anna Maria
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Kosta Drosidis, Anna Maria
COACH OF THE YEAR – Anthony Del Prete, Suffolk
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Rivier University
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
David Otero, Albertus Magnus College
Justin Robbins, Anna Maria
Brendan Barrett, Colby-Sawyer
Tim Lombardi, Johnson & Wales University
Brian Cohen, Lasell College
Mike Lesco, Norwich University
Brett Iannazzo, Rivier
Simon Gonzalez, Saint Joseph's College
Charles Batchelder, Suffolk
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.