Sophomore Michael Young collected NE-10 Rookie of the Year honors last season after finishing second in the conference with a 0.67 ERA. |
Skyhawks slated to open season February 25th against Mercy College in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
EASTON, Mass. (February 11, 2016) – The Stonehill College baseball team has been picked to finish third in the Northeast Division of the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league office announced on Tuesday.
Stonehill is coming off a 34-15-1 (16-7 NE-10) season in which the Skyhawks reached the NE-10 championship game where they were knocked off by Franklin Pierce University. The 34 wins were also a program matching record, tying the wins set in 2000. Stonehill has won 30 games and appeared in the NE-10 Tournament five times in the last six years.
Three-time NE-10 Coach of the Year Pat Boen begins his 19th season at the helm of the baseball program in 2016. Boen, who has a career record of 493-350-3 (.583), has guided the Skyhawks to two NE-10 Tournament championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure. He now sits just seven wins shy of reaching the 500 wins milestone.
Stonehill, which was picked to finish fifth in the 2016 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason East Region Poll, received 79 points in the Northeast Division portion of the NE-10 poll. Franklin Pierce was selected first with 104 points and 17 first-place tallies, while Southern New Hampshire University checked in second with 93 points and two first-place votes. Merrimack College, was predicted to finish fourth with 60 points, while Bentley University rounded out the top five, earning 56 points. The University of New Haven (77 points, six first-place votes) was the coaches' pick to capture the Southwest Division crown.
Senior Eric Schneider returns for his senior season after earning All-NE-10 second team accolades. |
Stonehill returns five student-athletes that garnered Northeast-10 All-Conference accolades at the conclusion of last season. Senior outfielder Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) was named to the 2015 NE-10 All-Conference first team. Fellow seniors Brian Campbell (Franklin, Massachusetts/Mount Saint Charles) and Eric Schneider (Camarillo, California/Saint Bonaventure) were named to the second team, while junior closer Aubrey Solomon (Groton, Massachusetts/Lawrence Academy) was selected to the third team and sophomore Michael Young (Mashpee, Massachusetts/Pope John Paul II) earned NE-10 Rookie of the Year honors. Senior Patrick Nicholson (Middleboro, Massachusetts/Middleboro) who garnered All-NE-10 third team accolades at the conclusion of the 2015 season will miss the entire 2016 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Hoyt led the way for the Skyhawk offense last season, batting .341 to go with 8 doubles, 25 RBI and 36 stolen bases. Campbell pieced together a terrific 2015 season, batting .323 with 11 doubles, 3 home runs, 27 RBI and 49 runs, while Schneider also enjoyed a career year at the plate, hitting .339 with 6 doubles and 28 RBI.
Young will take on the role of Stonehill's ace this spring after leading the returners in a bevy of categories including innings pitched (53.1), wins (5), strikeouts (50) and ERA (0.67). Junior lefthander Jeremy Roberts (Reading, Massachusetts/Malden Catholic), a 2014 NE-10 All-Rookie team selection, will join Young at the top of the rotation. Roberts is coming off of a season where he pitched to a 3.40 ERA to go with 47.2 innings pitched and 42 strikeouts. Solomon returns to the bullpen after emerging as one of the top closers in the conference during his sophomore season, leading the NE-10 with nine saves and posting a 2.28 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work.
Stonehill is scheduled to open its 2016 campaign against Mercy College on Thursday, February 25th in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as part of the Ripken Experience Northeast Challenge. The Skyhawks are then slated to head to Palm Beach, Florida in early March before eventually hosting Franklin Pierce, a rematch of last season's Northeast-10 Conference Championship for their home opener on Saturday, March 26th at Lou Gorman Field.
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