Photo by: Grace Hand
Mongelli Named as NEC Player of the Year; Leads Four Honored by League
5/23/2023 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Senior first in program history to earn league’s top award
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (May 23, 2023) – For the first time in program history, the Sacred Heart University baseball team has the Northeast Conference Player of the Year. Standout senior shortstop Sam Mongelli (Marlboro, N.Y.) was tabbed as the Player of the Year on Tuesday afternoon, highlighting a quartet of All-NEC selections for the Pioneers in the league's year-end awards. Graduate student center fielder Justin Jordan (Darien, Conn.) joined Mongelli on the All-NEC First Team, while graduate student second baseman Ryan Donnelly (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior right-hander Jake Babuschak (Jobstown, N.J.) landed on the All-NEC Second Team.
Sacred Heart had claimed major NEC awards on three occasions before, but Mongelli is the first Pioneer to take home the league's top accolade. Previously, Jay Monti was NEC Pitcher of the Year and Nick Giaquinto was NEC Coach of the Year in 2005, while Nick Leiningen was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2011.
It is the second straight All-NEC selection for Jordan, who was named to the Second Team a year ago. The remaining three Pioneers all earned their first career all-conference honors.
Mongelli has produced at a video-game pace all spring and finished the regular season as the NEC leader in OPS (1.247), slugging percentage (.760), home runs (20), runs scored (75), hits (87) and total bases (168), while his on-base percentage (.487) and batting average (.394) both rank second in the league. Mongelli established new program single season records in hits, home runs, runs scored and total bases.
Meanwhile, Jordan is second behind Mongelli in the NEC in runs scored (58) and also ranks in the top 10 in the league in batting average (.349), hits (76) and total bases (110). He leads the NEC with six triples. Jordan has added a .396 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage with 13 doubles and three home runs, to rank 24th in the NEC in OPS, at .901.
Donnelly, the other half of SHU's double-play combination, is tied for the league lead in walks (42), to bolster an on-base percentage (.462) which ranks sixth in the league. Donnelly is also inside the top 10 in the conference in stolen bases (18) and runs scored (64). His .508 slugging percentage makes for a .970 OPS, which ranks 14th in the NEC.
Donnelly and Mongelli have keyed a defensive effort which has turned 42 double plays, which ranks second in the NEC.
Babuschak has been the Pioneers' Friday starter all spring and is fifth in the NEC in ERA (3.89). He is also among the league's top 10 in innings pitched (76.1), runs (40) and earned runs (33) allowed, and opponent batting average (.260). His 65 strikeouts currently rank just outside the conference's top 10, in 11th.
Fourth-seeded Sacred Heart (25-28, 17-13 NEC) and its All-NEC quartet open pursuit of the program's fifth league title on Wednesday, on the first day of the NEC Championship. The Pioneers will square off with fifth-seeded LIU at 3 p.m. at Heritage Financial Field in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Sacred Heart had claimed major NEC awards on three occasions before, but Mongelli is the first Pioneer to take home the league's top accolade. Previously, Jay Monti was NEC Pitcher of the Year and Nick Giaquinto was NEC Coach of the Year in 2005, while Nick Leiningen was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2011.
It is the second straight All-NEC selection for Jordan, who was named to the Second Team a year ago. The remaining three Pioneers all earned their first career all-conference honors.
Mongelli has produced at a video-game pace all spring and finished the regular season as the NEC leader in OPS (1.247), slugging percentage (.760), home runs (20), runs scored (75), hits (87) and total bases (168), while his on-base percentage (.487) and batting average (.394) both rank second in the league. Mongelli established new program single season records in hits, home runs, runs scored and total bases.
Meanwhile, Jordan is second behind Mongelli in the NEC in runs scored (58) and also ranks in the top 10 in the league in batting average (.349), hits (76) and total bases (110). He leads the NEC with six triples. Jordan has added a .396 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage with 13 doubles and three home runs, to rank 24th in the NEC in OPS, at .901.
Donnelly, the other half of SHU's double-play combination, is tied for the league lead in walks (42), to bolster an on-base percentage (.462) which ranks sixth in the league. Donnelly is also inside the top 10 in the conference in stolen bases (18) and runs scored (64). His .508 slugging percentage makes for a .970 OPS, which ranks 14th in the NEC.
Donnelly and Mongelli have keyed a defensive effort which has turned 42 double plays, which ranks second in the NEC.
Babuschak has been the Pioneers' Friday starter all spring and is fifth in the NEC in ERA (3.89). He is also among the league's top 10 in innings pitched (76.1), runs (40) and earned runs (33) allowed, and opponent batting average (.260). His 65 strikeouts currently rank just outside the conference's top 10, in 11th.
Fourth-seeded Sacred Heart (25-28, 17-13 NEC) and its All-NEC quartet open pursuit of the program's fifth league title on Wednesday, on the first day of the NEC Championship. The Pioneers will square off with fifth-seeded LIU at 3 p.m. at Heritage Financial Field in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
Players Mentioned
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