Photo by: Maddie McCall
Egan Named NEC Coach of the Year; Baseball Has Five Earn League Honors
5/21/2024 4:18:00 PM | Baseball
Egan second in program history to earn Coach of the Year
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (May 21, 2024) – After guiding the Sacred Heart University baseball team to its first Northeast Conference regular season title in just his second season at the helm, head coach Pat Egan has been named NEC Coach of the Year, as announced on Tuesday afternoon by the conference office. In all, the Pioneers had five honored in the league's year-end awards. Center fielder Zack Kovalchik (Archbald, Pa.) represents SHU on the All-NEC First Team, while pitchers Jake Babuschak (Jobstown, N.J.), Elijah Foster (Plainfield, N.J.) and Jake McDowell (Brookfield, Conn.) all landed on the All-NEC Second Team.
It is the second straight season the Pioneers have earned a major NEC award, following Sam Mongelli's selection as NEC Player of the Year last season. It is the fifth major NEC award in program history, and the second time SHU's bench boss has earned Coach of the Year accolades from the league. 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 Babuschak, who was also on the Second Team a year ago. The remaining three Pioneers players all earned their first career all-conference honors.
Interestingly, it is Egan's second major NEC award, as he was named the league's Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore at Quinnipiac in 2004. He becomes the second in conference history to earn a major award as a player and go on to be named NEC Coach of the Year at a later date, joining Jim Carone, who was Pitcher of the Year at Monmouth in 2002 and Coach of the Year at Wagner in both 2015 and 2018.
Kovalchik has been a threat in the middle of the Sacred Heart lineup and the centerpiece of its outfield defense all season long. He has played in 53 of the team's 54 games and is tied-seventh in the NEC in doubles (13), eighth in stolen bases (16) and ninth in hits (66). Kovalchik heads into the postseason with a .322/.410/.512 slash line, good for a .922 OPS across 205 at-bats (66-for-205). He is tied for the team lead with 13 doubles and has mixed in one triple and eight home runs along the way.
Babuschak has been the Pioneers' Friday starter for the second straight season and pretty much took down all comers in the NEC, to the tune of an 8-0 record, 3.56 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 68.1 innings in league play. Overall, he ranks first in the NEC in wins (8), fourth in innings pitched (80.2) and seventh in ERA (4.24), opponent batting average (.251) and strikeouts (74). Among qualified pitchers, Babuschak has issued the fifth-fewest walks in the league (23).
Foster makes it two-thirds of the SHU weekend rotation on the All-Conference docket, as the first-year right-hander threw Sundays early in the year before transitioning to Saturdays down the stretch. When he's in the strike zone, Foster has been borderline unhittable, as he ranks second in the NEC in opponent batting average (.203) and has allowed the fewest hits (41) of any qualified pitcher. He is sixth in the league in both strikeouts (78) and ERA (4.18).
For his part, McDowell has made 16 appearances on the mound this spring, including a trio of midweek starts, and is tied-fifth in the NEC with four saves. Part of a solid back end of the SHU bullpen, he has logged 41.1 innings with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.14 ERA. McDowell has struck out 38 against 17 walks and held opponents to a .207 batting average.
Top-seeded Sacred Heart (33-21, 25-8 NEC) will open pursuit of the program's fifth league title on Thursday, on the second day of the NEC Championship. The Pioneers will square off with a to be determined opponent at 11 a.m. at Heritage Financial Field in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
It is the second straight season the Pioneers have earned a major NEC award, following Sam Mongelli's selection as NEC Player of the Year last season. It is the fifth major NEC award in program history, and the second time SHU's bench boss has earned Coach of the Year accolades from the league. 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 Babuschak, who was also on the Second Team a year ago. The remaining three Pioneers players all earned their first career all-conference honors.
Interestingly, it is Egan's second major NEC award, as he was named the league's Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore at Quinnipiac in 2004. He becomes the second in conference history to earn a major award as a player and go on to be named NEC Coach of the Year at a later date, joining Jim Carone, who was Pitcher of the Year at Monmouth in 2002 and Coach of the Year at Wagner in both 2015 and 2018.
Kovalchik has been a threat in the middle of the Sacred Heart lineup and the centerpiece of its outfield defense all season long. He has played in 53 of the team's 54 games and is tied-seventh in the NEC in doubles (13), eighth in stolen bases (16) and ninth in hits (66). Kovalchik heads into the postseason with a .322/.410/.512 slash line, good for a .922 OPS across 205 at-bats (66-for-205). He is tied for the team lead with 13 doubles and has mixed in one triple and eight home runs along the way.
Babuschak has been the Pioneers' Friday starter for the second straight season and pretty much took down all comers in the NEC, to the tune of an 8-0 record, 3.56 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 68.1 innings in league play. Overall, he ranks first in the NEC in wins (8), fourth in innings pitched (80.2) and seventh in ERA (4.24), opponent batting average (.251) and strikeouts (74). Among qualified pitchers, Babuschak has issued the fifth-fewest walks in the league (23).
Foster makes it two-thirds of the SHU weekend rotation on the All-Conference docket, as the first-year right-hander threw Sundays early in the year before transitioning to Saturdays down the stretch. When he's in the strike zone, Foster has been borderline unhittable, as he ranks second in the NEC in opponent batting average (.203) and has allowed the fewest hits (41) of any qualified pitcher. He is sixth in the league in both strikeouts (78) and ERA (4.18).
For his part, McDowell has made 16 appearances on the mound this spring, including a trio of midweek starts, and is tied-fifth in the NEC with four saves. Part of a solid back end of the SHU bullpen, he has logged 41.1 innings with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.14 ERA. McDowell has struck out 38 against 17 walks and held opponents to a .207 batting average.
Top-seeded Sacred Heart (33-21, 25-8 NEC) will open pursuit of the program's fifth league title on Thursday, on the second day of the NEC Championship. The Pioneers will square off with a to be determined opponent at 11 a.m. at Heritage Financial Field in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
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