WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY - Merrimack baseball heads to New York this Wednesday for their first matchup of the MAAC tournament playoffs.
This week the Warriors saw multiple players selected to all-conference teams, headlined by head coach Brian Murphy winning coach of the year, and Matt DeShiro plus Joey Frammartino being first team selections.
In just his second season in the MAAC, and sixth at the helm of the Warriors, Murphy led the team to a 20-win season.
Leadoff hitter DeShiro leads the conference in multiple categories such as runs (60), hits (75), and at bats (234).
Arguably his most impressive feat of the season, DeShiro got up to a 39-game on-base streak. During that time he racked up a 23-game hit streak. DeShiro carries a .322 batting average and .399 OBP going into the tournament.
On top of all the batting accolades, DeShiro has made himself one of the best fielders in the conference, with a .996 percentage.
Rightfielder Frammartino paces the Warriors in OPS (.975), OBP (.481), and walks (47), which is the program record after passing teammate Christian Scanlon a few games ago.
Frammartino comes into the tournament with a .323 batting average and 52 RBI which is the third most in the conference. The Endicott transfer has also hit seven long balls and ten doubles.
The red hot Warriors saw half of their MAAC wins come at the end of the season, as they finished on a ten game conference win streak.
Sweeps over Mount St. Mary's, Saint Peter's, and Quinnipiac, enabled the Warriors to close the gap and easily slide into a #4 seeded berth into the conference tournament.
Merrimack also saw power hitting first baseman Greg Cristino selected to the All-second team, and freshman catcher Garrett McGovern picked to the all-rookie team.
Cristino has found his way all over the MAAC statistics leaderboard this season, leading the conference in RBI (54), SLG (.560) and doubles (18), which is only one more than teammate DeShiro. The Pennsylvania native is also tied for second in home runs (13), and is in second in at bats (222).
Cristino earned conference and national honors two weeks ago after tallying 11 hits, 10 RBI, four doubles, and four home runs, in just four games.
Cristino also leads the conference defensively in putouts (466) and double plays (38).
It took no time for Garrett McGovern to get adjusted to collegiate ball as he currently leads the Warriors in batting average (.323). Though only appearing in 39 games this season, McGovern has amounted to 42 hits, 24 RBI, nine doubles, and one home run, which came over the past weekend against Quinnipiac.
McGovern has been a lock behind the plate as well, catching a total of 20 runners attempting to steal, which is the most in the MAAC.
Jack Andrews has been another Warrior to make an impact of late. Last week's MAAC player of the week, Andrews totaled seven hits, eight RBI, and four stolen bases. He helped carry the Warriors to a weekend sweep over Saint Peter's. Andrews leads the team in stolen bases with 18.
Jayden Hamilton has silently found himself as one of the Warriors biggest contributors during the regular season. With a .319 batting average, Hamilton has racked the second most hits on the team with 66. He has driven in 39 runs, and walked 27 times.
Hamilton has tacked on at least two hits in ALL eight of his last games, and carries an 11 game hit streak. He had six RBI in the three-game series against Quinnipiac last weekend.
Brooks Craigue is one of five Merrimack batters to be hitting over .300. Craigue enters the conference tournament with 61 hits, 12 doubles, and five long balls. Craigue has also been perfect on the base paths, going 9-for-9 in steal attempts.
The conference leader in wins (8), Colby Barker has pitched a total of 66.2 innings, and struck out 51 batters. Barker has also held batters to a .245 average throughout the season. The eight wins this season is tied for the program's most.
Nick Hunkele has thrown 59.1 innings and fanned 57 batters. Hunkele found his stride last month having two straight outings with eight innings pitched. The .237 batting average for opposing players is the fourth best in the MAAC.
Michael Bradshaw earned his seventh win over the last weekend which is tied for second most in the conference behind teammate Barker. In 22 appearances this season, Bradshaw pitched 40.2 innings.
A highlight of the season in March, Bradshaw pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball to earn a win over defending CAA champs Northeastern.
Super utility player Cole Yennaco has racked up seven saves this season, which is the fourth most in the MAAC. Yennaco has pitched 25.2 innings in 19 appearances.
During the Marist season earlier in the season, Yennaco crushed a home run and drove in two RBI to help the Warriors earn the win.
The Warriors open up the tournament with a 3 p.m. game against Canisius on Wednesday.
