By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
June 7, 2019
2018 Season: Manor College made its collegiate debut, finishing with a 2-21 overall record (1-15 Region XIX Division III, 0-8 EPAC).
Returning Players: Manor returned the following players from the previous season: Infielder Sauriel Baez (Philadelphia, PA/Esperanza Charter), outfielder Courtney Maddox, catcher Abimael Mercado (Philadelphia, PA/Juan Ponce De Leon [PR]), first baseman/catcher Hector Morales (Philadelphia, PA/Esperanza Charter), infielder/outfielder Abdur Mujahid (Philadelphia, PA/Boys Latin), infielder Jorge Reyes (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast), and shortstop Jose Romero (Philadelphia, PA/Frankford).
Notable Newcomers: The Blue Jays also added the following transfers: sophomore right fielder Cristian Diaz (Philadelphia, PA/Franklin Towne Charter) (Region XV Division I Monroe College-New Rochelle), freshman pitcher Briant Loya (Philadelphia, PA/Parkway Center City) (NCAA Division III Pennsylvania State University-The Abington College), and freshman first baseman/outfielder Janai Vaughan (Philadelphia, PA/W. B. Saul) (Region XIX Division II Lackawanna College).
2019 Schedule Notes:
2019 NJCAA Opponents' Overall Won-Loss Record (Percentage): 301-281 (0.517).
2019 NJCAA Opponents' Conference Won-Loss Record (Percentage): 136-140 (0.493).
2019 NJCAA Division II Nationally-Ranked Opponents: County College of Morris - March 19 (RV), April 30 (RV), and May 7 (RV).
2019 NCAA Division III Nationally-Ranked Opponents: Bergen Community College – March 19 (10th) and March 26 (RV); Camden County College - March 26 (RV), April 2 (10th), and April 9 (RV); Northampton Community College – Pre-Season (8th), March 5 (10th), March 12 (tied for 10th), March 19 (6th), March 26 (7th), April 2 (4th), April 9 (5th), April 16 (3rd), April 23 (3rd), April 30 (2nd), May 7 (3rd), and May 14 (3rd).
Travel Firsts: The Blue Jays opened the regular season at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. Dodgertown served as the Spring Training home for the Major League Baseball Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1949 through 2008. Manor's Dodgertown schedule featured Region XII Division II Muskegon Community College, Region XX Division I Hagerstown Community College (the Blue Jays' first Division I opponent), and non-NJCAA Miami University-Hamilton (Ohio). Manor traveled to New York state for the first time when they played a doubleheader at Region III Division III Corning Community College in Corning, New York. They also visited Atlantic Cape Community College, Camden County, and Northampton for the first time. Atlantic Cape's home field is Surf Stadium (aka "The Sandcastle"), the former home of the independent professional team Atlantic City Surf from 1998 through 2008.
Postseason-Bound Opponents: The following Manor opponents qualified for NJCAA Region XIX Division II and III Postseason Tournaments: Bergen, Camden County, Montgomery County Community College, Morris, and Northampton (Semifinalist). Hagerstown qualified for its Region Postseason Tournament. Altogether, six Blue Jay opponents (15 games) qualified for the postseason. Morris also won its first Garden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) regular season championship since 2017. Northampton also won its sixth Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) regular season title in eight seasons.
Home Sweet Homes: The Blue Jays played at three home fields during this 2019 season. They played at Lighthouse Field (1-3) and Ryan Howard Field at Hunting Park (0-1) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They also returned to the Abington Friends School (0-1) in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Abington Friends was the Blue Jays' home field during the 2018 campaign.
Read All about It: Some of Manor's game recaps and statistics and news can be read at this link.
Regular Season Firsts: The Blue Jays won its first home game in school history versus Delaware County Community College in game two of a doubleheader on March 30. This game also marked two additional firsts: extra-inning contest and walk-off (Morales two-out, pop-up single in the eighth).
Record-Setting Day: In the first game of a doubleheader at Bucks County Community College on April 14, Manor set the following school single-game offensive records: runs scored (19), hits (20), doubles (seven), extra-base hits (eight), total bases (30), and RBI (17).
Offensive Improvements: The Blue Jays improved on its 2018 hitting statistics in plate appearances, at-bats, runs, hits, singles, doubles, triples, extra-base hits, total bases, hit-by-pitch, stolen bases, stolen base attempts, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
Mound Improvements: Manor improved on its 2018 pitching totals in innings pitched, strikeouts, and strikeouts per nine innings.
Award Winners: Freshman center fielder Shawn Vega (Philadelphia, PA/Olney Charter) was named to the EPAC All-Region Team. The article can be read here. Loya and Mujahid were named to the EPAC Spring 2019 All-Academic Team and it can be read at this link.
Statistical Leaders: The final Blue Jays' statistical leaders can be found here.
National Statistical Leaders: Diaz, Morales, and Romero and the team finished among NJCAA Division III final statistical leaders. The article can be read at this link.
Final 2019 Regular Season Record, Region XIX, and EPAC Finish: Manor finished the regular season 5-22 overall (3-12, 2-6) under second-year head coach Jose Toledo. The Blue Jays are 7-43 overall (4-27, 2-14) and are 1-9 at home, 5-28 on the road, and 1-6 at neutral sites in its first two seasons.