4 UMaine players earn spots on All-America East baseball teams

Slugging junior first baseman Jeremiah Jenkins, the first player in America East history to have back-to-back seasons with at least 20 homers, headlines the list of four University of Maine baseball players who received post-season honors on Tuesday.

For the second straight year, Jenkins was chosen to the All-America East first team. He was a second teamer his freshman season and also an All-Rookie team selection.

Senior third baseman-shortstop Jake Marquez was selected to the second team by the league’s coaches along with sophomore pitcher Gianni Gambardella. Freshman pitcher Jason Krieger was picked to the All-Rookie team.

Jenkins hit .341 this season with a league-best 22 home runs to go with 50 runs batted in. He also had 12 doubles in 49 games for the 12-37 Black Bears. He had 19 multiple-hit games and drove in at least one run in 27 including 16 games with two or more RBIs.

He was a third team All-American last year as well as the league’s Player of the Year, hitting 21 homers and knocking in 76 runs last season.

Marquez hit .280 with seven homers and 34 runs batted in. His seven homers and 34 RBIs were both career-highs. He had 11 multiple-hit games including three three-hit performances. This is the first time he has been honored.

Gambardella, who was a first team pick last season as well as being on the All-Rookie team, missed five weeks of the season with tendonitis in his pitching elbow. He was 2-4 with a 5.66 earned run average. But he fared better in conference play, during which he was 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA.

Krieger allowed only one earned run or less in four of his last five outings. He finished with a 1-4 record and a team-low 5.26 ERA.

In his last start, he allowed just five hits and one earned run over seven innings of the Black Bears’ 4-3 loss to Albany on Saturday. He struck out seven and walked two and left with a 3-2 lead.