Sophomore lefthander Eric Haughn will take the ball this afternoon against C.W. Post for the Skyhawks. |
Stonehill Looks to Stave Off Elimination on Day Three of NCAA II East Regional
Fourth-seeded and NE-10
Champion Skyhawks need two Saturday wins
to reach Sunday's Championship round
WEST HAVEN, Conn. (May 15, 2010) – Fourth-seeded Stonehill College looks to post a pair of elimination round wins on Saturday to stay alive and reach Sunday's Championship round on day three of the 2010 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament East Regional, hosted by Southern Connecticut State University, at Yale Field today.
Stonehill (30-17, 17-9 NE-10) opens the day with a matchup with fifth-seeded LIU-C.W. Post (32-16-1, 22-8), East Coast Conference Champions, in the second game of the day at 3 p.m. The winner of that game will be right back in action against the loser of today's winner's bracket semifinal between top-seeded and host Southern Connecticut State (37-11-1, 21-5 NE-10) and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University (38-14-1, 19-6-1 NE-10) tonight at 7 p.m. The winner of that game advances to tomorrow's championship round needing two wins to earn the regional title.
Admission for all East Regional games at Yale Field this weekend will be $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for students and senior citizens. Southern Connecticut State will be providing live stats of all regional contests, with links to the Stonehill games available through www.stonehillskyhawks.com.
Stonehill, making its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, has split its first two games of the weekend, opening with a 5-0 win over third-seeded University of New Haven on Thursday behind a two-hit shutout from sophomore lefthander Michael White (Lisbon, N.H./Lisbon). The Skyhawks fell into the loser's bracket with a 6-0 setback to Franklin Pierce last night with Ravens junior lefthander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) firing a one-hit shutout. C.W. Post used a different route in splitting its first two contests, falling to Franklin Pierce, 8-1, before rebounding for a 4-1 win over sixth-seeded Dominican (N.Y.) College in yesterday's opening elimination contest.
Stonehill ranks fifth in the Northeast-10 for team batting average (.274) and earned run average (3.26), ranking fourth in fielding (.965).
Junior first baseman Angelo Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk), a first team All-Conference selection, is hitting .290 (51-for-176) with 32 runs scored, nine doubles, a triple, ten homeruns (2nd NE-10) and 42 RBI (5th) with ten stolen bases this season. His ten homers this season are the most for any Stonehill player in the NE-10's wood bat era (since 2003) and he leads the NE-10 with 33 walks and has also posted a team-best 11 multi-RBI games and 14 multi-hit outings. Senior Mitch Davis (Bow, N.H./Bow), a second team All-NE-10 pick, is hitting a team-best (13th) .309 (58-for-188) with 33 runs scored, 14 doubles (8th), four triples (3rd), two homers and 23 RBI. He leads the team with 18 multi-hit games.
Sophomore Matt Olsen would start today's second game should the Skyhawks advance. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Sophomore lefthander Eric Haughn (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) is set to make his 11th start of the season in game one today for Stonehill. He is 3-2 with a 2.89 earned run average, 31 strikeouts and 22 walks over 62.1 innings in 11 total appearances this season. The Skyhawks would call on sophomore lefthander Matt Olsen (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) in tonight's game, should they advance, for his seventh start of the year (ninth appearance). He is 2-2 with a save and 3.32 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 12 walks over 38.0 innings.
Stonehill has gotten solid production out junior Brenden Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) and sophomore Michael Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull). Shepard closed out all four of the Skyhawks wins at last weekend's NE-10 Championship, saving three, and has made 13 relief appearances this spring, posting a 2-2 record with four saves (5th NE-10) and a 1.65 ERA, 16 strikeouts and five walks over 16.1 innings. Von Stein leads the team with 17 appearances (9th), posting a 3-1 record with five saves (4th), a 1.45 ERA, 19 strikeouts and 11 walks over 31.0 innings.
Freshman Zach Graczyk (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) leads C.W. Post with a .374 (70-for-187) batting average, 50 runs scored, 14 doubles, two triples, a home run and 31 RBI with ten stolen bases. Classmate Casey McKay (North Massapequa, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) is hitting .349 (52-149) with 25 runs scored, two doubles and 21 RBI.
Freshman righthander Kevin Chenicek (Levittown, N.Y./Division Ave) is on target for his ninth start of the season for the Pioneers. He is 403 with a 2.44 earned run average, with 46 strikeouts and 11 walks over 55.1 innings.
The winner of the East Regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships in Cary, N.C., May 22-29, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
2010 NCAA Division II
Baseball Championships
East Regional
Hosted by Southern Connecticut State
University
Yale Field, New Haven,
Conn.
Thursday, May 13
Game 1: #1 Southern Connecticut
8, #6 Dominican 4
Game 2: #2 Franklin Pierce
8, #5 C.W. Post 1
Game 3: #4 Stonehill 5, #3
New Haven 0
Friday, May 14
Game 4: #5 C.W. Post 4, #6
Dominican 1
Dominican (28-18) eliminated
Game 5: #3 New Haven (31-14) at #1 Southern Connecticut 4, #3 New
Haven 1
New Haven (31-15) eliminated
Game 6: #2 Franklin Pierce 6, #4 Stonehill 0
Saturday, May 15
Game 7: #2 Franklin Pierce
(38-14-1) at #1 Southern Connecticut (37-11-1), 11 a.m.
Game 8: #5 C.W. Post (32-16-1) vs. #4 Stonehill (30-17), 3 p.m.
Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser, 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 16
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, Noon
Game 11: Game 10 rematch*, 4 p.m.
* Game 11 only necessary if Game 9 Winner wins Game
10.
