Heath Wasylow Strikes Out 14, No. 22/24 Baseball Downs Stonehill, 2-0, to Advance to Final of NCAA Championship East Regional
Senior right-hander tosses four-hit shutout
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Wasylow threw a four-hit shutout and recorded a career-high 14
strikeouts against Stonehill on Saturday night.WEST HAVEN, Conn. (May 16, 2010) – With his fellow Class of 2010 members graduating earlier in the day back in Rindge, senior right-hander Heath Wasylow (Rehoboth, Mass.) threw a four-hit shutout and struck out 14 to lead the No. 22/24 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 2-0 victory over fourth-seeded Stonehill in the nightcap of the third day of the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Southern Connecticut State at historic Yale Field.
With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 39-15-1 and advances to Sunday afternoon's championship round, beginning at noon against top seed Southern Connecticut State. The Ravens will have to defeat SCSU twice to lay claim to the East Regional title. With the loss, Stonehill concludes its season at 31-18.
Wasylow was the story of the night under the lights for the Ravens. He faced just four over the minimum as he tossed a four-hit shutout, walked one and struck out a career-high 14 on his way to the win (3-3). Wasylow notched nine of his 14 strikeouts against the first five hitters in the Stonehill lineup and struck out eight of the nine players who started the game for the Skyhawks.
Franklin Pierce got the only run it would need in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, sophomore first baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) lined a single into center field, moved to second on a sacrifice fly and went to third on a single to left by senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine). Wenrich would then score on a sacrifice fly to right by freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.).
The Ravens would add an insurance run in the top of the seventh to create the 2-0 final. Junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) started things with a one-out bunt single and then moved to second on a groundout. He would score from there on an RBI single to left field by senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.).
Sophomore left-hander Matt Olsen started and took the loss (2-3) on the mound for Stonehill. Over seven innings of work, he allowed two runs on five hits, walked four and struck out three.