Sophomore Michael White notched his fourth win of the season with 7.1 strong innings today.

Stonehill Holds Off Saint Anselm, 2-1

Skyhawks clinch outright postseason bid with fifth-straight win

EASTON, Mass. (April 30, 2010) – Stonehill College, ranked seventh in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, clinched an spot in next week's Northeast-10 Conference Championships outright with a 2-1 victory over Saint Anselm College in NE-10 baseball action at Lou Gorman Field this afternoon. The Skyhawks will return to postseason play for the first time since 2006.

Senior rightfielder Shane Franz (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) led Stonehill's ten-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and run scored. Senior Ryan Healey (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English) batted 2-for-4 with a double and run scored, while classmate Rob Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) hit 1-for-4 with an RBI. Senior Mitch Davis (Bow, N.H./Bow) finished 2-for-5.

Sophomore lefthander Michael White (Lisbon, N.H./Lisbon Regional) was dominant on the mound for Stonehill, earning the win (4-2) as he allowed just the one earned run while scattering five hits and a walk with six strikeouts over 7.1 innings. Classmate Rob Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and worked a scoreless ninth to pin down his fifth save of the season, allowing two hits and a walk with a strikeout in 1.2 innings.

Senior Shane Franz played a role on both Stonehill runs, scoring one and driving in the other, roping a pair of doubles on the afternoon.

Freshman Robert Kelly (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) paced Saint Anselm as he hit 3-for-4 with an RBI. Junior Matt Sucharewicz (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) batted 2-for-4, while freshman Richie Manzi (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth Regional) finished 2-for-5.

Senior David Giarrusso (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) took the loss (2-5), allowing two earned runs on ten hits with four strikeouts and two walks over seven innings.

Stonehill broke through with a run in the second as Franz led off with a double to center and scored on a two-out single to right by Rob Von Stein. The Skyhawks doubled their lead in the fifth as Healey and Franz roped back-to-back two-out doubles down the right field line.

Saint Anselm got on the board in the eighth as freshman Joshua Lafond (Goffstown, N.H./Goffstown) was hit by a White pitch to lead off the inning and then scored when Kelly chased White with a one-out RBI single to left center. The Hawks went on to load the bases with just the one out, but Michael Von Stein escaped the danger with a ground ball to first to get the lead runner at home, before getting a fly out to left that retired the side.

Stonehill (23-16, 15-9 NE-10) is back in action on Sunday when it closes out the regular season at Gorman Field as it hosts the University of New Haven for an NE-10 doubleheader starting at noon. Saint Anselm (11-29, 8-16 NE-10) hosts Assumption College for an NE-10 doubleheader tomorrow at noon.