Sophomore lefthander Michael White was dominant in posting his fifth win of the year after flirting with a no-hitter for five-plus innings.

2010 NE-10 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
White Pitches #4 Stonehill Past #3 New Haven, 4-1

Sophomore lefthander faces minimum through five, carries no-hitter into sixth

RINDGE, N.H. (May 6, 2010) – Near flawless pitching from sophomore lefthander Michael White (Lisbon, N.H./Lisbon Regional) and a pair of two-run home runs lifted fourth-seeded Stonehill College, ranked fourth in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Regional poll, to a 4-1 victory over third-seeded University of New Haven, ranked third in the region, in opening day action of the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference baseball championship, hosted by Franklin Pierce University, at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field tonight.

Stonehill (26-16, 17-9 NE-10), participating in its first NE-10 championship since 2006, advances to the winner's bracket where it will battle second-seeded and host Franklin Pierce (34-12-1, 19-6-1 NE-10) tomorrow at 7 p.m. The Ravens rallied for a 6-5 victory over fifth-seeded Adelphi University in ten innings in today's second game. New Haven (31-12, 18-8 NE-10) will look to avoid elimination tomorrow when it faces sixth-seeded Merrimack College (20-17, 14-12 NE-10), 5-2 upset winners over top-seeded Southern Connecticut State University in today's opening game.

White earned the win (5-2) on the mound for Stonehill, yielding just a run on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks in eight-plus innings of work. He faced the minimum through five and a third innings and didn't allow a hit until back-to-back one-out singles that led to New Haven's lone run in the sixth. White retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced, issuing just a leadoff walk in the third which was quickly erased with a double-play.

White also contributed on offense, hitting 2-for-4 with a double and three stolen bases. Junior Angelo Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) paced the Skyhawks by hitting 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored, while senior Ryan Healey (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English) batted 1-for-4 with a key two-run home run. Junior Scott Hackett (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) chipped in by going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run scored.

Junior Angelo Bruno's team-leading ninth home run of the season put Stonehill up 2-0 in the first inning (PHOTO BY Richard Orr).

Junior Brenden Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) struck out the only two batters he faced in the ninth to notch his second save of the season, while sophomore reliever Michael Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) also retired the only batter he faced in the inning for the Skyhawks.

Senior Kyle Donnelly (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) paced New Haven as he hit 1-for-3 with a run scored. Junior Tom Rombilus (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) batted 1-for-4 with an RBI, while sophomore Kyle Pettoruto (Andover, Mass./St. John's Prep) finished 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.

Senior righthander Chris Smith (Shelton, Conn./Emmett O'Brien Tech) took the loss (6-3) on the mound for New Haven, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and two walks over 6.2 innings.

Stonehill provided White with all the offense he would need in its first at bat as Hackett singled to left with one out, followed by Bruno's team-leading ninth home run of the season to left. The Skyhawks used another two-run blast to double their lead in the third when Bruno drew a two-out walk before Healey belted his second homer of the season to right.

New Haven finally mustered a hit off White with one out in the sixth as Donnelly broke up the no-hit bid with a single to left center. Sophomore David Wirkus (Orange, Conn./Fairfield Prep Jesuits) followed with a single of his own down the rightfield line that pushed Donnelly to third.  Rombilus then drove in the lone Chargers run when he reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a throwing error. White recovered to get the final out,  retired New Haven in order in the seventh and worked around a one-out double in the eighth before being lifted after allowing the first two batters of the ninth to reach, bringing the tying run to the plate.

Von Stein came on and got a ground out that pushed the base runners into scoring position, but Shepard entered and blew away the next two batters to seal the Skyhawks eight-straight victory and third win over New Haven in the last five days.