Senior pitcher Michael White and Stonehill's baseball team all smiles after White tosses his first career no-hitter against Pace University.
By Desmond Bernal
After the Skyhawks suffered game one to Pace University, they needed a spark which they witnessed in game two and something many will never forget.
Senior Michael White threw his first career complete game and no-hitter, retiring 13-straight batters with a season-high seven strikeouts in a 1-0 seven-inning shutout on Saturday, April 17.
“I did not realize it until going into the last inning when I looked up at the scoreboard and saw zero in the hits column,” White said.
Head coach Pat Boen said it was a special day for the team, and it is something that does not happen in college baseball every day.
The program’s last no-hitter was back in 2009 when Matt Giusti retired 21 batters with six strikeouts in a 9-0 win over Assumption College.
White has been working on his slider this season and developing some off-speed pitches to go alongside his fastball.
Before the game, pitching coach Michael Young said that White could not get a feel for his slider, so he focused more on his fastball going into the game.
“It was surreal because it was not a game where he had his stuff, but still managed to get ahead of hitters in the count and throw the ball hard,” Young said.
White said he was able to have great control of his fastball, which allowed him to hit his spots, then later in the game was able to add in some changeups to mix it up on the hitters.
This moment was remarkable for the team and White due to their season getting canceled last season because of the pandemic.
“It is a memory I will have for the rest of my life,” White said. “I never threw a no-hitter in my baseball career, so it was pretty special to do it in my fifth year here, especially after everything last year with the season getting canceled.”
White hopes this moment can be a turning point for the Skyhawks as they head into the last month of their season.
The Skyhawks have eight games left in their season with a conference record 6-10 and an overall record 11-12, sitting in fifth place in their division.
They host Saint Anslem College this weekend, Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2, in a four-game series with the first pitch set for 1:00 p.m on Lou Gorman Field.