Photo By Jacques Morin
Cross Clayton: The Gaston College Rhinos completed the regular season with 50 win after beating Rockingham Community College 18-2 at Sims Legion Park in Rockingham on April 28. Clayton, a sophomore for Gaston, went 6-1 with a 5.98 ERA through 15 pitching appearances this year. He made 12 starts. On Tuesday, Clayton earned the win throwing the opening inning on Sophomore Day. On April 21, Clayton earned the victory throwing two innings and allowed just two hits in a 15-2 win over Caldwell Community College. Gaston finished the regular season 51-3 and adorned a Region X Regular Season Championship banner before its game on Tuesday.
Ryan Hench: After spending two years at North Carolina, Hench earned his first college victory at the College of Charleston on April 7. Hench came out of the bullpen to throw two-and-one-third scoreless innings with two strikeouts as the Cougars defeated South Carolina 6-4 at Founders Park in Columbia, SC. Hench closed out the win over the Gamcocks. It was the second win for Cougars head coach Chad Holbrook against South Carolina, where he was once the head coach. On April 21, Hench threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in a 7-5 win over Charleston Southern. This season, Hench is 1-0 with a 2.18 ERA. He has 22 strikeouts with 12 walks. All 17 of his appearances have been out of the bullpen.
Jackson Berini: Playing for the College of Charleston, Berini has seen action in 18 games this season. He is hitting .222 with four RBIs.
Quinn Finnegan: Winding down his freshman season at Wagner College, Finnegan has made nine pitching appearances for the Seahawks. On April 22, Finnegan started and threw two-plus innings in a win over Princeton. Finnegan earned a no decision after allowing three runs off three hits. On Tuesday, Wagner defeated St. Peter’s at SIUH Community Park in Staten Island, NY. Finnegan threw two innings out of the bullpen and allowed two runs of three hits with two strikeouts and two walks. The win over St. Peter’s was Wagner’s first game at its campus ballpark this season. The Seahawks are 24-20 overall, 19-8 in the Northeast Conference.
Efrain Morales: A former Cedar Ridge catcher, Morales has started 28 games for Old Dominion this season. Morales is hitting .360 with one home run and 19 RBIs over 28 starts. On Friday, Morales went 2-for-4 with a double in a 6-0 loss to Arkansas State to close a doubleheader at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex in Norfolk, VA. On Sunday, Morales went 1-for-3 as the Monarchs defeated the Red Wolves 5-4 to win the three-game series. The Monarchs will host Richmond on Tuesday.
Bryse Wilson: Wilson earned his first win for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League against the Durham Bulls at Coca-Cola Park on April 22. Wilson struck out ten over six innings, allowing just four hits and one run with no walks. On Thursday, Wilson suffered a 7-0 loss against the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium in New York. He allowed seven runs, all earned, off ten hits with four strikeouts. Through five games with Lehigh Valley, Wilson is 1-3 with a 9.67 ERA with 25 strikeouts and ten walks.
Garrett Sawyer: The Division II Ferrum Panthers closed the season by splitting a doubleheader with Bluefield State at Bowen Field in Bluefield, WV last Monday. Sawyer, a freshman who graduated from Orange last year, threw the final inning of the season for Ferrum, allowing one run off two hits as the Big Blues defeated the Panthers 7-3. For the season, Sawyer made 14 pitching appearances. He went 1-4 with a 6.91 ERA. He had 31 strikeouts and 26 walks. Ferrum wraps up its first season as a Division II team with a 18-28 record, 9-23 in Conference Carolinas.
Colin Hedrick: Finishing his two-year stint with Wake Tech, Hedrick went 1-1 with one save over 13 appearances this season. The Eagles went 26-21 this season, 20-16 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Wyatt Hedrick: Also pitching for Wake Tech, Hedrick appeared in three games this season, most recently against Robeson Community College on March 4.
