June 21, 2006

BROOKLYN, NY - Former Flyer Luke Trubee made his professional baseball debut on Tuesday night with the Staten Island Yankees throwing two shutout innings of relief on the opening day of the Single A New York-Penn League's season. Trubee was drafted by the Yankees in Round 33 of the 2006 MLB Draft.

Trubee helped the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Cyclones, 18-0, after coming out of the bullpen to start the seventh inning. He allowed just one hit, a two out single in the seventh, and recorded his first strikeout as a pro in the seventh inning. The righthander from Xenia, Ohio also retired the side in order in the eighth inning.

Trubee was an Atlantic 10 Honorable Mention All-Conference selection this season after finishing 9-6 with a 3.95 ERA. He matched his own school record with 82 strikeouts this season in 107.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .273 batting average against him. Trubee also earned a spot on the A-10 All-Championship team after recording a complete-game shutout with six strikeouts in a win over George Washington.

Trubee is the all-time leader in both wins (30) and strikeouts (218) in a career at UD. The 2006 Preseason All-America pick recorded a school-record 12 victories last season to earn A-10 Second Team honors. As a junior, he also tied the single-season school record for innings pitched and strikeouts.

UD has had three pitchers drafted in the past three seasons. Jerry Blevins was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 2004 MLB Draft while Craig Stammen was picked by the Washington Nationals in the 2005 MLB Draft.

Dayton (33-24) finished with its fourth 30-win season since 2001 at 33-24 under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Tony Vittorio. The Flyers also advanced to the Atlantic 10 Championships for the second consecutive season and won their first round game for the second time in four appearances overall. UD placed third out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is the largest baseball conference in the nation.