Baseball: Mattituck grad wins Pitcher of Year award

Steve Ascher, a 2011 Mattituck graduate, capped off a stellar season for the SUNY Oneonta baseball team with the Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year award, given to the top pitcher in the State University of New York Athletic Conference. 

Ascher, a left-handed pitcher who guided the Tuckers to a Long Island Championship his senior season, finished his junior season with a 6-4 record and a 1.82 ERA. He struck out 82 while walking 20 in 69.1 innings. He allowed 14 earned runs all season and threw the most innings of any Oneonta pitcher.

One of Ascher’s two shutouts this season came against Kean University, which was ranked No. 3 nationally at the time. Opponents hit a measly .193 against Ascher this spring.

At an awards ceremony Tuesday, Ascher was honored at Oneonta’s Athlete of the Year along with soccer player Karly DeSimone.

Ascher has steadily improved in his of his three seasons at Oneonta. As a freshman he appeared in eight games and posted a 2-2 record with a 3.27 ERA. As a sophomore he went 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA.