July 19, 2022

Perachi opens draft for D-III Nation

More news about: Salve Regina

Dominic Perachi was the only 2022 D-III Player selected in the 2022 MLB amateur draft. He was the 230th selection in the eleventh round, taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates. This is the latest the first D-III player heard their name since Danny Cody, from Baldwin Wallace was selected in the 17th round in 2019. Quinn Gudaitis was selected in the 16th round by Detroit. Gudaitis graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 2021 and used his last year of eligibility at Division II University of Springfield.

Dominic Perachi, LHP, Waynesburg

Pittsburgh, 11th round, No. 230 overall

Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 190.
Bats: Left. Throws: Left.
Hometown: Washington Depot, Conn.

Dominic Perachi was the only D-III Player selected in the 2022 MLB amateur draft. He was the 230th selection in the eleventh round, taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Perachi was dominate in 2022, earning D3baseball.com first team and Region 2 Pitcher of the Year honors.

Salve Regina athletics photo by George Corrigan

Perachi began his 2022 campaign with an immaculate inning (nine pitches, nine strikes, three outs) in the season-opening first frame against Johnson & Wales University (W, 7-0). He finished with 16 strikeouts over seven innings and earned multiple weekly accolades including Commonwealth Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week, D3baseball.com Team of the Week, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association.

His next start came in Florida when the Seahawks took on Farmingdale State and the only hit allowed was a dribbler up the first base line to the first batter he faced. He struck out 13 Rams and then returned to the mound later that week in the Sunshine State to face a perennial NCAA postseason participant Southern Maine and handcuffed the Huskies for the second time in two straight matchups (last year's NCAA Regional in Hartford, Conn., hosted by Trinity College).

Returning to New England, Perachi took the bump in the first of several weekend matchups with CCC foes and extended his string of starts without allowing an earned run to five. Wentworth was the first team to notch an earned run against the junior lefty and that did not come until the seventh frame of an eight-inning, complete-game outing where Perachi struck out a season-high 17 batters.

He was charged with another earned run in a 9-2 victory over Suffolk University in Boston while striking out nine Rams. A mid-week matchup with previously nationally-ranked Roger Williams University, then undefeated in CCC play, gave Perachi the opportunity to vault the Seahawks onto a path to first place in the league.

Perachi faced the Hawks again among his final three outings which also included a pair of nationally-ranked teams, No. 16/22 Endicott College and No. 11 University of Lynchburg. In each of those three starts, he reached double-digit strikeouts to establish a new single-season program record of 120 Ks.

The Seahawks (30-13-2) clinched first place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with a doubleheader sweep of Endicott, also undefeated in CCC play before meeting in Newport, on the final weekend of the regular season. Perachi matched his season-high in innings pitched (eight) and exited against the Gulls with the game tied before Salve Regina won on a walk-off basehit from Chris Veneruso in the bottom of the ninth. Perachi had three combined shutouts on the season.

Quinn Gudaitis, RHP, Illinios Wesleyan

Detroit, 16th round, No. 477 overall

Ht.: 6-7. Wt.: 225.
Bats: Right. Throws: Right.
Hometown: Washington Depot, Conn.

Former Illinois Wesleyan University standout Quinn Gudaitis was chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the 16th round of the Major League Baseball Draft Tuesday, July 19. Gudaitis, who last pitched for Division II University of Springfield, graduated from IWU in 2021.

Illinois Wesleyan athletics photo

"We are incredibly proud of Quinn," IWU Head Baseball Coach Dennis Martel exclaimed. "Quinn was a great Titan during his time at Illinois Wesleyan and built off of that this past season at UIS. We look forward to following his professional career and cheering him on every step of the way."

Gudaitis is the first Titan taken in the draft since Cory Lapinski and Drew Himes were selected in 2005. Lapinski was an 11th round pick by the Houston Astros, with Himes going in the 19th round (Houston Astros).

In his lone season with the Prairie Stars, Gudaitis proved to be one of the top pitchers in all of Division II. The six-foot-seven righty compiled an 8-3 overall record behind 14 starts and three relief appearances. He ranked seventh nationally with 13.57 strikeouts per nine innings, fanning 100 batters in 66.1 innings of work. Gudaitis, who posted a 4.34 ERA at UIS, held opponents to a .248 batting average. He led Illinois-Springfield to its first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship tournament and is the second player in UIS history to be taken in the MLB Draft. A Second Team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference pick, he allowed just 64 hits and 29 walks.

During his time donning the Green and White, Gudaitis was a two-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Pitcher of the Week honoree. He garnered Second Team All-CCIW accolades in 2019 before seeing his final two seasons at IWU cut short due to COVID and injury. 

The Arlington Heights, Ill. product made 34 appearances as a Titan, including 19 starts. He went 13-4 at IWU, boasting a 2.73 earned run average over the span. Gudaitis struck out 155 over 131.2 innings of work, allowing just 14 extra base hits over the entirety of his Illinois Wesleyan career.