FAIRFAX, Va. – Pitcher Ben Shields has been signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees.
 
Shields, a native of Boston, Mass., just completed a graduate student season with the Patriots.  He finished the season with a 7-4 record and 4.69 ERA in 17 appearances with 16 starts.
 
Shields is the fourth Mason player in program history to sign with the Yankees.
 
Selected Atlantic 10 Conference Second Team All-Conference pitcher, Shields led the team in starts (16) and strikeouts (107), tied for first in wins (7) and ranked second in innings pitched (80.2).  Nationally, he tied for 30th in the NCAA in strikeouts (107).  Shields pitched at least 5.0 innings in 11 of his 16 starts.
 
Among A-10 leaders, Shields ranked first in starts (16) and strikeouts (107), tied for first in wins (7) and was sixth in innings pitched (80.2).  He walked just 36 batters, tied for the 16th-fewest in the league.
 
Shields helped the Patriots set a new program record for strikeouts in a season (516), post the lowest team ERA in the Atlantic 10 and the lowest by the program since 2018 (5.02) and record the lowest opponent batting average in school history (.258).