Ben Heller has gotten off to a tremendous start to begin his junior season at Olivet Nazarene University (Illinois). Through his first three starts of the season Heller has pitched 18.2 innings, allowing only 11 hits and one earned run, while recording 25 strikeouts. He currently carries a 2-1 record with a miniscule 0.48 ERA. The Olivet Nazarene University baseball team is coming off a 33-win season and a third consecutive trip to the NCCAA World Series. Heller will bring summer league experience with him to Wisconsin Rapids after spending the 2011 summer pitching for the Athletes in Action Fire in the Alaska Baseball League. He finished with a team-best 2.20 ERA in 14 appearances and was selected to play in the league’s All-Star Game. Athletes in Action is a campus and pro sports ministry. As a sophomore at Olivet Nazarene, Heller appeared in 14 games (13 starts) and finished the season with a 4-6 record. In 66.1 innings pitched, he struck out 55 batters while allowing 27 walks. He was named Academic All-Conference during the spring of 2011. As a freshman, he appeared in 16 games (13 starts) and posted a 6-6 record and 4.11 ERA. In 76.2 innings on the mound he struck out 41 batters. Heller is a native of Whitewater, Wisconsin where he earned First Team All-Conference, Academic All-State, and First Team All-District baseball honors as a senior in 2009.