BC goal: Get ’er Dunn
Will start NCAA bid with converted closer
The Boston College baseball program is in a better place because of Justin Dunn’s transition from lockdown closer to a top of the rotation starter.
The 6-foot-2 junior righthander from Freeport, N.Y., gets the ball tomorrow (4 p.m., ESPN3) when the Eagles face Tulane in the opening round of the NCAA Division 1 tournament.
BC (31-20) received an atlarge bid and drew the No. 3 seed in the Oxford, Miss., Regional as one of a record 10 Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the field of 64. Host Mississippi faces Utah in the opener of the double elimination bracket.
BC coach Mike Gambino had other options but elected to start Dunn against the Green Wave (39-19) with workhorse junior righthander Mike King starting the second game Saturday against Ole Miss or Utah.
“This is awesome and this is what you work for to get a chance to play in (the College World Series in) Omaha and we are ready to go against Tulane (tommorrow),” Dunn said after yesterday’s two-hour practice at Shea Field.
“A lot of people look at Northeast baseball and say, ‘They can’t play against schools down South.’ But with us being in the regional, it shows we can play with anybody in the country. We have guys up here that can make a run in the postseason.”
Dunn began the season in the bullpen, where he recorded a win and two saves with 17 strikeouts and three walks in nine appearances. In his debut as a starter against defending national champion Virginia on April 9, Dunn made a splash, allowing two hits over five scoreless innings in a 3-2 home victory against the Cavaliers. In six starts, he has a 1.22 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 12 walks.
Dunn threw his first complete game May 21 against No. 22 Georgia Tech in Atlanta. He gave up six hits, three runs, two earned with no walks and a careerhigh nine strikeouts in the Eagles’ 8-3 victory.
“My arm feels good and I have my legs under me,” Dunn said yesterday. “Coming out of the ’pen you are throwing a lot of highpressure pitches, and as a starter you have the chance to get yourself out of those high-pressure situations.
“When you’re a starter it’s about backing off and using more of my body actually.”
Dunn had enough success to be voted an All-ACC third-team selection despite limited innings. He is projected to be a first-round pick in next week’s MLB Draft. Dunn throws a fourseam and two-seam fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and owns the confidence to deliver them all for strikes.
King is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound power pitcher from Warwick, R.I. He is 7-4 in 14 starts, pitching a teamhigh 911⁄ innings with a 3.15 ERA. Gambino said he believes the tandem at the top of the rotation was tested in the ACC and can match up with anybody.
“Justin has been an unbelievable boost to our pitching staff,” King said. “He has all the stuff in the world and he’s managed to tame it over nine innings like we saw at Georgia Tech.”