The Dulins Dodgers-Henson entered Saturday's game against Chain Select with an undefeated record and an opportunity to win their pool and advance to bracket play in the Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational. The Dodgers were riding high off the momentum of a 4-3 victory against Top Notch on Thursday and a 15-1 drubbing of Team Elite South on Friday. Chain Select entered the game having won one and lost one and was also looking for a shot to advance to the next round.
The Dulins Dodgers program has been around since 1990. Tim Dulin, former fifth round draft pick by the Baltimore Orioles, founded the program and initially focused on instruction-based baseball camps. As the program grew they expanded to competitive teams, the Dodgers, and have expanded their age focus to work on baseball development from a young age throughout high school.
Coach Julian Henson is a former Dulins Dodgers athlete and now is managing one of the Dodgers teams. He spoke on some of the history of the program and the development process for their athletes.
“I attended Dulins for my first baseball lesson in 1992,” said Henson. “It started with lessons at first and then we expanded into the high school age and over the past two years we’ve expanded from ages 9-18. It’s been a long road but it’s been a good one.”
Henson and the Dodgers had watched Chain Select earlier in the tournament when they were defeated by Top Notch. It’s never a bad idea to get a look at your upcoming opponent in a game-setting in preparation for whatever the opposing team may throw your way.
“We saw Chain Select against Top Notch,” said Henson. “We were doing a little bit of scouting. They have a good ball team, and I told the players if we continue to throw strikes and play the game clean we’re going to be able to get a victory and advance to bracket play.”
Analyzing the playing style of Chain Select allowed for Henson and the other coaches to develop a strategy and game plan for how they wanted to approach the game. The plan was to be aggressive at the plate and on the mound, swinging early and pounding the strike zone.
“The game plan is to be able to work away and work on the inside half so they don’t get too comfortable,” said Henson. “Chain barrels baseballs up and they like to get ahead early with the fastball so we’ve been talking about attacking the fastball early and putting pressure on the defense with hard ground balls and line drives.”
Although the Dodgers are fighting to win the championship, the players and coaches realize that these events are about exposing players to attending scouts and coaches. Maurice Hampton Jr., the class of 2019 no. 1 overall player in the state of Tennessee and the no. 2 outfielder in the class nationally, realizes that the scouts and coaches in attendance make the players work harder and play harder because they know that everyone is watching.
“Events like this give you better exposure,” Hampton Jr. said. “Coaches could be watching any game. Everything is recorded so everyone can look back at what you did.”
The scouts and coaches attending each game also benefit the Dulins program. The better the team performs and the more players they have receive college scholarships, then the Dulins team will be able to recruit bigger and better talent.
“As with any other organization the better you do the more looks you get,” said Henson. “And the more looks you get the more scholarships your kids get. As a result better prospects want to come and join your organization.”
The Dodgers suffered a setback before the tournament even started this weekend as star catcher Austin Kelly was not with the team. Kelly, a 2019 Mississippi State commit, is the No. 1 overall player in the state of Mississippi for the class of 2019 and the no. 2 catcher overall for the class. He will not be with the team this weekend so they would need to make-up for his production behind the plate and offensively.
Friday afternoon’s game was a tough loss for the Dodgers as they were defeated by Chain Select by a score of four to two.
The game was a pitcher’s duel for the majority of the game. Drew Bell started the game on the mound for the Dodgers and was able to keep the Chain offense at bay through four innings, only allowing two to score in the first inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Charles Douglas hit a hard line drive to right field that ended up being an inside-the-park homerun for Douglas. Chain Select tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth and that was enough to shut the door on the Dodgers.
Chain Select’s starting pitcher Hayden Harrison was able to dominate the Dodgers lineup for a complete game. He struck out seven on the day only allowing two hits and two runs. Harrison had a very deceptive delivery and was able to fool hitters with his sidearm delivery.
The Dodgers fell to 2-1 in the tournament after today’s loss but are a program on the rise. The developmental process is key for any competitive program and the Dulins program has been perfecting the process for two and a half decades. Whatever happens with their bracket fate they have asserted themselves as a top program for competitive play and for development of young athletes.