Bundy Dominates in Owasso Win

Todd Gold

Ben Collman

Photo: Ben Collman, Todd Gold

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Box Score

OWASSO, OK-- Dylan Bundy said he was very disappointed about having the chance to pitch against Archie Bradley and Broken Arrow last night washed away. Today, he took out his frustrations on the Edmond North Huskies. Bundy struck out 16 of the 20 hitters he faced, throwing a complete game shutout. Bundy capped it all off with a mammoth walk-off blast to RF to lead off the bottom of the 6th inning, invoking the mercy rule and give the Rams a 10-0 win.

A large portion of the massive contingent of MLB Crosscheckers, Scouting Directors and Assistant GMs who were in town for last night's scheduled matchup between the Rams and Broken Arrow, stuck around to watch Bundy this afternoon. What they saw was a masterful pitching performance. Bundy not only didn't walk a batter, he did not get into a single three-ball count. Bundy threw a first pitch strike to 80% of hitters and threw 59 of his 76 pitches for strikes (78.8%).

Bundy's fastball consistently sat at 94-97 MPH with hard sinking action, which he threw for a strike 85.2% of the time. After the game Bundy said that he was pleased that he got a chance to use his changeup today. "Since I'm a high school pitcher I don't get to throw my changeup in games too often since it just speeds their bats up, so it was good to get to work on it." He added "my best pitch today was my cutter even though I was throwing (the fastball) pretty hard." Bundy's cutter sat 89-91, his changeup was 81-84 with deceptive arm action and he used it to end three different innings with a strikeout. His least effective pitch today was a mid-upper 70s curveball with hard spin and 12-6 downer break, he "only" threw it for a strike 50% of the time (6-for-12).

Bundy also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a two-run triple in the first inning and a walk-off home run to end the game in the 6th. DH Cory Taylor also had a big day at the plate for the Rams, going 3-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. C Drew Stiner went 1-for-1 with an RBI in addition to working a pair of walks. Stiner, an Oklahoma State commit, showed good receiving skills and a strong arm behind the plate.

When Owasso head coach Larry Turner was asked if Bundy's domination today was out of the ordinary, he shook it off, saying it was just another routine outing by Bundy's lofty standards. When asked if Bundy is the best player he's ever coached Turner replied "he's the best player I've ever seen." Turner added that the biggest area of improvement he's seen from Bundy during his time coaching him has been with his command, explaining "whether it's busting them in or painting the black, he can just put it where he needs to."

Bundy moved to 8-0 in eight starts and has thrown a complete game every time he's taken the mound this season. His season statistics look ridiculous at this point, having struck out 111 while walking just three (0 HBP) over 49 innings. He lowered his season ERA to 0.44 and his WHIP to 0.31. Perhaps the most impressive stat is that Bundy has averaged just 12.4 pitches per inning (3.7 per batter).

The win moves Owasso to 23-1 on the year, and with just nine regular season games left on the schedule, its hard to ignore the Rams' prospects for the state tournament. Bundy said "we have everyone back from last year except for one player, we've got three other pitchers I feel confident in, so I like our chances." Owasso reached the state title game last year for the 13th time in the past 14 years. Turner added "our goal is always to win the last game of the year and we like our chances."

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