BROOKLINE — Having thrown 54 pitches last Sunday in probably the best performance of his young life, a day later Brett Dunham got a text from his Northeastern University coach Mike Glavine.
It was something to the effect of: “Will you be available for Tuesday at Fenway Park for the Beanpot Championship?”
“I was tired a bit and a little sore, but there was no way I would turn that offer down,” he emphasized. “I said I was ready.”
Dunham saved the day, again, with the tying run at third base and one out in the ninth.
Strike out. Line out. Save. And win.
Dunham nailed down his second save of the season, two days after his first win.
A closer has been born.
“(Your) adrenaline just takes over,” he said.
That led to celebration time — smack in the middle of Fenway’s perfectly cut green grass.
“It’s a completion of a childhood dream,” said Dunham about pitching at Fenway. “This team works so hard on all aspects of the game. We deserved to win, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
Dunham will remember that 48-hour stretch for the rest of his life. Five strikeouts in three shutout innings — the 9th, 10th and 11th innings on Sunday. Then finishing off Harvard for the Beanpot Championship.
Dunham, a senior, in the final six weeks of his college career, is the quintessential late bloomer.
“He was as good as I have ever seen him. His velocity is now up to 94 and 95 (mph). It’s real,” said head coach Mike Glavine, whose team is now 34-9, has won 22 of its last 23 games and ranks 30th in the country out of 307 NCAA Div. 1 teams in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
“We were in trouble, and we needed some energy and momentum back after losing the lead. He comes in and just shuts them down to give us a chance to win that game and we did. He’s just pitching with a ton of confidence right now.”
Back on April 16, Dunham’s previous “best ever” performance, he tossed a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to end the game against No. 25 ranked Kansas St.
“What he did against Kansas State was incredible. The kid has just been on point. He’s been ‘the guy.’ He’s a dude,” said Glavine.
The previous three years on some very successful Northeastern teams, Dunham was just “one of the guys” out of the bullpen. Over his first three seasons he combined for a 1-0 record with a 4.12 ERA in only 43.2 innings.
Today, he’s the among the last line of defense on one of the best pitching staffs in the country.
Yes, country!
Northeastern leads the nation with 13 shutouts, five ahead of second place Iowa, and walks-and-hits per nine innings (WHIP) 1.10.
After Tuesday’s dramatic save at Fenway, Dunham is now 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA and has given up just 11 hits and five walks, while striking out 20 batters over 22.1 innings. He ranks second in ERA in the Colonial Athletic Association amongst relievers.
Sounds like a “dude,” doesn’t it?
“Every time Brett has a great game, I’ll get a number of texts saying ‘Brett did this’ and ‘Brett did that’ from Ryan Griffin, (NU assistant coach) Chris Bosco or Chris’s dad,” said North Andover High coach Todd Dulin. “It’s more texts than I have ever received (the last three years).
“Brett,” said his former high school coach, “is easily one of the hardest workers I have ever coached. You could see this success coming.”
After last year, toting an ERA of 4.50, Dunham altered a few things.
He added muscle to his already big, 6-foot-2 frame. With that came some power on his pitches.
His fastball leaped four to five miles per hour and his slider, and spin rate, became more devastating.
Dunham credits his work with Northeastern’s highly-acclaimed pitching coach Kevin Cobb, who made some subtle changes to his mechanics.
Dunham’s confidence soon followed.
“His success has not been on a straight line,” said Glavine. “He’s had to work for everything. He works his butt off. Through the first couple of years here, he and I have had some uncomfortable conversations where I would say, ‘Brett you’ve got to do more, you’ve got to get stronger and throw harder and throw more strikes’. He kept saying ‘Yes coach, I’ll prove it to you’.”
Dunham did.
“It just feels like I have more of an impact (on the team this year) and it’s motivating. It’s motivating for me and the younger guys as well I believe,” said Dunham. “This year the mindset is all my experience has led up to this point so I might as well show it while I’m out there. I just have this ‘Nothing-to-lose’ mindset.”
His work is not even close to being done.
The Huskies, first place in the CAA standings at 16-2, have big weekends ahead against Delaware, William & Mary and N.C. A&T before the CAA Tournament and hopefully an NCAA tourney berth.
“I can’t wait for the next few weeks,” said Dunham. “This is what I always wanted when I came here. I want the ball in big games.”
Mission accomplished.
You can email Jamie Pote at jpote@eagletribune.com.