Bowling and baseball: Southeastern's Dylan Major is all about throwing strikes
EASTON — Strikes.
That's what Southeastern Regional baseball pitcher aims to do every time he takes the mound.
Throwing strikes is a relative new task for Major, but he's used to the art of precision placement elsewhere.
“I started pitching like four or five years ago,” said Major. “But what helps my arm and my off-speed is from bowling, (I've) been bowling my whole life.”
Dylan Major's older brother, Aaron, is a professional bowler and champion. Hitting the lanes with his older brother has been a key reason why he's struck out 47 batters this season.
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“It helps boost my arm strength,” said Major. “I’m throwing like a 15-pound ball down the lane every weekend so it helps with my arm strength when I throw the (baseball).”
Strong season pitching
On Thursday, Major's Hawks lost to Bristol-Plymouth, 2-0, but he had yet another strong pitching performance. He pitched into the eighth inning of the extra-inning loss and allowed just three hits, one run and struck out seven.
Through the five games he’s pitched in, Major has only allowed 10 runs and 21 hits total. Not bad when looking at the 124 batters he’s faced and 442 pitches he’s thrown. The crown jewel was a no-hitter against Blue Hills with 13 strikeouts.
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“He keeps us in every single game,” said Southeastern coach Eric Belton. “And it’s a credit to him. He was out here in February, throwing the ball from the mound to the backstop ready to go."
“Great kid, you can’t ask for anything more than that. He’s a hard worker and it shows."
Defensive highs, offensive woes
Andrew Haddigan, Nicholas Arsenault, Darren Spencer and Nicholas Sturdevant had hits for the Hawks during Thursday's game, but the offense largely laid dormant. Southeastern did step up defensively.
That defense helped Major on the mound.
“Defensively we were a plus,” said Major. “Everyone was making plays so it made my life on the mound a lot easier. If we can get the bats going it would be really key. I know we can hit.”
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Now the Hawks will look to get out of funk they’ve been in losing two-straight games. After going 5-1 at the beginning of the season, it’s apparent that their collective batting slump has caught up them.
“We've got to be more aggressive at the plate,” said Belton. “And that’s where we’ve been at for a while now. I think we take too many pitches and fall behind early in the count.”
Colin Wilbur finished with 10 strikeouts for Bristol-Plymouth. Zach Branco and Colby Robertson scored runs in the eighth inning thanks to RBIs from Jamari Harris and Brayden Alves.
Fight for positioning
As for Southeastern, they’ll look to bounce back and it’ll start in the batting cage. As for Major, he’s their ace with little time to spare before the season ends.
“Major had an outstanding game,” said Belton. “He’s our ace, he’s our stud pitcher, it would be nice to give him a little run support, but ultimately I’m proud of him.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Southeastern's Dylan Major is a standout bowler and baseball pitcher
