Pitching under pressure

By Kelly Griffith
Staff writer

Imagine you’re a pitcher on the mound. Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Your team is ahead by one, but the bases are loaded. The count is full. Bright stadium lights highlight a sweat bead rolling down your face from the summer heat. It all comes down to one pitch. Will you crack under the pressure?

UNCP junior and new starting pitcher for the Braves Kevin Dunn would not. He has plenty of experience under pressure. In fact this potential recruit for the Atlanta Braves, his favorite team, and Four Oaks, N.C. native has been playing baseball since his dad taught him the game at age five.

Now 20, Dunn has not had a year off from his favorite sport since then. He played on four summer teams in one summer at the age of 14.

Even with all of his experience, Dunn still had some major obstacles to face.

During his first season as a pitcher for the Barton College Bulldogs, Dunn pitched so much he tore a ligament in his right arm.

“I was at Barton College and everything was fine. And it started to hurt one day,” Dunn said. “After that it got worse. It was just worn out.”

Since undergoing ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, commonly known as Tommy John surgery, in August 2003, Dunn has been under constant pressure to return power and speed to his pitching arm.

Now a common procedure for pitchers, Tommy John surgery re-fuses a ligament to the bone. Recovery usually takes more than a year.

Braves’ recruit

“I actually came back in less than a year and then I started having problems,” Dunn said, pointing to the long scar on the inside of his right elbow. “I am just trying to get back the strength.”

But Dunn is not the only one on the road to recovery. In January 2005, Dunn’s father, Wayne, had quadruple bypass surgery.

Dunn said he has always been close to his dad, but has become closer to him because of the experience.

“Since then, you realize the important things,” Dunn said.

Dunn said doctors told his father he could have had a heart attack if the four blockages in his heart had not been caught early enough.

“We’re lucky,” Dunn said. “We’re really lucky.”

To prepare for the UNCP Braves baseball season Dunn played on the Coastal Plain League this summer, despite his injury. The league consists of the best players from divisions one and two.

Dunn said players wouldn’t make a spot on the team if they were just good.

“If you are decent, you won’t get in,” Dunn said.

Dunn said he is in contact with the recruiter from Atlanta and hopes to use his two more years of eligibility on a college team to make his dad proud and prepare himself for the pressure of that one pitch.

" I plan on giving it all I’ve got," Dunn said.