As defending Ivy League champion, the Dartmouth baseball team is poised to do big things this spring. The team's 9-4 record as it enters Ivy play is due largely to the strong pitching of starter Kyle Hendricks '12.
Hendricks has pitched brilliantly so far, compiling a 2-1 record in three starts with dominant wins over the United States Military Academy at West Point and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His lone loss came in his first start of the year against the University of Central Florida, in which he surrendered only two runs in five innings.
Head coach Bob Whelan said he has been very pleased with Hendricks' performance so far.
"I think Kyle has pitched exceptionally well," he said. "He's off to a good start and is really focused on the things that we ask all our pitchers to do."
Hendricks made headlines with his performance against Army, in which he racked up 15 strikeouts while allowing only one run on five hits over seven innings. The 15 strikeouts are the most by a Dartmouth pitcher since 1972, when Charlie Janes '72 needed nine innings to strike out 17 against Princeton University, according to DartmouthSports.com.
Hendricks attributed some of his success to a productive bullpen session before the game.
"Me and [Whelan] always have a plan before my starts of what I'm trying to do depending on what team I'm facing," he said. "We were trying to really establish my fastball and work off of that in that start, and it felt real good in the first inning, and I was able to build off of it the whole game."
Hendricks noted that striking out players was not his primary goal going into the game, but rather a side effect of establishing his fastball and following his game plan.
"I wasn't particularly trying to get strikeouts," he said. "I just went out there trying to make good pitches and it ended up working out."
The start earned Hendricks recognition as one of Collegiate Baseball's Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week.
"It's always great to get recognition, but honestly, it doesn't mean much," Hendricks said. "We're trying to win as a team, trying to win [the League Championship] for the third straight year."
In his next start, Hendricks continued his dominance with eight innings of shutout work in an 8-2 win against UMBC, allowing just three hits and a walk. These statistics bring Hendricks' consecutive scoreless innings tally to 12.
Whelan attributes much of Hendricks' success so far to his sound mechanics and strategy of attacking the strike zone with well-placed fastballs.
"The biggest thing is his ability to repeat his delivery and be very consistent so that he's throwing a lot of strikes," Whelan said. "He's been exceptional at getting ahead of hitters and making them put the ball in play and try to beat him instead of beating himself."
Whelan also praised the contributions Hendricks makes to the team off the mound, as his work ethic serves as motivation to other pitchers.
"He's just a great kid," Whelan said. "He's very much a team guy. He's a very hard worker. He's focused on doing whatever he needs to do to prepare and whatever we ask him to do."
Whelan said Hendricks' positive attitude and approach to games also bolster the entire team's play.
"When he pitches, the [rest of the team] goes into the game feeling like we're going to win," he said. "The team plays very crisply, usually, when you have a guy that's throwing as well as he is."
Hendricks downplayed the importance of both the team's early success and his own personal achievements. He said the team still needs to work hard in practice and games to ensure a winning season.
"I feel good about what I'm trying to do out there on the mound," he said. "I'm happy with what I've done so far, but this is all just preparing and getting ready for [the League Championship] because that's really what our season is all about."
Despite the strength of the Big Green lineup, the team will require strong pitching from starters like Hendricks, Cole Susler '12 and Kyle Hunter '13 in order to take home its third consecutive League Championship.
"The team's going to rely on us to go out there, set the tone and keep hitters off balance so we can go out and score runs and get easy wins," Hendricks said.
