A lot has happened since March 1. One thing that is not on that list is an earned run being scored on Dowling’s Tyler Badamo. It is a streak that has spanned 69 innings and deflated his ERA from 2.35 to 0.43, tops in the nation among Divison-II pitchers.
“To be honest I try not to sit and think about it,” said the senior. “If someone had told me in the beginning of the year that I was going to throw this many innings without giving up an earned run I would have laughed at them and probably told them they were crazy,” he added.
In reality, he is now laughing at the competition that has compiled a feeble three extra-base hits during his 84 inning season. Additionally, he has now accumulated a program-record 108 strikeouts against a mere 17 walks. He is 7-2 on the season.
According to him, he has not done anything different from the beginning of the season. “My goal each day is to try and enjoy what’s going on each day as much as possible. The end of the year is approaching and my time is running out as a college athlete. I only have two guaranteed starts left as of now and I want to make the most of it. When I am on the mound my mind is not on the streak,” he said.
To be fair, some people have noted the streak does come with an asterik. He has allowed 10 runs to come across the plate during this time, although they have all been considered unearned. Even so, even you counted all the earned and unearned runs he would still have a 2.03 ERA and he has averaged eight inning per start.
Dowling is currently 29-11 and third in the region. They are the clear-cut favorite to win the ECC conference.
Badamo noted that he is most pleased about “our team’s success thus far”, and they “haven’t really cooled off in any category as a team.”
