'Dream Come True!' Gunnar Dennis 'Tremendous' For Rebels in Swayze Debut
Life at Meridian Community College and life at Ole Miss are two very different experiences. Just ask Gunnar Dennis.
The junior left-handed pitcher toed the rubber for the Rebels on Saturday night in his first start at Swayze Field, and he has gone from regularly performing in front of about 500 fans to thousands in less than a calendar year.
Butterflies were understandably a factor for him in Ole Miss' 12-2 win over the High Point Panthers, but you couldn't tell that by his performance, one that saw him rack up six strikeouts alongside just two walks.
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"Obviously nerves were there, but my first-ever outing at Swayze was completely like a dream come true," Dennis said on Saturday. "It was awesome. When you get a 4-0 lead in the first, it definitely helps. It makes you just go out there and throw strikes and get outs."
Ole Miss is now 2-0 on the year in games where Dennis draws the start, and with a total of 8.2 innings under his belt at this level, he is continuing to find his footing with his new team. He gave up six hits on Saturday night, but he danced around those baserunners with poise, and that is becoming the name of his game.
"I feel good all-around," Dennis said. "Not walking too many people or giving free passes. Yeah, I'll give up hits and stuff, but all-in-all, I feel pretty good where I am right now."
He also drew the praise of his head coach Mike Bianco on Saturday night. Bianco was a catcher in his college days, so he understands what it takes to be successful on the mound. When his team needed to snap its three-game losing streak this weekend, Dennis proved to be the answer.
"I thought Gunnar Dennis was tremendous on the mound," Bianco said. "We needed some zeros early. I thought he pitched terrific, and I don't think they made it easy on him.
"He was able to not only put some zeros up and throw the ball in the strike zone, but when they had baserunners and hits--[Cael] Chatham is as good a hitter as there is, and he was able to get him twice with runners on base, which are times in the game that I think changes the game."
The Rebels are scheduled to conclude their weekend series against High Point on Sunday in a 1:30 p.m. CT first pitch at Swayze Field. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.