Swamp Bats profiles: Michael Dunnigan

Michael Dunnigan

Michael Dunnigan was the winning pitcher for Keene when the Swamp Bats won the nightcap of a split a doubleheader with Laconia Tuesday night.

A month ago Dunnigan was 0-2 and looked every bit the fellow who wasn’t enjoying baseball. One June 24, against Laconia of all teams, Dunigan gave up 9 hits and 4 earned runs while lasting just 3.1/3 innings. Since then, he’s won his two starts and done well in relief.

Before, I was giving up hits back to back and now, I’m mixing all my stuff well, keeping them off balance,” he said Monday.

That brings us back to the first time we spoke to Dunnigan, before the July 5 game v the Blue Sox.“Everyone has something to work on. For me, I just started to throw a slider this season; I’m working on throwing it for a strike and turn it into my put-away pitch as well,” he said at the time.  Including that Laconia game, Dunnigan had given up 20 hits in 15 1/3 innings, 9 against the Muskrats. “After the season (at Saint Leo University) I took about two weeks off.”  Too much time, it turns out. “Whenever I stop throwing, my velocity drops. Once I got back to a routine, it eventually came back to me.”

He has been throwing harder and in Tuesday’s win, Dunnigan went 4 innings, surrendered 4 hits and recorded two strikeouts. Says pitching coach Pascal Paul: “That’s testament to him working hard and wanting to be better.” Paul also praises the job Michael has done in relief. “He’s done whatever we ask him to do. He’s thrown one walk this year, the only pitcher to have that on our staff.”

With a smile and great amusement, Dunnigan disagrees with his coach. “No, I don’t have any, I don’t know where that started,” he protests. “I don’t know where I got that walk from but I don’t have one, I know I don’t,” he said through a broad smile.

Oh, he also gave up no walks Tuesday.  

A month from now, he’ll be back at Saint Leo to continue his studies and work on his pitching.

 “I’m just throwing to the best of my ability. This is a huge year, my junior year. I’ll be draft-eligible, he says. “I want to play on the next level and I hope someone gives me that chance.”