Right-hander Dylan Vigue (Michigan) rifled a backfoot slider to Aiva Arquette (Washington) for strike three, spun off the mound to celebrate with an emphatic fist pump and a confident stroll off the mound that embodied the record-breaking outing.

Vigue worked 5 ⅔ innings and walked back to the dugout with a beaming grin which was reciprocated by his energized teammates waiting to greet him in front of the Red Sox dugout. Vigue recorded a career-high nine strikeouts and matched Brewster’s Patrick Forbes for the most strikeouts in a Cape League game this season.

A product of Leominster, Massachusetts, Vigue’s dominant day at Red Wilson Field occurred just two hours from his hometown as he struck out the side in the third and retired the last 12 hitters he faced en route to his second-longest outing of his collegiate career.

Vigue pitches with palpable energy and tenacity which can plague a pitcher when the emotion takes over. That didn’t occur 60 feet, 6 inches from the mound to home plate on Friday as Vigue maximized the chip on his shoulder to find his groove and guide Yarmouth-Dennis to a 8-2 win over Chatham.

“Honestly that’s my biggest strength is going out there wanting to compete and attack every batter and not really being scared of any kid based on what school they're from or anything,” Vigue said. “Pitching every batter the same and knowing my stuff's gonna be there so I'm going out there and being a dog.”

Vigue’s no-fear mindset was on full display as the right-hander pounded the strike zone during his outing where he threw 64% of his pitches for strikes. Vigue said his ability to locate blended with the trust he had in his defense allowed him to consistently attack hitters throughout each at-bat.

Vigue bounced back after allowing four runs on eight hits in four innings against first-place Wareham on June. 21. The biggest change from a week ago for Vigue came in the pitch sequencing where he limited his “repetitive” usage of the fastball and said he “kept hitters on their toes today by throwing all pitches in all counts.”

Vigue said each of his three pitches were working and he mixed them effectively as his low-to-mid-90s fastball with sink movement played off his upper-80s slider and cutter. Vigue painted the corners with the fastball routinely and made it difficult on right-handed hitters with the slider. Vigue’s battery mate, Brady Neal (LSU), behind the plate recognized how valuable the horizontal movement was and how all three pitches played into Vigue’s favor.

“He's got really good movement on his pitches,” Neal said. “The sinker is good, it's got a lot of horizontal. The slider is good, the cutter is good, especially when they're all in the strike zone, and that's what it was tonight, three pitches for strikes, so it was really impressive.”

Vigue was ranked inside the top 150 starting pitchers for the 2024 season by D1Baseball.com, and the Michigan Wolverine found himself as a weekend starter for head coach Tracy Smith. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound hurler appeared in 15 games with 11 starts in his freshman season with his highest strikeout total being five.

While that previous personal record was shattered Friday, Vigue struggled with command with the Wolverines and posted 44 walks in 54 ⅔ innings. That trend has taken a positive turn for Vigue, who has just one walk, 13 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP in 9 ⅔ innings with the Red Sox.

Vigue said he got into a “flow” state on the mound where “things clicked.” He said he’s grown with his composure and maturity, which allowed him to shake off the two doubles that went for a Chatham run and continue to dominate. Between the mechanical changes and the mental improvements, Vigue is learning how to compete on the Cape.

“I think some of it's mechanical with some changes there, but a lot of it's just relaxing and having my freshman year over with and just finding my old self and my old confidence and just going out there and having fun…” Vigue said. “I’m refinding that love for the game and that competitiveness.”