The Y-D bullpen has seen many changes since Day 1, but one aspect has remained the same — its ability to command the game on the mound. With 14 different pitchers in the rotation, each one sets up the other for success and helps the team secure a win night after night.
In Thursday’s game against Wareham, Micah Bucknam recorded his final start for Y-D on the mound. The right-handed pitcher threw for four innings and collected five strikeouts. He said in his two seasons with the Red Sox, he has gotten to throw around 40 innings, adding that Y-D has always been a special place for him.
“This place has been great to me,” Bucknam said. “I love all the coaches and staff I’ve worked with. My mindset today was just going up and leaving it all out there on the mound.”
Bucknam recently transferred to Dallas Baptist, a mid-major baseball program known for its winning seasons and outstanding player development. He said a big reason why he committed there was for personal growth.
“From a developmental standpoint, I’m really excited, that’s the reason I committed there,” Bucknam said. “They’ve got a plan for me and I can’t wait to learn and develop in a lot of ways like I did here.”
After the fourth inning of Thursday’s game, Caleb Anderson relieved Bucknam on the mound for Y-D. The right-hander out of Wichita State threw the last three innings of the game and held the Gatemen to two hits and no runs. He picked up five strikeouts and had no errors. In his previous outing against Wareham, he gathered six strikeouts, setting a new career high.
“The starting pitchers like Micah today really help set up the bullpen well, and coach [Scott Pickler] has done a great job mixing and matching us so that we complement each other,” Anderson said. “Fastball command and using the slider in and out to get hitters off the changeup was really beneficial for me.”
On changeups, Anderson utilizes a unique grip that differs from a traditional changeup grip. He said using a different grip gives him a bit of an advantage over a conventional change and helps throw hitters off.
“Since I'm mainly a sinker ball pitcher, finding something that spins not like a traditional circle change top of the four-seam is helpful,” Anderson said. “Our data guys have said that it kind of plays more like a screwball and can keep hitters pretty deceived and off-balance because it looks the same as my fastball.”
With seven games left until the playoffs, players are starting to look back and reflect as the season’s end looms on the horizon. Bucknam, who has been with Y-D for two seasons, said the relationships built here are meaningful, but it makes it much harder to leave at the end of the summer.
“In the past two years I've been here, the teams have been super tight, which is great,” Bucknam said. “This is the hard part about the summer, you get really close with everybody, and then we all leave. We always joked about how we should all transfer to a random school and try to win a national championship together.”
Anderson added that both the team and the bullpen have been able to mesh well and break the ice easily since they are all college ballplayers. He underscored Bucknam on the tight nature of the team, commenting on the team’s unity.
“It’s one of the most united, if not the most united team I’ve ever played on outside of school,” Anderson said. “A lot of guys come in and out, some guys play here one summer, maybe not even seen full summer. So for a team like this to be able to mesh as quickly as we did, continue working day in and day out, and for everybody to buy in as they have — it's been really special.”
Photos by Sophie Solarino
