After hurling a complete game six-hitter, leading the baseball team over to a 3-2 victory over America East rival Maine, Devin Monds has been named The Northeastern News Player of the Week.
Friday’s victory was the second time in as many weeks the junior righty thwarted Maine. Monds also went 6.2 innings in a 3-2 Northeastern win last week, though the game did not count against league standings. The most recent win gave the Huskies a 2-1 season advantage over the Black Bears, chosen along with NU as one of the top teams in the America East in preseason rankings.
Since being roughed up in an early season start against North Carolina State, one of the top teams in the country, Monds has been one of the most solid members on a deep Husky pitching staff, winning his last two starts and holding opponents to a batting average of .226.
“The NC State game was the one tough outing he had, the thing that impresses most is that every other performance he’s had surrounding the NC State game had been good, to very good, to excellent,” said coach Neil McPhee. “What we really need from someone like Devin is to pitch that rubber game in the way he pitched it. He totally dominated the game and got stronger as the game went on. He was at an 80-pitch count in the seventh or eighth inning, he finished the game strong because he did his job earlier in the game.”
After giving up a pair of runs in the fourth inning, Monds held the Black Bears in check through the final five innings, setting the stage for a dramatic, ninth inning comeback victory, keyed by a Brad Czarnowski two-RBI single to win it.
McPhee was impressed by the way Monds made use of his full arsenal of pitches to keep the Maine hitters off balance, mixing in a two and four-seam fastball, changeup and curve.
“[His pitches] were working at different times. His fastball and curve were working earlier in the game to be his most effective pitches,” McPhee said. “Everyone in the knows that his best pitch is the change, so from about the fifth inning on, that became his out pitch. So when you have that kind of combination working, at different times in the game it really makes it tough on hitters, because they are going up there and seeing one thing early in the game, then in their second and third or third and fourth at bats, they are seeing a different pitch. It’s a tremendous value to be able to throw three pitches in the strike zone.”
Monds agreed that control of all his pitches was a major factor in the game.
“This was the first time in probably two years that all my pitches were working; curveball, changeup, both fastballs, four-seam and two-seam. So that was a plus,” he said.
McPhee noted the progression of Monds’ breaking ball has been a major factor in his becoming a complete pitcher. As a freshman, Monds lacked a curveball in his arsenal, and only began to perfect the pitch last year as a sophomore.
“[Learning the knuckle curve] is one of the reasons he had an off year last year,” McPhee said. “But this game was an indication that he has three pitches to use out there now. His command is returning with the fastball and the change and now the knuckle curve is adding to his repertoire. He doesn’t seem to have the control of it that he does with his other pitches, but it seems like everything is starting to come together.”
As a freshman, he was one of the Huskies’ most consistent starters, posting a 7-2 record and an America East leading 1.80 earned run average over 65 innings.
Monds carries a solid pedigree, with a father and a brother that played baseball professionally, and another brother in the Cincinnati Bengals organization.
— Peter Conroy, News Staff
