Dylan DeLucia's starter mindset has helped stabilize Friday nights for Ole Miss baseball

A conversation between Dylan DeLucia and head coach Mike Bianco earlier this season has led to a stabilization on the mound on Friday nights.

The freshman has been part of the revolving door that is the Ole Miss pitching staff, leading to starters becoming relievers and relievers becoming starters midway through the season.

Since mid-April, DeLucia has been able to step away from that and firmly plant his feet as the Rebels new ‘ace’ on the weekend. It was a decision he made himself and went to Bianco to discuss it.

“I kind of told (Bianco), ‘If you give me a starting chance I’m not going back to the pen,” DeLucia said. “Just one of those things, I don’t know, I couldn’t figure it out. As a starter it just felt more comfortable there.”

Prior to be used in a relieving role earlier this year with the Rebels, DeLucia had only come out of the bullpen once before in his collegiate career. It was during his time at Northwest Florida State when he came in to pitch in the 12th inning.

“I threw three pitches and got three ground outs and I was like, ‘I don’t even know what to do,’ and I threw the ball 83 miles per hour,” DeLucia added.

Clearly coming out of the bullpen is not what DeLucia is comfortable with and it showed early in the Rebels SEC schedule.

After getting starts against Tennessee and Kentucky, he was used in a relief role in the Alabama series where he threw 1.2 innings in two appearances that weekend, giving up five earned runs.

Since then, DeLucia has made three consecutive starts in opening games against South Carolina, Mississippi State and Arkansas where he’s worked at least seven innings each. In the Friday game against the Bulldogs, DeLucia worked the masterful complete game.

Over those three starts he has allowed five earned runs in 23.2 innings and his highest earned run average in those three starts came in Fayetteville last Friday where he recorded an ERA of 2.57.

There is no magic formula for what is working for DeLucia since that Alabama series.

“Just pounding the zone,” DeLucia said. “Literally that’s what I’ve been preached on my whole life. Was throw strikes. Take the rule of 63 percent of balls hit in play are outs and just take that as an effect and just let your defense play. I’m not big on just going for strikeouts. I just want to make contact and get outs and get off the field. Keep the pitch count low and just go far in games.”

DeLucia’s work on the mound over the last three weekends has been crucial for the Rebels but he has been guided along by Hayden Dunhurst behind the plate.

The freshman credits his battery mate for helping with his success, even joking with Dunhurst after the South Carolina game that he must catch DeLucia every start the rest of the season.

“Dunhust back there steals so many strikes,” DeLucia said. “My ball just starts three balls over the plate and he just makes it look like it’s look like it was right down the middle of the plate the whole time.”

The Rebels catcher is just as complimentary of DeLucia and his growth over the last month and coming into his own as the Friday guy.

“I would probably say his mindset is one of the biggest things,” Dunhurst said. “He’s really coming out now as a competitor and have pretty much a dog (mentality) to him and I think that’s a really big factor in how he pitches and I think it helps.”