FALMOUTH – Knocked out of the University of Florida rotation in early May due to a nagging shoulder injury, Tyler Dyson is back. The hero in the 2017 College World Series clincher made his first appearance in exactly two months in the Falmouth Commodores 3-2 loss to the Bourne Braves on Sunday at Guv Fuller Field.
Dyson began his sophomore spring on a tear, but struggled towards the end in an attempt to battle through pain. He’s ecstatic to get back to work in the premiere collegiate summer league.
“I had the shoulder injury halfway through the season and it kind of set me back a little bit,” Dyson said. “I feel healthy now, I’m ready to get back out there.”
He pitched five effective innings for the Commodores (10-11-1), but the Braves (12-10-1) continued their success against their West Division foe with their fourth win in as many games this summer.
Despite the loss, Dyson was pleased with the result of his return to competitive play.
“I feel healthy now and I’m ready to get back to it,” Dyson said. “These guys are the best college players in the country, and I felt good.”
Commodores head coach Jeff Trundy liked what he saw from the 6-3, 225 pound righty.
“I know he’s competitor and I’m not worried about that,” Trundy said. “It’s just he’s been inactive in game situations, so I was really pleased as he moved forward.”
Significant changes to the Commodores roster resulted in a much different lineup than the three previous matchups with Bourne. Dyson made his Commodores debut on the mound, and Matt Wallner (Southern Miss) and RJ Yeager (Mercer) kicked off their Cape League careers batting fourth and seventh, respectively. New faces couldn’t produce a new result as the Commodores fell to 0-4-0 on the season series. Yeager and Wallner went hitless.
“Those guys that just came in will have to figure things out like everybody else does,” Trundy said.
His first game action in exactly two months, Dyson (5.0 innings pitched, 2 hits, 3 walks walks, 2 earned runs, and 4 strikeouts) allowed a two-run home run to Spencer Brickhouse (East Carolina) in the first inning. He rebounded with four scoreless frames, ending his day at 76 pitches (50 strikes). He touched 95 miles per hour on his fastball, and appeared dominant at times.
“I was just getting my feel back,” Dyson said. “It’s been a while, but I feel like I settled in and threw pretty well the next couple innings.”
Logan Davidson (Clemson) came all the way around to score in the bottom of the first after a leadoff double to slice the deficit in half after Brickhouse’s home run.
Bourne added a run in the top of the seventh. Commodores right fielder Kyle Stowers (Stanford) slashed his third home run of the summer to bring it back within one once again in the bottom of the frame. Stowers has recorded multi-hit games in four straight and seven of eight games, raising his average from .194 to .348, but his effort wasn’t enough as the Commodores saw their three game winning streak come to a close.
Dyson tied his longest outing since the first week of March during the college season.
“I’m back good and I’m getting out here to show what I’m capable of doing,” Dyson said.
Up next: Commodores travel to Yarmouth to face the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox on Monday July 9 at 5:00 p.m.
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Greg Levinsky can be reached at glevinsk@bu.edu. Follow him on Twitter @GregLevinsky
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