Norwin grad Elijah Dunn perseveres through injuries, helps IUP baseball team make D-II World Series

Truth be told, Elijah Dunn would have liked to contribute more to the IUP baseball team this season. But a series of injuries, including a broken big toe, hampered his availability.

So the Norwin grad tried to make the most of it when he was in the lineup, and his efforts helped the Crimson Hawks break new ground.

IUP’s breakthrough season went all the way to Cary, N.C., where the Crimson Hawks played in their first Division II College World Series. After losing its opener, the team made more history by defeating top-seeded Central Missouri in an elimination game for the program’s first World Series win. Dunn played the entire game and handled all five of his outfield chances cleanly.

The Crimson Hawks weren’t finished. In a second elimination game against Point Loma, which defeated IUP in the Series opener, Dunn drove in the game’s only run with a two-out single in the top of the first as pitchers Jake Black and Bryce Devan combined on a three-hit shutout.

And it kept getting better. As IUP staved off elimination for a third time, Dunn homered, doubled and drove in four in a 10-8 win over Angelo State. The win put the Crimson Hawks one victory away from the national final.

“Last year it was just us making the playoffs for the first time in a long time,” said Dunn, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore. “This year, our goal was not only to make the (PSAC) playoffs but play in the regional, which we did.

“Won the regional. Won the super regional. And just to make it down to Cary here, it’s for sure a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that not many kids get to have.”

Dunn played no small role in getting IUP to that point.

Against PSAC West rival Seton Hill in the deciding third game of the Super Regional, the Griffins led 4-3 when Dunn came in as a pinch runner in the bottom of the fifth. Dunn ran for Andrew Sicinski, who had singled, and later came around to score the tying run on a single by Davin Landers.

In the bottom of the sixth, Dunn doubled home Harrison Pontoli, who had singled, with what would prove to be the deciding run. Dunn later scored on Brady Yard’s single to make it 6-4.

Having Dunn in the game during such a critical juncture spoke volumes of coach Steve Kline’s confidence in him. Particularly given Dunn had been hitless in his previous nine at-bats.

“He’s learning its not about trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” said Kline, a former major-league pitcher who is wrapping up his third season at IUP. “It’s about hitting the ball all over. A base hit is just as good as a double or a home run.

“He’s learning how to become a well-rounded hitter. He cut down his swing a lot and has learned how to be quick to the ball.”

Dunn said he never had any doubts when he came to bat in the sixth inning against Seton Hill.

“I was walking up to the plate … and coach Kline, he’s down the line hyping me up, and I just smiled at him and he smiled back at me,” Dunn said. “And I was like, all right, it’s a kid’s game. I just stepped in the box with full confidence.

“I was just having a good time. Especially in those moments when there’s a lot of pressure, you kind of have to separate yourself from that and just have fun with it.”

Dunn’s season wasn’t all fun. In the run-up to the school year, he suffered an elbow injury while throwing. Then, just before the Crimson Hawks’ spring break trip, he took a ball of his foot, resulting in a broken big toe.

Because of those interruptions, some of Dunn’s numbers took a hit. His batting average dropped 30 points — from .267 as a freshman to .233 heading into the World Series — his slugging percentage dipped from .554 to .489 and he had two fewer extra-base hits, though he did have one more RBI than last season.

Through the win over Central Missouri, he had played in the same number of games but made six fewer starts.

“(The injuries) have been affecting my playing time and how I have been performing on the field,” Dunn said. “Last year, I had a pretty good year. I’m just doing what I have to do to help the team when I’m able to play. I know I can produce for the team whenever they need me.”

Dunn said he remains confident in his swing. What he needs to work on most, he said, is pitch recognition and selection and just his overall awareness of the game.

Becoming a more complete hitter, as Kline noted, will make Dunn even more dangerous. Of his 48 collegiate hits over two seasons, 28 of them have gone for extra bases, including 10 home runs.

It’s that kind of production that makes Kline believe Dunn won’t be finished playing baseball once his college career ends.

“I think Elijah has the best chance out of all our kids to get drafted eventually,” said Kline, who played for five teams in 11 seasons in the major leagues. “I know he’s only a sophomore … but I see some really high potential out of him.

“He’s got unbelievable power, and he’s got all the tools. He just has to put it all together.”

Not that Kline is in a hurry to see Dunn leave the program.

With only a handful of players exiting via graduation after this season, the immediate future for IUP can be viewed through, well, crimson-colored glasses.

Dunn is looking forward to a productive offseason and — fingers crossed — a healthier junior season.

As he goes through his summer workouts, Dunn will have time to reflect on what the Crimson Hawks accomplished. He said it bodes well for Kline’s program in the long run, and perhaps visits to Cary won’t be “once-in-a-lifetime” for IUP players.

“We set the standard,” Dunn said. “We made a lot of history this year, making the regional, making the super regional. I think we set the standard for the guys coming in next year to what we’re trying to do from here on out.”