JUPITER, Fla. -- You might need acrowbar to pry the baseball away from Dylan Dickens.
Dickens pitched in relief for theDirtbags in the WWBA World Championship on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at theRoger Dean Complex, but he wasn't done yet. Far from it.
Dickens and his rubber arm pitched a four-hit shutout in the semifinals Monday morning as the Dirtbags blanked FTB Mizuno/Cardinals Scout Team, 1-0.
"Dylan is a warrior," Dirtbags Coach Andy Partin said. "He's so valuable. Going into the tournament,we were telling some college coaches and scouts -- they were talking about this guy and that guy -- we said we've got the best guy in the whole tournament. He can throw every single game."
Dickens,a senior from Hurdle Mills, N.C., said his arm fell "awesome" after the game.
"I pitched Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then today," he said, grinning."I want to pitch the next game, too (in the finals), but I don't think Andy is going to let me."
Dickens was wrong about that. He pitched three innings against Chet Lemon's Juice in the championship game, which ended in a 3-3 tie in eight innings.
Dickens is a sidebar pitcher with an unusual stance. His stands horizontal to the plate, but his feet are spread about two feet apart, with his left (front) on the third-base side of the mound. He's been using that delivery since he was 7 years old.
"I saw a kid do it when I was little, so I picked it from him," he said.
Dickens struck out five batters and walked only one. His teammates turned three double plays and he never faced more than four batters in an inning.
Dickens,who has committed to East Carolina, looked as strong at the end as he did at the beginning.
"He's so resilient and so tough, and we're just thankful to have him," Partin said. "He's a special kid. He's the toughest kid I know."
The Dirtbags loaded the bases in the sixth inning with two outs and scored the ironly run on a little dribbler in front of the plate by Seth Constable that traveled about 15 feet. Constable beat the throw to first base for an infield single to drive in Mikal Hill.