Printer Friendly Version - DuBord Attacked from All Angles as Rams’ Ace Pitcher

Recent Old Saybrook graduate Ryan DuBord garnered All-Shoreline Conference First Team accolades as a pitcher for the Rams’ baseball team this spring. The senior captain won five games with a 1.50 ERA, while helping the club turn in a great campaign that saw them advance to quarterfinals of the Class S State Tournament. Photo courtesy of Ryan DuBord

Learning the mechanics of how to pitch from different arm angles can serve pitchers well if they master the art of control. This spring, Old Saybrook’s Ryan DuBord added a few new dimensions to his arsenal, while maintaining his accuracy in the strike zone, to put together a stellar season on the mound.

Ryan recently completed his senior year as a captain for the Rams. In his final high-school campaign, the left-hander notched five wins, recorded 69 strikeouts, and compiled an impressive earned-run average of 1.50 in 51.1 innings pitched to earn All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors. Ryan also batted .410 to go with 15 RBI for Old Saybrook, which won 17 ballgames and advanced to the Class S State Tournament quarterfinals.

“My slider was working pretty good for me this year. Pitching sidearm also helped me a lot,” says Ryan, who will play baseball at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York. “I had some AAU coaches having me throw sidearm a few years ago. It’s helped increase my velocity and give me more movement on my breaking ball.”

Ryan says he gained a lot of trust in his off-speed stuff by developing his slider this season. Ryan loved throwing the slider when he faced fellow lefties, because it typically took a dramatic turn, before hitting the catcher’s mitt.

“I really like the slider, especially against left-handed hitters,” Ryan says. “It comes right at them, and then it curves into the strike zone at the last minute.”

When it came to throwing from a new angle, Ryan spent a lot of time refining the correct flow of motions that he needed in order to succeed. After putting in the work, Ryan displayed pinpoint accuracy on the hill this season.

“I just like to control the game, and I love being up there on the mound,” he says. “I have been working a lot on the sidearm, since it’s fairly new to me. It was something that started out natural to me, but I wasn’t too accurate with throwing it. I just worked on keeping my front shoulder straight.”

Ryan also served as a captain with the Old Saybrook boys’ indoor track team last winter, taking first place in the high jump and second for the long jump at the Shoreline Conference Championship. As a captain for the baseball squad, Ryan did everything he could to enhance his own abilities, while also helping his teammates realize their potential, according to first-year Head Coach Nick Hahn.

“He showed tremendous leadership each day at practice, in the weight room, and on the playing field,” says Hahn. “His presence on the mound was a calming influence over the whole team. He rose to the biggest challenges, always facing the toughest competition in the Shoreline Conference. Players like Ryan make others around them better. That’s what coaches look for from their senior leaders, and Ryan delivered.”

Ryan extends a lot of credit to Old Saybrook’s coaches for helping the Rams have such a great campaign this year. Ryan says that captaining the team throughout the season helped him grow as an athlete, a teammate, and a leader.

“The coaching staff really helped us go far this year,” says Ryan. “Being a captain was great. It changed me as a baseball player. I used to be quiet, but then as a captain, I started to open up more and try to motivate guys. It was something that positively affected me.”