Bryan Fuller, Beauford Sanders
Bryan Fuller is the RHP for Campbellsville who pitched 21 scoreless innings during the NAIA sectional tournament at Saint Charles, MO. CBB met up with him at the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID:
Bob Broughton: Your scoreless inning streak ended Saturday morning against Southern Polytechnic, but you kept Campbellsville in the game.
Bryan Fuller: The Hornets poked the ball through with some timely hits. I threw 73 pitches, and the game was tied 3-3 when I left the game after five innings. I was relieved by Eric Mattos, who is normally our number two starter. He had some control problems, gave up a couple of runs [one of them unearned] and left the game with us trailing 5-3. We ended up losing on a home run in the ninth.
BB: Was this the largest crowd you’ve ever played in front of?
BF: Yes. It was an early Saturday morning game, and there were about 1,000 people in the stands.
BB: So, let’s go back a couple of weeks to the sectional tournament. You came on in relief in the seventh inning against Lindenwood.
BF: I pitched the last three innings, struck out three. Mixed it up a lot, off-speed pitches, kept them guessing. After the game, Coach Sanders said, “Do you want to start the next game?”
BB: Kansas Wesleyan came in under radar with a 26-game winning streak. Did you know anything about them?
BF: I watched their previous game in the tournament. They had a catcher [Brian Burke] and a shortstop [Alex Hall] that could hit. I ended up going nine innings, struck out nine, no walks, and threw 112 pitches.
The next morning, my back was sore, but my arm wasn’t stiff at all. When I got to the ballpark, I ran a little bit, loosened up, and told the coach I was good to go.
To some extent, it was a mind game for the other team. Originally, I was just supposed to go a couple of innings, but I just kept throwing strikes, and doing the same thing I did the previous day.
BB: You ended up striking out six, allowed only four hits, no walks, and only 77 pitches this time.
I know that you got covered by ESPN. Who else?
BF: Sports Illustrated, several area radio stations and newspapers.
BB: What are you doing next?
BF: I’m going on a golf trip to Las Vegas with some friends, and other seniors on the team. Right after that, I’m getting married, and we’re going to Ocho Rios, Jamaica on our honeymoon. Then, we’re going to be living in Nashville, and I’ll be looking for an accounting job.
BB: Any more baseball?
BF: I’ll be looking for a men’s league to play in. In the fall, the new Super Independent Baseball League is having tryouts in Chicago, and I’m going to give it a shot.
BB: This is the first I’ve heard of this league.
BF: The basic details are on their web site. They’re planning to have teams in Tennessee and Kentucky [the “Heritage Division”].
