Dillon Sudduth doesn’t recall how much
Hunter Mullis weighed when he first noticed him on the recruiting trail.
Mullis’ weight really didn’t matter to the Meridian Community College baseball coach because he could tell the then-Columbus High School standout could pitch. In many ways, Mullis fit the bill of a “crafty lefty” because he changed speeds and worked the outer edges of the strike zone to get hitters to chase his pitches.
Two years later, Mullis’ hard work in the weight room has helped him add 30 pounds since his senior year with the Falcons. The added weight has helped Mullis get off to a fast start in his sophomore year at MCC. Mullis (2-0, 2.92 ERA) is a key reason why MCC is off to an 11-1 start as it prepares for a doubleheader against Shelton State (Ala.) C.C. at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“He definitely has gotten more physical the last couple of years because he wasn’t going to be the most imposing guy on the mound,” Sudduth of the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Mullis. “The added physicality has improved his fastball velocity and tightened up his breaking ball.”
In 12 innings, Mullis has allowed eight hits and three walks. He has struck out 18. On Feb. 11, Mullis pitched a seven-inning complete game in a victory against Wallace-Selma. He scattered five hits, allowed one walk, and struck out 12 to help him earn Mississippi Association of Colleges and Junior Colleges (MACJC) Player of the Week honors.
Mullis credits the added strength for boosting his fastball into the 86-88 mph range. He said he worked hard with friend and former Columbus High baseball teammate Isaiah Farmer, who is now at Mississippi Delta C.C., in the weight room during the summer. He said they lifted every other day and did a lot of squats and baseball-specific exercises to strengthen their backs and shoulders.
“When I am pitching I feel I have a lot more power and I am throwing a lot harder than when I came here,” Mullis said. “I just try to pitch the same way. The only difference now compared to before is I can get guys out with my fastball.”
Mullis went 6-2 with one save and a 2.89 ERA as a junior at Columbus High. In 55 2/3 innings, he allowed 63 hits, walked only eight, and struck out 58. He also hit .352 with two doubles, one home run, 20 runs, and 20 RBIs.
As a senior, Mullis went 7-3 with a 1.02 ERA. In 13 games (68 2/3 innings), he gave up 55 hits and walked 23. He struck out 78.
Mullis was part of a group of players that helped Columbus go 23-8 in 2014. That finish helped the program make history under former coach Jeffrey Cook and advance to the playoffs four-straight seasons.
Cook said Mullis worked equally hard to improve while he was at Columbus High. He might have been exaggerating, though, when he said he recalled Mullis as a 5-1 freshman who looked like he weighed 80 pounds.
Mullis has filled out a little since then and has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his baseball career at Mississippi College in Clinton. He earned that opportunity even after pitching 3 1/3 innings as a freshman at MCC. Sudduth said Mullis had a great fall and came back for his sophomore year with a different mind-set. He said Mullis’ ability to “pitch with an edge” came from a bullpen session late in his freshman season that showed his potential. Sudduth said he encouraged Mullis to bring that attitude to the mound every time he pitched. So far, Mullis has done just that.
“He is not some soft-tossing lefty,” Sudduth said. “He is able to keep hitters honest with his fastball. He probably has the best breaking ball in our league. That is his bread and butter. The added weight also helps him go deeper in the game. His arm has always worked clean and he has been the type of kid who can get extended more than other starters and bounce back.”
Mullis agrees the added weight hasn’t changed the fact that his breaking pitch is still the pitch he relies on. He said he hasn’t been tempted to change his approach on the mound to blow hitters away because he knows he still has to hit his spots and change speeds to be effective. Now, though, he has an added wrinkle — and a little more velocity — he can use in tight situations to get hitters out.
“Last year, we had a lot of pitchers and I didn’t have a great first outing,” Mullis said. “I wanted to come in this season with an edge and get out in front from the beginning.
“I just want to keep going with what I have had success doing. I am sure there are going to be rough games in the season, so I can’t get a big head, and I have to keep on doing what I have been doing or else I will lose it.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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