Even if it's your first time watching, you'll quickly see that Stockdale junior Sean Mullen is different. "What he brings from the first pitch to the last pitch is second to none," said fourth year coach Brad Showers.
Wednesday against Liberty was the perfect example. Mullen threw six and two/thirds scoreless innings striking out 12 batters en route to Stockdale's league best seventh win of the season. "Sean was as good as I've seen him in his three years yesterday," said Showers.
Like many aces, Mullen finds his identity in a fastball that hits the low 90's. "What I was taught when I was young was you work off your fastball," said Mullen. "You're not going to stray from the fastball. That's what you do. That's who you are."
While he can overpower batters with gas, this year he added a devastating slider. A pitch he was confident enough to call on to get out of a bases loaded jam. "That's how a pitcher should be," he said. "He should be able to throw pitches over the plate for strikes."
If that sounds a bit carefree it's because Sean finally feels a weight off his shoulders. "Last year he was bombarded," said Showers. Dozens of schools were recruiting the then sophomore before he verbally committed this summer to UCLA.
With his future finally figured out, he's now focused on the present and Stockdale's chase of a valley title. "You can't really plan for it because if you plan for it it ain't gonna happen," Mullen said. "You just gotta go out and take it one game at a time, play your best, play your hardest...we feel like we have a team that can go win some games and hopefully, yeah, win some hardware."
The Mustangs (18-3, SWYL 7-1 record) host the Liberty Patriots Friday at 4:00 PM.
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