By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Former Golden Eagle hurler Ryan Dennick finally saw his dreams become reality Tuesday evening, as the southpaw made his Major League debut for the Cincinnati Reds against the American League East Division leading Baltimore Orioles.
Taking over for Reds' starter Bud Norris, Dennick tossed a perfect sixth inning in his first action in the big leagues, inducing a ground out, strikeout and fly out against one of only two teams to hit the 80-win plateau this season.
Dennick, who led the Golden Eagles to the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship and berth in the NCAA Regionals, proved to be one of the best pitchers in all of Triple-A baseball this season, leading the International League with 57 appearances and 19 holds.
The southpaw earned an impressive 4-0 record with the Louisville Bats, compiling a 2.36 ERA over 49.2 innings of work with 39 strikeouts and just 18 walks. He also collected three saves and did not allow a home run the entire year.
A native of North Olmsted, Ohio, Dennick enjoyed much success in two seasons at Tech, collecting an 8-2 record and six saves. He struck out 83 batters in 112 innings on the mound and helped lead Tech with a 3.75 ERA his senior season.
He became the third Golden Eagle to make it to the show in the modern era, joining Stephen Pryor (debuted with the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 2012) and Erik Sabel (debuted with the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 9, 1999).
Dennick heard his name called in the 22nd round of the 2009 MLB Draft, going to the Kansas City Royals after helping Tech to its third OVC tournament title. He then found his way to Cincinnati by way of the Rule 5 Draft in 2012. The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to have them play in the majors.
