In the final weeks of her collegiate career, Dawn Bodrug pitched four no-hitters for the Stony Brook University Seawolves. There were a couple of one-hitters with 16 and 18 strikeouts thrown into her incredible 25-day run of dominance.
Yet when the season ended a couple of weeks later, she was pretty sure she’d pitched her last game.
Bodrug had racked up a school record 285 strikeouts in her senior season, thrown 22 complete games and her body was feeling every one of the 340 innings she’d pitched over the previous two seasons. She had a stress fracture in her leg and was feeling beaten down by the sport she loved.
“I was exhausted. I was in pain,” she said. “I felt like a workhorse for the sport.”
And just as she was ready to hang up her glove, a call came from the Canadian national team.
“You’re not going to say no,” the former Halton Hills Hawk said. “To play for my country, my whole life it had been a dream. I had kind of forgotten about it and moved on, and then here it is.”
A year and a half later, Bodrug stood on the field with her Canadian teammates in Santiago, Chile with a medal draped around her neck. Canada shut out Mexico 7-0 in the bronze medal game, and though Bodrug didn’t pitch in the game, she played a key role in Canada earning a spot on the podium.
The 23-year-old retired the side in order to close out Canadian wins over Cuba and Peru before taking a hard-luck loss against Puerto Rico. She came on in the fourth inning of a 2-2 game with two runners in scoring position and got Canada out of the jam. She gave up a solo homer in the fifth, before finishing with two shutout innings. Meanwhile, Canada stranded seven runners over the final four innings of the 3-2 loss.
Overall, the Christ the King graduate had a 3.23 earned-run average over 8 2/3 innings, striking out eight and walking two while holding opponents to a .226 batting average.
But more than any stats, Bodrug said showing she can compete at the international level meant so much more.
“It’s more so that I feel proud of myself,” she said. “I was in such a better place going into this tournament. To see the improvement, I can really appreciate where I’m at.”
Bodrug learned her college approach of overpowering batters and racking up strikeouts wasn’t as effective in the international game.
“There’s a little more intelligence in what you’re doing, how you beat the batter. The hitters are smarter. You miss one pitch and they’ll make you pay for it,” she said. “I have the riseball and the velocity, it’s more mental work. I’m learning a new way to play the game and that’s exciting.”
One key area of improvement has been her control. After averaging 3.2 walks per game during her college career, she has only issued three walks (one of them intentional) in 22 innings in her last two international tournaments.
She credits the Canadian coaching staff and her veteran teammates with helping her adapt. They have also re-ignited her love of the game.
Still dealing with the injury in her first outings with Canada, Bodrug didn’t pitch up to her own expectations. But rather than thinking her chance of representing her country had slipped away, she was met with a team invested in her success.
“You get there and there’s a bit of imposter syndrome. How did I get here?” Bodrug said. “From the start, the way they handled the injury, and the whole culture of the team, that’s why I came back,” Bodrug said.
And now that she is back, she’s looking forward to helping Canada succeed.
“I’m looking at the (Pan Am Games) medal on my bookshelf right now. It’s inspiring,” she said. “I hope to add a lot more to the collection.”
