A number of Irvine Valley baseball players have signed to continue their academic and athletic careers at four-year schools over the last month and they will each be highlighted over the coming weeks at www.ivclasers.com
Irvine Valley standout starting pitcher Justin Dunham has signed with NCAA Division II Dixie State.
The 6-3 right-hander was named second team all-Orange Empire Conference after going 5-5 with a 2.08 ERA I and 52 strikeouts in 73.2 innings pitched for the Lasers during the 2019 season.
He also pitched the first no-hitter in IVC program history.
He walked just nine batters all year.
Dunham made 12 appearances and started eight games. He also had three complete games and two shutouts. Opponents hit just .217 against him on the season.
Dunham's most impressive performance came on Feb. 18 when he threw the first no-hitter in program history, blanking Mt. San Jacinto at home, 7-0.
"Justin has put in so much work since he got here," Irvine Valley coach Kent Madole said at the time. "I am so proud of him and happy for our guys. This was a pretty fun day."
Dunham walked one and hit two batters. Mt. San Jacinto also had a batter reach base on an error in the top of the ninth inning.
But Dunham struck out seven and was in control from start to finish with help from sophomore catcher Ryan Santa Cruz and a solid defense behind him.
Irvine Valley finished with a 20-19-1 record and just missed making the postseason this past year.
In his two-year career at Irvine Valley, Dunham made 21 appearances. He was a reliever during his freshman year in 2018 for IVC.
Dunham, who pitched at San Juan High before coming to IVC, is headed to a Dixie State program that finished with a record of 35-19 overall and 23-13 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
