April 19, 2014
Kendall Graveman took a no-hitter into the 9th inning
Lansing Lugnuts starter Kendall Graveman came close to making history Friday night. In Lansing’s 5-0 victory over the Beloit Snappers, Graveman pitched 8 1/3 hitless innings. The no-hitter was broken up by Snappers’ catcher Jose Chavez who hit a 1-out infield single. The ball took a tricky bounce that was tough for shortstop Dawel Lugo to play cleanly. After the hit, Graveman came out of the game before left-handed pitcher Griffin Murphy collected the final two outs of the contest to secure the win.
The great game comes as little surprise as Graveman has been the Lugnuts most consistent starter all season. The right hander is currently 1-0 with 18 strikeouts, sporting a sparkling 0.44 ERA through his first 20 1/3 inning in Michigan’s capital this season.
“I like Lansing a lot,” stated the 23-year old after his great game. “Last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect here. It’s been nice to come back and recognize some faces. The city is really nice.”
“It’s funny though, because we stick out like a sore thumb in Lansing. I’ve already had three people come up to Griffin Murphy and I and ask if we play baseball for the Lugnuts. The conversations go on from there, but everybody is friendly. It’s great.”
Currently, Graveman is the oldest member of the Lugnuts rotation and he’s embracing the opportunity to work with the Lugnuts talented young staff.
I think the younger guys look up to me from an experience standpoint…
“I think the younger guys look up to me from an experience standpoint,” explained Graveman. “We’re all a little family in the clubhouse, but personally for me I’ve experienced a little bit more on the pitching side of things. I’m not saying I’m better than them, but you can’t teach experience. I have experienced a lot in the game, maybe not in a professional role yet, but through other experiences and I try to learn things from them as well.”
The great season began for Graveman in spring training. While in Florida, Graveman only allowed one run this spring and was able to develop his breaking ball more. The great pitching in Dunedin was great to see, and should be expected to be witnessed again soon as Graveman should have a promotion to the Florida State League in his near future.
“Spring training went well,” Graveman explained. “It’s all new to me being my first one, but I came in feeling good. My body was rested. It felt good getting out there and competing again. I missed that in the off-season. It felt great facing hitters and playing some innings before coming back to Lansing. I only gave up one run in spring training. It went really well. I was working with Vince Horsman and Darold Knowles on my breaking ball trying to sharpen up my game. I feel my fastball command got better. Just a bunch of small things I worked on in spring which I took to a game setting and executed.”
Watch for Kendall Graveman as he continues to have great outings all season.