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Dunlap leaves Phoenix as one of the best Senior named to the Class 3A all-state team By DON HUNT PHOENIX � The high school baseball season was highly rewarding and yet a little frustrating for Phoenix High slugger Travis Dunlap. The senior infielder and pitcher hit 10 home runs, generated 35 RBIs and batted an astronomical .522 for the Pirates, numbers that earned Dunlap first-team all-state honors at the Class 3A level. Add in Dunlap�s career numbers at Phoenix � a school-record 33 homers, 135 RBIs and a .505 batting average � and it�s easy to see why he�s regarded as one of the best players in school history. But Dunlap�s reputation as one of the top sluggers in the state also caused many opposing pitchers to throw him pitches that landed well out of the strike zone. The result: 24 walks in 98 plate appearances, seven of which were intentional free passes. "I know it was a sign of respect, but it was still frustrating to walk that much," says Dunlap, who played shortstop for the Pirates and is now at third base for the Medford Mustangs American Legion team. "Even in the non-league games, pitchers didn�t want to throw me anything good to hit." Of course, Dunlap has only himself to blame. He batted .558 with 13 homers and 51 RBIs as a sophomore and came back with similar statistics last season to earn second-team, all-state honors both years. The word got out: Don�t throw the ball near the center of the plate to this 6-foot-2, 225-pound mini Mark McGwire, or be prepared to watch the ball sail over the fence. "He�s got great power and yet he�s not out there trying to kill the ball," says Phoenix coach Joe Hagler. "He hits the ball to all fields." A natural third baseman or first baseman, Dunlap found himself at shortstop for the Pirates this spring when he wasn�t pitching. And although he didn�t possess the range of smaller, quicker counterparts, he made all of the routine plays, Hagler says. "He�s got soft hands and a strong arm," Hagler says. "He made some great plays. "Dunlap hoped to land a scholarship at a Division I school in California or Arizona. When one didn�t come his way, he decided to walk on at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz. With his 3.79 grade point average, he had no trouble getting accepted into ASU�s business school. "I wanted to go somewhere where academics and baseball were both high priorities," Dunlap says. "Arizona State seemed like a good fit." Dunlap had arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees last summer. The procedure was done on his left knee to repair cartilage and on his right knee to reattach a piece of bone that had broken off the femur bone. The surgeries prevented Dunlap from playing football, but he spent the winter at John White�s hitting camp and also worked out in the gym at night with Phoenix assistant and Medford Mustangs head coach Brent Watts and North Medford players Brent Kircher and Evan McArthur." We lifted weights and took a lot of grounders," Dunlap says. Dunlap is pitching and playing third base for the Mustangs, but is sitting out this week with a broken bone in his right hand after getting hit by a pitch in practice on May 30.He hopes to return to action on June 16 at Legion Park in Roseburg when he suits up for the South squad in the North-South Class 3A All-Star Game. Hagler says it might be some time before he coaches a player with Dunlap�s talent, and is quick to add: "Travis is one of the classiest kids I�ve coached. He�s one of those guys who picks up the mask for the opposing catcher or carries equipment from the dugout. "He loves the game and respects everyone who plays it." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.