Dusty Dunwoody did his best to be present in economics class and not think about baseball.
“Today was the longest school day of my life,” he admitted.
But when the moment finally arrived and the Royal High ace took the mound against rival Simi Valley, an economical approach to the strike zone prevailed.
Dunwoody needed just 95 pitches to throw a four-hit shutout as Royal reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Coastal Canyon League standings with a 3-0 win over visiting Simi Valley on Friday, April 24.
“I was just trying to fill up the zone from pitch one, not trying to get too many swings and misses,” Dunwoody said. “That kept my pitch count down.
“There was a lot of taking strike ones. That obviously set me up for success.”
Sitting in the low 90s and touching 96 miles per hour, the University of Arizona commit struck out 14 hitters without a walk.
“I thought we had some quality at-bats,” Simi Valley coach Scott Vermette said. “Our goal was to make him work early and try to get his pitch count up. … He had all his stuff working today. He pounded the strike zone really well.”
Matthew Stout and Isaiah Tillman delivered pivotal automatic doubles to spark rallies in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, for the Highlanders, who saw Simi Valley snap their seven-game winning streak with an 8-3 win on April 22.
“We had a good practice (Thursday),” Royal coach Dan Maye said. “They didn’t seem to get tight. … It was a good game on both sides.”
Stout was 2 for 3 with a run scored, Tillman went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored, and Noah Vasquez had a two-run single for Royal.
“We settled in in the fourth or fifth inning,” Tillman said.
Evan Rodriguez, Daniel Pina, Jaden Laufer and Devin Medina had hits for Simi Valley, which had won six of its last seven games and was attempting to once again come from behind to defend its league title.
Royal (18-3, 9-1) now leads Simi Valley (14-10, 8-2) by one game with two league games to play. Royal faces Oak Park next week, while Simi Valley faces Camarillo.
“We all know what the importance of the game is, “Maye said. “But we’ve still got to finish.”
As the afternoon arrived and first pitch neared, Dunwoody let himself feel the weight of the moment.
“I put on headphones and tried to lock in for the game,” Dunwoody said. “I started thinking about what happened last year.”
He thought about leaving the decisive rivalry game with a 2-1 lead after six innings, having thrown 105 pitches. And relived Rodriguez’s dramatic walk-off winner for Simi Valley in 2025.
“That fired me up,” Dunwoody said.
Committed to going the distance this year, the 6-foot-2 right-hander took the mound in the seventh inning having only thrown 88 pitches and put the finishing touches on the first complete game of his season and second shutout of his career.
“He always seems to have that same attitude, that grind to win the game,” said Royal catcher Peyton Visage. “He was as locked in as he usually us.”
Dunwoody struck out the first four batters he faced and five of the first six.
But he ran into trouble in the top of the third. Devin Medina was hit by a pitch, Rodriguez singled to center field and Daniel Pina ripped a one-hopper that struck Dunwoody in the leg to load the bases with two outs.
Dunwoody struck out the next batter on a full count to escape the jam.
“We had opportunities in the beginning,” Vermette said. “We just couldn’t execute in those situations. Hats off to him.”
Royal took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, when Tillman legged out an infield single, Stout ripped an automatic double to left-center field and Vasquez delivered a two-run single up the middle.
“We gapped the ball really well,” Maye said. “We had a couple balls that hurt us by bouncing over the fence.”
The Highlanders made it 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth, when Ethan Hall drew a one-out walk, moved to third on Visage’s single to left field and scored on Tillman’s automatic double to right-center field.
“All week, we knew what we had,” Dunwoody said. “We knew this was the game. Especially after dropping one on Wednesday, we knew we had to get it done today.
“I feel like it was a great win, all around. We played great defense … and we hit the ball around the yard.”
Joe Curley covers baseball for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Royal’s Dunwoody aces rivalry test against Simi Valley
Reporting by Joe Curley, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
