Fulton baseball pitcher Dustin Hagens signed with Missouri-St.Louis announced UMSL baseball via Twitter Friday.
Heading into his senior year, Hagens has pitched 89 ⅔ innings (20 games) with a 5-9 record and a 2.56 ERA in two seasons for the Hornets. Additionally, Hagens notched 115 strikeouts, 32 earned runs and 63 walks.
At the plate, Hagens recorded a .319 batting average, 43 hits and 21 RBI in 155 plate appearances over his career with Fulton. Furthermore, Hagens registered 16 walks and 11 stolen bases.
Hagens had to deal with a COVID year, but has been a varsity starter in all possible years he could be.
"His win/loss record is skewed, but he has faced the top teams multiple times in a season for the past two years," Fulton baseball coach Jacob Lorentzen said.
Last season, Hagens went 3-6 in 46 ⅓ innings of work, which was almost 20 more innings than the next pitcher on the team. He faced 213 batters, giving up 37 hits and striking out 72 with a 2.11 ERA.
Offensively, Hagens had a .286 batting average with a .386 slugging percentage and 11 RBI (second on the team) last season. He also cut his strikeouts down over half from 21 the previous year to 10.
During his sophomore season, Hagens filled the role as the ace pitcher, going 2-3 over 43 ⅓ innings of work with a 2.90 ERA. Offensively, he had a better year, recording a .350 batting average with a .431 slugging percentage and 10 RBI.
"He will continue to be asked to face the other teams' best and the best teams in the conference and districts this year," Lorentzen said. "He has continued to work in the offseason to better himself, and we are looking forward to the results. It seems he continues to develop arm strength and a plus fastball, reaching a 90+ average. Having him on the mound is a huge confidence booster for the team. Hopefully, coming off of the lowest number of errors in a season last year will help him stay confident in his ability to throw strikes consistently."
Joining Jayce Thompson, Hagens became the second Fulton pitcher to sign with a college before the upcoming season. The Hornets will begin the 2023 campaign with the South Callaway Jamboree on Mar. 11.