Dan Galles: Guts and glory

It was just a baseball game. Of course it was an Ivy League contest against Yale, but it was just a game. Dan Galles did not think he'd be able to pitch when he woke up that Sunday morning. He strained a muscle in his shoulder earlier in the week and was having difficulty even throwing a ball, let alone pitching one. But then again, the Elis were in town. Galles went to the trainer where he had the shoulder heated. He took some pain medication and went out and played the game. Galles did not pitch a no-hitter. He didn't even pitch a shutout. It was not one of the greatest pitching performance in Penn baseball history. But it may have been one of the gutsiest. "That Yale game was Dan," Penn catcher Rick Burt said. "He had his worst stuff, but he won't let anything stop him when he's on the mound. He leaves it all on the field, and that was what he did against Yale." This old-fashioned, maybe out-dated, way of playing is what Galles always gives the Penn baseball team in everyone of his pitching performances. Against Yale, he was struggling. He allowed the Elis to get men on first and second in the first inning, but then struck out the final batter in the frame to get out of the jam unscathed. He gave up five runs in the third, but he battled back to pitch a complete game, and gain the victory. "[Galles] was tight the last few days," Penn assistant coach Bill Wagner said following Galles' outing. "He really got himself into a mental toughness warming up and felt half-decent. Then once he got onto the mound?as his arm really got loose, he found himself and pitched real well." It's been performances like this one that have earned Galles the respect of his coaches, teammates and the opposition. It's this type of determination and mental toughness that has earned the junior starting pitcher the nickname "Bulldog." Galles, however, almost slipped through the fingers of coach Bob Seddon. Galles did not come to the Quakers sporting an overly impressive high school record. The Colorado product was not attracting many scouts. Rather, he was just trying to use baseball as a means to go to Wharton. "I wanted to come to school here basically because of Wharton," he said. "My No. 1 intention was just to go to Wharton." So Galles wrote to Seddon, not knowing anything about the baseball program or the history at Penn. Galles sent Seddon some information about himself and talked to the coach a few times. But there was no way Galles could have expected what happened from that point forth. "Basically I just came to school wanting to make the team," he said. "I came here and tried out. I made the team, and I was just happy to be on the team." But that is just where the Dan Galles story begins. Although he may not have been a star in high school, he has slowly developed into one of the most dominating pitchers in the Ivy League. In his freshman season, Galles saw a great deal of action as the team's closer. "I was surprised about how much I got to play. It was a lot of innings for a freshman," he said. "I actually enjoyed coming out of the bullpen. I had never done it before, but the close games were exciting." After a rocky season last year, Galles ended the campaign on a high note -- pitching two consecutive complete-game shutouts. And this season appears to be no different. After picking up two wins during a preseason trip to California, Galles has settled down in league play. Against Cornell, Galles went the distance as he pitched a two-hit shutout. The show continued Sunday as Galles pitched another stellar game -- nine innings, zero earned run. "He simply dominated Princeton," first baseman Allen Fischer said. "He's a very intense player. He's always emotional and very passionate about the game. He's always trying to get the best out of himself. He's a fighter with a lot of guts." And going into this weekend's showdown with Columbia for the Gehrig title, Seddon will once again hand the ball over to Galles with the championship hanging in the balance. But regardless of the outcome, Galles will put it all on the line. But somehow you just figure this warrior will come out on top. "He's a pure competitor," Burt said. "He wants to kill whoever he's playing against. Even if he doesn't have his best stuff, he will give it his all. If I could pick someone who I could have behind me, it would be Dan."