Bowlan makes his mark for the Tigers, awaits next step in his journey

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – University of Memphis pitching coach Russ McNickle had a premonition. He'd been involved in the sport long enough to know he was about to witness something special, perhaps historic.

So McNickle grabbed his pitching chart at the end of the second inning and etched an asterisk near the top, a mark he'd made on his charts only two other times in a career spanning more than 25 years. Each of the previous marks had been made to denote impending greatness, once as a pitching coach at Mississippi State while watching left-hander Justin Pigott defeat Florida State in an NCAA Regional game. The other came as a pitching coach at Florida Southern while charting right-hander Brett Tomko, who would spend 15 years in the major leagues.

The third time came April 28.

McNickle had watched Tigers right-handed pitcher Jonathan Bowlan strike out the side in the second inning of an American Athletic Conference game at USF in Tampa, Fla., and felt a chill down his spine. Pitching coaches recognize such moments.

His instincts didn't deceive him. McNickle continued recording Bowlan's strikeouts, a total that reached a school-record 18 when USF's Joe Genord ended the game – an 8-2 Memphis victory – by swinging at a missed third strike.

"I'm going to keep that pitching chart forever," McNickle said.

As for Bowlan, he's going to retain the memory of that outing for quite some time, too. By setting the UofM mark for strikeouts, he joined his father – a former Tigers' right-handed pitcher – in the school record book. In 1987, Mark Bowlan pitched the only perfect game in Tigers' history in a win over Louisville.

Jonathan, who is 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, said the weather conditions in Tampa -- sunny and mild with a slight breeze -- were ideal for him.

"It made a bigger difference than you would think," he said. "I never got tight. I was never stiff. I was always locked in. I was ready to go at all times."

Amazingly, each of the 18 strikeouts Jonathan recorded was a swinging third strike. And while his pitch count reached a relative high number (128), he refused to come out of the game in the eighth inning when the coaching staff was concerned. Jonathan said at the time he didn't think his pitch count "was that high" and that he was pitching on adrenaline.

He struck out two hitters in the ninth and worked around the hit he allowed, one of only four in the game. The complete game was the first of his career. He did not walk a batter.

"He was throwing 97 (mph) in the ninth," said Memphis coach Daron Schoenrock. "I remember saying `This guy has found another gear.' He really wanted to finish the game. Coach (McNickle) and I were nervous (because of the pitch count), but I said we'd give him a little leash. He said, `Coach, I want this.' He wanted the complete game."

Jonathan was unaware of the school's strikeout record until he was told after the game.

"I had no clue," he said. "I knew I had a decent amount of strikeouts, but I didn't know how many. It was cool when (Tigers baseball SID Kevin Rodriguez) told me. I was an experience."

The performance earned Jonathan national and conference player of the week honors. In addition to striking out the side on three separate occasions, he retired 18 straight USF hitters until yielding a two-out single in the ninth.

McNickle said Jonathan threw mostly fastballs and sliders and "a handful of changeups."

"Before we scored four runs in the fifth inning, he was commanding both sides of the plate," Schoenrock said. "And when we scratched out those four runs, his velocity went up and his command was better."

Jonathan, a junior, is likely to be chosen in the first seven rounds of next month's major league baseball draft. McNickle, a former major league scout for the San Diego Padres, projects Bowlan being a "big league starter capable of pitching 200 innings a season."

"I give coach (Schoenrock) and coach (McNickle) a lot of credit," said Mark, Jonathan's father. "They've brought him a long way."

Mark should know. He was a 16^th-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals after his college career ended. He advanced to the Triple-A level in the Cardinals' system before leaving the sport.

"Since he's been at Memphis, he has hit the weight room hard and added weight," Mark said. "I think the sky is the limit for Jonathan."

Schoenrock is convinced Jonathan, who will pitch Saturday against nationally ranked UConn at FedExPark, has a bright pro future. He said major league scouts recently have been sending "cross-checkers" or higher-level scouts "who are going to make the big decisions."

"It's really neat," Schoenrock said. "I've told people all along that when you walk into a big-league locker room, Jon-Jon is what they look like. Jon-Jon is 6-5, 255. When you look at how physically imposing (New York Mets right-hander) Noah Syndergaard, well, that's Jon-Jon."

University of Memphis Athletics

Bowlan makes his mark for the Tigers, awaits next step in his journey

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