Dunsmore contributed in multiple sports

Ben Dunsmore is the only senior on the Cardinal Stritch baseball team who was voted Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Honors his junior year, earning honorable mention for his play at first base. 

He batted .294 (20 for 68) with 11 runs, 14 RBIs and three stolen bases, but he played with an injury.

“Ben is coming off an arm injury where I couldn’t pitch him as a junior, and he had gained all of his strength back and I really looked for a good year from him,” Stritch coach Mike McGee said. “Ben’s brother Jeff walked on and made the team (UT). He was a sophomore this year, but he walked on as a freshman and when he was at Stritch he was throwing the ball about 84 to 86, but then about eight months later he walks on at UT and he’s throwing the ball in the low 90s, so I don’t know what the heck happened.”

Jeff Dunsmore is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-handed pitcher who pitched in three games last year for the Rockets — at Ohio, against Central Michigan, and at Michigan State. He tossed a scoreless inning against the Chippewas, striking out two. Like Ben, he was a four-year letter winner at Stritch, earning second team all-league in baseball three times, including first team All-Press as a junior and senior. He hit .413 his senior season and a 3.50 ERA on the mound.

As a result, Coach McGee has developed a relationship with Toledo coach Rob Reinstetle, who was hired last July to replace Cory Mee. McGee promises to put in a good word about Ben to Reinstetle.

Ben never got the chance to put up numbers like Jeff did his senior season, and McGee felt like the sky was the limit.

“I think it would have been a lot better than last year, that’s for sure, because we had a rough year my junior year and my arm was messed up,” Ben said. “I was a lot more healthy going into my senior year, getting ready to pitch, and we had a lot of potential. 

“Our pitching was actually starting to look good — we had myself, Joey McCourt, Kellen Garmon and we had a freshman named Brennan Reynolds. We had lot of pitching and we were deep in pitching. And, we were playing City League teams — a bunch of D-I, D-II teams like we were my junior year. The schedule was a little bit easier.”

A multi-sport athlete, Ben played on the basketball team that went to state his junior year, losing in the Division III state semifinals to Cleveland Heights Lutheran East, 58-53. The Cardinals finished 24-4 his junior year and 18-7 his senior year, losing to eventual regional finalist and possible state qualifier Evergreen, 44-43, in the district semifinals.

“Basketball my junior year was just an incredible experience, playing in Columbus and playing in the Flying to the Hoop (showcase). That season was just amazing,” Ben said.

He also was a wide receiver on the football team, catching 65 passes for 789 yards and eight touchdowns, and the 6-3, 197-pound Dunsmore was the only Stritch player to earn first team All-Press honors.

“Football was really fun. Football, we kind of turned the program around a little bit because coming in my freshman and sophomore year we were 1-9 both years, and then we had back-to-back 5-5 seasons my junior and senior year,” Ben said. “I made a lot of good friendships, still text my coaches that have not left the school, and I’ve even talked to the new (Stritch) coach (Gene Rucker) — he sounds great and loves football.”

While Ben is reconsidering whether to walk on for baseball at UT, he says football is not out of the question yet either. The problem — he has gotten out of shape.

“I was thinking about doing that, but with not having this season and not playing summer ball, my arm just isn’t in shape for that, so I’ve decided not to. I’ve thought about (football), but we’ll see about it. I’ll see how this summer goes,” Ben said. “Actually, now I’ve picked up a job and have been golfing lately just for something new to do.”

He is definitely headed to UT, to major in nursing because he “loves the human body.” His brother Jeff is majoring in mechanical engineering and they are the sons of Jeff and Becky Dunsmore.

However, Ben has one fan, a Stritch classmate, who wants him to try and continue his athletic career.

“Ben is such an athlete,” says Joey McCourt. “He could go anywhere, and he would be alright. Even their guys (student-athletes) are going to be out of shape because nobody has done anything. Nobody can do anything, so they understand.”