The great baseball statistician Bill James gained fame for debunking the sport’s old cliche that pitching is 90 percent of the game. But for Washington University, as the team’s pitching goes, so do the Bears.

All junior pitcher Kunal Patel wanted was a chance. Once he got it, he made a statement. With the Washington University baseball team in a 5-1 hole after three innings against Rhodes College on Feb. 23, head coach Steve Duncan made the call to the bullpen, and Patel made his collegiate debut in the third game of his third season with the Bears.