When the pressure rises, a team looks towards its star reliever to help bring the game to a close and ensure that they can win the game. During these big moments, the Danbury Westerners have turned towards Simon Yochum to slam the door and bring home the win. Time and time again this season, the Danbury Westerners' reliever has answered the call, giving his team a chance to win. His consistency out of the bullpen has quietly become one of the biggest reasons for the Westerners'

early success.

The six-foot-tall right-handed submariner from Davidson College has been stellar for the Westerners to begin this summer. The Sarasota, Florida native has been lights out with 4 strong appearances with the Westerners, where he boasts a .111 batting average against this season. Yochum's rare submarine delivery has made him tough to square up.

“Being a submariner in a time when it is on the decline is very neat because whenever I face someone in this league or in college, they are immediately worried,” Yochum said.

Yochum's breakout performance came against the Bristol Blues on June 20th, where he entered the game in the middle of the ninth inning of a tied 3-3 ballgame while also having pitched an inning the day before in Newport. Yochum made quick work of two Bristol batters. Entering the top of the tenth inning, the automatic runner rule put a Blues baserunner on second. But before he even threw a pitch, Yochum spun and fired a strike to second base, catching the runner leaning and erasing the

threat.

“I just learned about the runner on second base rule right before I went out, so I told my second baseman to be ready,” Yochum said.

He then worked out of the inning, allowing just one hit to earn his first win of the summer. That hit would have scored the automatic runner had Yochum not picked him off moments earlier.

Through the first few weeks of the season, Yochum has quietly established himself as one of the NECBL's most dependable late-inning arms. If the Westerners continue their winning ways this summer, expect number 77 out of the bullpen to keep playing a major role.