Dalton Glenn Pence…Went 9-4 with a 2.85 ERA (34 ER/107.1 IP) and 124 strikeouts in 63 games (five starts) across two seasons at UNC from 2023-24…During his 2024 redshirt sophomore campaign for the Tar Heels, Pence notched a team-high eight saves and earned Second Team All-America selections from Baseball America, College Baseball Foundation, D1 Baseball and Perfect Game…Earned the win in the 2024 Chapel Hill Regional championship game vs. LSU and picked up the save in Game 2 of the Super Regional vs. West Virginia…Logged 3.1 shutout innings pitched in UNC’s victory over Virginia in the 2025 College World Series opener…Appeared on the summer collegiate baseball circuit with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2023 and Forest City Owls of the Coastal Plain League in 2022…Missed the 2022 collegiate baseball season while recovering from Tommy John ligament replacement surgery performed in the summer of 2021…The Gastonia, N.C., native prepped at Cherryville High School, where he was a four-year letter-winner for the Ironmen while playing first base in addition to pitching…Was named to the 2021 NCBCA 1A All-State Team in the final year of his prep career…Parents are Lisa and Mike…Has an older brother, Ryan…Enjoys duck-hunting and golfing in his free time.
2025
In his first professional campaign, the 6-foot-2 lefty totaled a 4-4 record, 2.73 ERA (25 ER/82.1 IP), 103 strikeouts, 27 walks, a 1.02 WHIP and 11.26 strikeouts per 9.0 across 31 games (18 starts) for Hickory (A) and Hub City (A+)…Opponents hit just .193/.261/.288/.549 (57-for-295) against him…Ranked among Rangers farmhands (min. 80 IP) in FIP (first, 2.78), SO rate (second, 31.5%), SO/9 (third), WHIP (third), opponents' batting average (fourth), SO/BB (sixth, 3.81) and strikeouts (eighth)…Began the season with Hickory and made his professional debut in a relief appearance on April 4 at KAN, allowing one earned run in 2.0 IP (two H, one HR, one BB, four K)…After permitting runs in three of his first six games through April 26, Pence surrendered just one earned run over his next 17.0 IP (0.53 ERA, 28 SO/four BB, 0.53 WHIP, .089 opp. BA) that spanned eight games (three starts) from April 30-June 5...The sterling stretch netted him Rangers Minor League Reliever of the Month honors for May (3-0, 0.60 ERA in six G/two GS), a month in which he led the Carolina League (min. 15.0 IP) in SO rate (45.3%), opponents' batting average (.082) and opponents' OPS (.335)…Was promoted to Hub City on June 24, where pitched to a 1.55 ERA (eight ER/46.1 IP) mostly as a starter (14 G/11 GS) from June 24 to end of season…Was one of three South Atlantic League pitchers with at least 40 IP and no home runs allowed in that span…Also stood among the SAL’s best over that stretch in FIP (second, 2.00), opponents' OPS (second, .493), ERA (fourth) and SO/9 (eighth, 9.91)…On Aug. 22 vs. GVL, logged season highs in innings (6.0 IP) and strikeouts (10) in a scoreless performance but was not dealt a decision in a Spartanburgers extra-inning defeat…Was the Spartanburgers’ Game 1 starting pitcher in the SAL Championship Series on Sept. 14 at BRK (L, 2 IP, four ER)…For the season, posted reverse splits, holding righties to a .179 BA and .541 OPS, while lefties hit .222 with a .567 OPS…Saw similar results when pitching as a starter (0-2, 2.66 ER in 18 GS) and as a reliever (4-2, 2.95 ERA in 13 relief app.)…Worked an average of just over 3.1 IP per start, but logged 4.0+ IP in each of his final five starts from Aug. 7 to end of season.
2024
Did not pitch in Texas chain after being selected in 11th round of 2024 MLB Draft from University of North Carolina.
