JOE SANTORO
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 3/09/2008
Ben Colton remembered how to find the mound at Peccole Park.
“It’s been a long time,” smiled the Wolf Pack pitcher. “But it sure felt good to be back and to be able to help the team.”
Colton, the last of eight Wolf Pack pitchers, put the finishing touches on a 10-0 Nevada victory Tuesday afternoon against the Pacific Tigers by pitching the ninth inning. The 6-foot-5 right hander, though, didn’t know if he would be able to help the Wolf Pack at all this season.
“No, it wasn’t that long ago that I was in a sling,” the 2003 Reno High graduate said. “But it was a pretty cool situation for me out there. I worked so hard to get back so it was nice to see the hard work pay off.”
Colton, who had surgery on his labrum last Aug. 1, allowed just one hit and threw nine of his 17 pitches for strikes. He took to the mound Tuesday for the first time this season with five new screws in his right shoulder.
“I would have liked to get ahead of hitters better than that,” said Colton, who turned 23 years old last Thursday. “But I’m going to keep a positive attitude and keep working hard.”
“He did well,” Pack coach Gary Powers said. “He went out there and threw the ball over the plate and got people out. That was good to see.”
Colton was 1-3 last season as a junior with a 7.10 earned run average in 21 appearances. It turns out he pitched the entire season with a torn labrum.
“The doctors told me I was probably hurt for more than a year,” Colton said. “My velocity got progressively worse as the year went on but I didn’t know why. My body never really got tired but there was just something missing in my arm.”
The problem became obvious last July.
“I was playing summer ball in San Luis Obispo (Calif.),” Colton said. “And then one day I woke up and couldn’t lift my arm above my shoulder.”
Colton, though, didn’t panic. This is a young man, after all, that had endured something a bit more serious than a shoulder injury.
“Yeah,” Colton said. “I’ve been through a lot worse.”
A lot worse was a life-threatening head injury suffered on Oct. 31, 2003. Colton, who was umpiring between the mound and first base after pitching for the College of San Mateo (Calif.), was hit in the temple by a throw from the catcher on an attempted steal of second.
“That was the first time my parents came to visit me, too,” Colton said. “I hadn’t even said hello to them. After I got hit I just went down. That night I was still bleeding from the nose and I continued to throw up. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital signing a living will. The doctors thought I might have a few hours to live.”
He remained in the hospital for two weeks and, luckily, was able to avoid brain surgery. After missing the 2003 season, he did pitch two seasons for San Mateo before transferring to Nevada for the 2006 season.
“I remember the first time I stepped back on the mound at San Mateo,” Colton said. “That was such a special feeling.
“And today was the second time I was able to experience that feeling. Just to come back and to be able to help the team in some way, it’s a feeling I can’t describe.”
Powers, who must choose 26 active players for this weekend’s Western Athletic Conference series against Louisiana Tech starting on Thursday (6 p.m.), said Colton is still a long way from being able to contribute on a regular basis.
“He has to build up his endurance,” Powers said.
Colton isn’t afraid of having to earn his spot again. “You know, before today I didn’t really know if I was ready to come back,” Colton said. “You never really know until you get out there and the adrenaline starts to flow.
“But I felt good. When I got out there I was probably more excited than nervous. I was just happy to get the opportunity.”