He’s back: Salisbury’s Jimmy Adkins returns from fractured vertebrae, leads Salisbury to NCAA Division III World Series win

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jimmy Adkins received numerous texts and messages before he even left the dugout.

The congratulatory comments from excited supporters were warranted given his journey during the last year.

Last year, the right-handed pitcher and former position player was in attendance but inactive for Salisbury (Md.) University’s national title run when a stress fracture in his L-5 vertebrae prematurely ended his season.

He returned this season and helped the Sea Gulls to victory Friday.

“Just being back playing definitely feels better than last year when I was there as a player but not playing,” Adkins said. “Being out there this year is such a great feeling. I can’t thank my coaches, teammates, my family, parents, my trainer, Mary (Tovornik), enough.”

Adkins threw a complete-game, six-hitter in Salisbury’s 8-2 win over Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the first round of the NCAA Division III World Series at Veterans Memorial Stadium. He improved to 7-1 in nine starts, notching his third complete game of the season.

“I just take what I have right now in front of me and I’m just trying to be good with that,” Adkins said. “Especially being here in the World Series, a complete game, I’m not trying to sound like that, but it couldn’t be better for me to go out there and do that. I’m just so happy for myself.”

Adkins was in the dugout and celebrated the team’s championship a year ago. He just wasn’t able to contribute directly. Adkins had a long road of recovery to repair the back fracture. He was in multiple braces, extending from his arm pits to his waist, for up to six months. Adkins started therapy for two more months, continuing some of it now.

“It was a very hard time,” Adkins said. “Still, sometimes I think about it and I just can’t take things for granted. That’s what I really took from it.”

The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder praised his pediatrician and Tovornik for their work and the unwavering support from his family. He never doubted that the injury would prevent him from getting back on the mound and he was going to take advantage of another chance.

“I didn’t think I wouldn’t make it back,” Adkins said. “My trainer was very positive and helped me along the way the entire time. Honestly, my pediatrician told me it was a common injury.”

Changes had to be made. Adkins started the season as an offensive player, while slowing working into his pitching duties and getting his first pitching appearance after about three weeks. He stopped playing offense in mid-March, having a heart-to-heart talk with Salisbury Coach Troy Brohawn and making a case for him to pitch only.

“That is why I stripped hitting down this year,” Adkins said. “It was between pitching and hitting. Hitting-wise I wasn’t doing the greatest. It was also causing me more pain in my back as well.”

He posted another banner season, earning d3baseball.com’s Pitcher of the Year honors. In addition to the win totals, he has three saves, a 1.45 earned-run average and 85 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched. Seven of those strikeouts came against the Pointers (40-9).

Adkins was effective through the first three innings, despite allowing an RBI triple to Aaron Simmons in the game’s second at-bat. He grasped control of the game in the fourth. After a leadoff hit and a walk, Adkins struck out three straight batters to end the threat and maintain a 1-1 score. He also retired the last four batters in order and 10 of the final 12.

“He’s got great stuff but you’re not going to find a bigger competitor on the mound,” Brohawn said. “OK, we made an error. We walked a guy. That doesn’t faze him. You don’t see his shoulders drop. You don’t see his head drop. He gets up there and he’s like, I’m going to pick you up, and he’s done it time and time again. It’s almost become expected.”

Cameron Hyder had three hits and three RBIs, while Patrick Campbell and Ben Anderson had two RBIs apiece for the Sea Gulls. Hyder and Campbell had back-to-back run-scoring hits in the three-run fifth that allowed Salisbury to pull in front. Hyder also had an RBI in the three-run eighth.

“Credit to the guys that got on base in front of me to put me in that position,” Hyder said. “It was just my turn to step up.”

The Sea Gulls (37-10) are attempting to become the first repeat champions since Marietta (Ohio) did it in 2011-12. Coincidentally, they play Marietta (44-5) in the next round.

“I tell them all the time there is really no pressure, because nobody can take away what we did last year,” Brohawn said. “Right now, we should be playing with pleasure more than pressure. I think the team that does that the best — plays for pleasure, not under a microscope of themselves, and are the best players they can be — I think will have a great series here. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win it, but I think they will have a great series.

“We have one down today. We have another tomorrow. We have to play our best baseball to come out on top.”

Simmons set a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record with his 17th career triple. Matt Baumann led the Pointers with two hits and reached on a walk.