In The Dugout – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 12, 2003
As with all student-athletes, the ability to balance a schedule of classes, practices and games is quite a task. Add an unpredicted injury to the mix and it does not get any easier.
Ohio State infielder Terry Pettorini considered himself pretty healthy until December 2001, when he came down with a serious case of meningitis and had to be hospitalized for three weeks.
“It was really a struggle to get back so I would be able to go for the first game of the season,” Pettorini said.
Pettorini, now a junior, played in 37 games last year and finished the season with a .280 batting average on 30 hits, half of which went for extra bases (seven doubles, one triple and seven home runs).
Pettorini was once again stricken with the injury bug. The day after Christmas, he tore his pectoral muscle near the shoulder of his throwing arm while weightlifting in his hometown of Wooster, Ohio.
“It has been a struggle to get back again this year,” Pettorini said. “I just tried to work hard in rehab and get back for the first game of the year. I thought I was ready to go.”
During the second game of the season, he re-injured his arm on a throw to first base from third base, where he was penciled in as the starter entering this season.
“The muscle just ripped more,” Pettorini said. “I had to put my arm on the shelf and got some time as the designated hitter.”
Another downside to being on the injury list is rehab requires more individual workouts that are separate from what the rest of the team goes through.
“Being injured is like being on your own little island,” Pettorini said. “Of course you have to support your team, but you have to focus on yourself and recover. There are some days in the winter when you don’t see any teammates. It’s definitely harder not being around the guys because they are your best friends. You just want to be back.”
Through his two years of battling injury, Pettorini said the sports medicine staff at Ohio State really helped in the rehabilitation process.
“The (athletic) trainers are very good,” Pettorini said. “They had a rigorous rehab program for me so I can get back to full strength.”
Now that the season is in full swing and Pettorini is nearing 100 percent, the Buckeyes have their eyes set on winning another Big Ten championship and another NCAA Tournament appearance.
