As Aaron Etchison slid into second base during a scrimmage the weekend before the Terrapin baseball team’s season was set to begin, he felt his left hand hit the bag awkwardly. As he caught a ball at third base the next inning, pain shot to his catching hand.
X-rays later showed it was broken. Before the season and, in turn, Etchison’s Terp career, could even start, the team’s projected starting catcher was on the shelf for six weeks.
“It’s just one of those things, you know, if you play the game long enough, you’re going to get hurt,” Etchison said. “It just wasn’t very good timing.”
After missing the first 21 games of the season, the junior was used as a pinch-hitter during last weekend’s series against Virginia. And Wednesday night against George Mason, he returned to the lineup as a starter for the first time and recorded his first hit as a Terp.
The road back to the lineup wasn’t a short one for Etchison, who’s expected to suit up for the Terps again as they take on No. 9 Florida State in a crucial three-game ACC series at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium starting today.
But neither was the one he took to College Park.
The Pendleton, Ind., native started his collegiate career at Ball State, where he redshirted as a freshman. He played in only 20 games the next year as he struggled at the plate. He soon moved on to Chipola College, where he batted .276 and caught Terp coach Erik Bakich’s eye.
“Etch has been around college baseball. It’s his fourth year playing college baseball, he’s played Division I baseball before,” Bakich said. “He’s just savvy. He’s got good instincts, he’s a good leader back there.”
But after a winding career that took him from Muncie, Ind., to Marianna, Fla., and now this state, Etchison found himself oddly stationary after the injury.
“It was just immobilized for about four weeks,” Etchison said. “I wasn’t really able to do anything. It was in a cast for most of that time. Getting out, it was a lot of range-of-motion stuff, no impact, just stress balls and whatnot, trying to keep the swelling out before I could start swinging.”
Etchison did everything he could to help expedite his Terp debut without actually catching a ball. To make sure he was up to speed with the resurgent Terp pitching staff, he spent time talking to pitchers in the bullpen.
“I think it really helped because I got to talk to them about what they thought and what was going through their head,” Etchison said. “Nothing is like game experience and catching, but it gave me a perspective of the game from a different perspective.”
The feeling, it seems, is mutual. Despite his extended absence, Etchison’s efforts to stay in the loop maintained the battery connection.
“That really boosts us up — Etch has been out for about six, seven weeks. The whole time, he kept a level head. He was always grinding to get better and now he’s back. I speak for the team: We’re all happy he’s behind the plate,” Terp center fielder and closer Korey Wacker said. “On the mound, we’re all comfortable with him catching every one of our pitches, and we definitely have trust in him.”
With Etchison sidelined, catchers Jack Cleary and Alex Ramsay filled in well behind the plate, with Cleary hitting .293 and providing multiple big hits in the early stages of the season. Ramsay, whose initial appearances came mostly in relief of Cleary, has made the most of his early opportunities, hitting .313 while throwing out five of six runners attempting to steal.
Bakich said he is confident in all three of his catchers and appreciates the depth the Terps have at such a demanding position. Obviously, he’s happy to have Etchison back.
After his path to College Park — not to mention back to the diamond — Etchison can say the same.
“It feels good. It’s always tough when you’re just sitting on the sideline watching,” Etchison said. “You want to be out there with your teammates, fighting with them.”
schneider@umdbk.com
