Bridgewater State’s Batista Makes Mound Mark After Major Knee Surgery

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- His sensational junior season with the Bridgewater State University baseball team ended in painful fashion last May.

Corey Batista went 7-3 with a 1.79 earned run average, made the All-New England first team and was selected the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference pitcher of the year.

He was unable to finish the season in style, though, after suffering a left knee injury late in the next-to-last game of the NCAA Div. 3 New England Regional in Harwich.

Playing shortstop in the ninth inning of an elimination game against Wheaton College, Batista tore the medial collateral ligament and meniscus in his knee while trying to turn a double play.

He attempted to pitch in the final round the next day against Western New England College wearing a brace, but was unable to get out of the first inning.

The MCL eventually healed through rehab, but Batista wound up undergoing surgery in November to deal with the torn meniscus that was not initially discovered.

When the time came for indoor workouts in January and the start of the season in Vero Beach, Fla., in March, Batista was not at 100 percent and opened with a 1-3 record.

“I was leaving the ball up a lot,’’ said Batista, a former Massasoit Community College standout. “Even in the gym, I could tell my knee was getting more fatigued than it usually does early in the pitch count.

“It was a little different early in the season because I was trying to find comfortable spots to land, so I was always landing in a different position, which then made my arm angle different and I was leaving the ball up on the middle of the plate.

“It was frustrating to go 1-3 and not being able to do the things I wanted to because of an injury. Coach (Rick Smith) stuck with me luckily and I turned things around.’’

Indeed Batista has turned things around, winning each of his last six starts for a 7-3 record and lowering his ERA to 2.95.

Batista will be on the mound when the eighth-seeded Bears (30-13) open the NCAA Div. 3 tournament on Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. against top-seeded Wheaton in Mansfield, Conn.

The turnaround by Batista has helped BSU go on an incredible run with 21 wins in the last 23 games.

“It was getting a little nerve-wracking after the second and third start because I’m not used to giving up a lot of runs,’’ said Batista.

“It was kind of a rough start, but once I got my location down, I was fine. I’m kind of on a roll right now.’’

Batista put a brace on his knee after struggling early in the season, and he credits that move with helping him get more comfortable on the mound.

“I tried not using it at the beginning of the year,’’ said Batista, a Bishop Connolly High graduate, “but my knee was a little weak so I started using it towards the end of the year and it’s been much better and stronger now.’’

Said Smith: “He’s pitching now with the same dominance he did last year. He’s a workhorse. We were kind of nervous early. He had some issues with the knee. But he worked with (trainer) Melissa (Ryan) and pitching coach Josh White and he’s come back just awesome. He has great endurance.’’

In just two seasons after transferring from Massasoit, Batista (14-6, 2.40) has set the BSU record for career complete games with 18 (nine in each season). That mark had been 16, set by Tim Hart.

“It means a lot,’’ said Batista. “I was able to do it in two years. Coach never really overused me. I was able to keep my pitch-count down, so I was able to do some cool things last year and this year.’’