ORONO, Maine — When University of Maine senior left fielder Nick White dislocated his left shoulder for the second time in three weeks in a 14-9 loss to the University of Massachusetts Lowell on April 14, he thought his season was over.
“I was in an emergency room. (My shoulder) was out of place for an hour and a half. I had never been in more pain,” said White.
That brought the total of dislocations and subluxations in his left shoulder to seven during a five-year span
A subluxation is a partial dislocation.
Fortunately for White, it is his non-throwing shoulder.
But the determined White returned to the lineup this past weekend and went 5-for-12 with nine runs batted in and two runs scored in three games against America East regular season champion Bryant. UMaine lost two of the three games.
His sixth-inning two-run double drove in what proved to be the winning run in Sunday’s vital 7-5 win over Bryant.
“When I was in a sling that first week (after getting hurt at Lowell) and had all those doctors appointments, I didn’t think I was going to be able to play again this year,” said White.
White said once he got out of the sling he began physical therapy and received treatments. Then he started swinging his golf clubs and hitting some balls. Soon, he was playing nine holes of golf. It was after playing consecutive 18-hole rounds that he felt he could swing a bat and return to the field.
He took 35 swings off the batting tee last Tuesday and returned to practice on Wednesday much to the amazement of head coach Nick Derba.
“I was working on some stuff in the bullpen and I saw him on the field,” said Derba. “He said ‘Derbs, I’m back and I’m playing Friday.’ And that was that.”
He wears a shoulder brace to protect it and will have surgery on June 6 to repair it.
“It’s a miracle, honestly. I have a lot of gratitude to be out there playing again,” said White.
“It’s an awesome story,” said freshman pitcher Jason Krieger. “He’s an older guy. Had his shoulder pop out twice this year. He has battled a lot of adversity. The game he had on Saturday (two homers, a single, seven runs batted in) was incredible.”
White said when he is on the field he tries not to think about the injury.
“Once my adrenaline gets going and game time comes, I’m ready to rock and roll,” said the Pepperell, Mass. native and transfer from Northern Essex Community College (Mass.). “The mornings are definitely a grind … getting up and getting ready to play.”
He is sore the day after a game but says it is “all good.
“Getting a win is huge. It’s all worth it,” he said following Sunday’s win.
White is an important component in the Black Bear lineup.
Despite playing in just 30 of UMaine’s 46 games, he is second on the team in RBIs with 33 and is one of just two regulars with more RBIs than games played. Junior first baseman Jeremiah Jenkins has 47 RBIs in 46 games.
The lefthanded-hitting White is tied for third on the team in homers with six.
He is hitting .246.
Last season, he separated his shoulder in a March 3 game against Winthrop and didn’t return to the lineup until April 28 when starting center fielder Dylan McNary suffered a season-ending injury when a pitch broke his finger.
And White was impactful.
He wound up hitting .380 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 24 games.
He was chosen to the America East All-Tournament team as he went 5-for-12 with a homer, two doubles, three runs batted in and four runs scored in three games.
UMaine won the tourney and earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2011.
“He is the missing piece for us,” said Derba. “He has always been the missing piece for us, heartbeat-wise, toughness.”
UMaine’s win over Bryant enabled the Black Bears to go into this week’s three-game home series against Albany with a realistic chance to earn a spot in the America East tournament.
UMaine is 7-13 in the league and in last place and Albany is occupying the sixth and final tournament spot with its 8-12 record.
UMaine must win two of three to displace Albany.
The Black Bears would win a tiebreaker with Albany because they went 2-4 against Bryant and Albany went 0-3 against the Bulldogs.
UMaine could also pass 9-12 Binghamton, which travels to the New Jersey Institute of Technology for three this weekend, but that is a long shot.
“It’s everything you want. It’s in our hands,” said White.
UMaine and Albany will play at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 1 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday.
