Depth has helped Wood overcome loss of top arm -- By Tommy Keeler Jr. (Daily Staff Writer)
WINCHESTER — This was supposed to be Brent Bertschinger's golden year.
He was on the verge of making history at James Wood this season. The senior pitcher needed only 30 strikeouts to break the school record. The Western Carolina signee has been solid the last three seasons for James Wood, but as a senior he and his teammates were expecting big things. Then everything changed.
A recurring injury continued to get worse, and now James Wood's ace has turned into a role player who spends most of his time sitting on the bench.
"There's no other way to say — it just sucks," Bertschinger said earlier this week. "I'm able to pinch hit some and play a little at shortstop, but that's about it. I'm just a role player. It's been hard."
Bertschinger tore a ligament in his right arm when he was 13 and he said the injury has bothered him ever since. In the offseason the pain got a little worse, so James Wood coach Jared Mounts decided to rest Bertschinger some at the beginning of the season.
He has thrown only three innings for the Colonels all season and the injury hasn't gotten better. Bertschinger visited a doctor in Winchester who told him he needs Tommy John surgery. He said his coaches at Western Carolina want him to get a second opinion from a doctor in Alabama. No matter what that doctor tells him, Bertschinger has already faced the reality that he won't pitch for James Wood again.
Despite the loss of Bertschinger, the Colonels haven't missed a beat. They are undefeated in the Northwestern District and closing in on the school's first regional berth in 10 years. While losing their ace might have been a blow for most teams, the Colonels have had plenty of players fill the void.
"A lot of guys have really stepped up big for us," James Wood senior Greg VanSickler said.
VanSickler, who was James Wood's No. 2 pitcher last year, has taken Bertschinger's place as the ace of the staff. So far this season, VanSickler has thrown 30 innings with a 4-0 record, 32 strikeouts and an 0.58 ERA.
He said a lot of his improvement this season has come from lifting weights in the offseason and adding a little more pop to his pitches. VanSickler, who plans on playing at Shenandoah University next year, said he's tried to fill Bertschinger's role on the mound.
"I know I have some pretty big shoes to fill," he said. "I have a lot of support behind me. We have a good defense and I trust them to make some plays."
Outside of VanSickler, the rest of James Wood's pitching staff has little experience on the mound. The Colonels most improved pitcher has been Josh Dick.
He didn't take the mound at all last year for the Colonels, but this year Dick has emerged into the team's No. 2 starter. Dick has a 4-0 record this season, and has 41 strikeouts in 26 innings with a 1.88 ERA.
"I just try to throw strikes," Dick said. "I was a little nervous in my first start, but then I realized it's no different than pitching in practice. You just have to throw strikes and get some outs. You just make your pitches and the defense will do the rest."
"At the beginning of the season we felt like Brent would be our No. 1, and Greg our No. 2 and the third starting position was going to be open for competition," James Wood pitching coach Steve Morris said. "Josh really worked hard in the offseason and you can tell from Day 1 that he wanted that starting spot and he was going to make a run for it."
With the loss of Bertschinger, the third starting spot has been held by committee. Jacob Cain, Cory Woodall, Steve Papeirniak, Eric Finnemore and Kirby Ulmer have each pitched valuable innings for the Colonels, whether it's been starting or coming on in relief.
"They've all done everything we've asked of them," Morris said. "There's never been a time all season when we've brought somebody into a situation where we haven't been confident they would get the job done."
A big key to the Colonels' success this season has been their experience. The team has 12 seniors and all of them want to go out on top. The last three years the Colonels have struggled a little bit and coach Jared Mounts said he thinks that has been a real motivating factor for the team.
The Colonels have a three-game lead on second-place Brentsville and just five games left in the district season. Mounts said despite the fact that James Wood is closing to securing the regular season title, the team isn't thinking ahead.
"We want them to concentrate on just playing it one game at a time," Mounts said. "Our next district game is against Liberty and that's the game we're focused on. That's been our approach all season and it's worked so far."
"I think we have a lot of potential," Cain said. "We have so many seniors and we are a tightknit group. We know this our last shot. Like everybody always says, you want to go out with a bang. It just gives us added incentive that we have so many seniors and we want to take advantage of it."
