By Tim Tassa -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — Shut down, not shutout, is a baseball term pitchers typically cringe at hearing. The words are normally synonymous with fatigue, overuse or simply — arm trouble.

So last summer, when Shenandoah pitching ace Taylor DuFrene was told by head trainer Mike Powers that he was 20-to-30 pitches shy of tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing arm — an injury that requires Tommy John surgery — the decision was made by Hornets manager Kevin Anderson and the medical staff to cut his Valley League season short.

"It was very tough. He loves the game," Anderson said. "He wanted to pitch this fall, and the experiences that we've had, we shut him down. That was medical, just, we are on the safe side when it comes to pitchers."

DuFrene, who leads the fifth-seeded Hornets against fourth-seeded Methodist in the first round of the USA South tournament today at 9:30 a.m., didn't begin throwing again until December. And though the decision at the time was admittedly to his distaste, shutting him down may have saved what has become a bright season for the senior, who has compiled a 5-1 record, and is four wins shy of reaching the most by a pitcher in Shenandoah history (20).

"It was such a good learning experience and to have that taken away from me like that, it was a big letdown," said DuFrene of playing for the Winchester Royals in the Valley League, where he matched up with players from major Division I schools.

"But I understood — I mean it's paying off now. If I had kept throwing, I'd have had to redshirt this year and come back. Usually if you tear that and you have Tommy John, you're out for a year and a half, and it's like 50 percent you come back the same way you were before."

Through his first three seasons of college ball, DuFrene compiled an 11-7 record and finished his junior season with three complete games and a 3.04 earned run average. According to junior pitcher Matthew Davis, the Hornets are likely to go as far as DuFrene's arm takes them during postseason play. But because of the taxing conditions on his elbow out of the Royals bullpen, DuFrene was a tear away from almost never getting that chance. At one point during the Valley League season, DuFrene had four relief appearances in four nights.

"With Taylor there is nothing less than 100 percent," Anderson said. "If he's going to be out there competing, you know he's going to get after it. We backed off of him and shut him down, which, in the long run, probably saved his career."

What ensued for the Newport News native was an often strenuous rehabilitation process split into four parts: rest, stretching, strengthening and a slow throwing progression.

Furthermore, for the duration of the summer and fall season, the normally imposing 6-5, 210-pound power pitcher was confined to dry mechanics and running.

"We knew that we needed him healthy for the season. We knew that he needed to take his time in rehab and get back to where he was and he did that," said Davis, who is 4-4 with a 3.58 ERA.

"Now he's throwing the ball like he was towards the end of the year in the summertime."

However, it did take time. Once he got over the injury mentally, DuFrene stuck to throwing just fastballs and changeups before working in his breaking pitches. Even now, before and after throwing sessions, he gets treatment on his arm two to three times per day.

"I gradually got passed it to the point where I was 100 percent again — mentally and physically," DuFrene said.

"I can't afford to break down, not now."

For an endeavor that almost cost him his pastime, DuFrene harbors no ill will towards the wooden bat summer league. In fact, it was there he said he established more trust in his changeup and added a slider to an arsenal that includes a two- and four-seam fastball and curveball. Anderson said his fastball stabilizes in the upper 80s, but can hit the low 90s on occasion.

And the post-rehab results thus far have been sterling. Despite the team's recent struggles, which include a seven-game losing streak, DuFrene has compiled a 3.59 ERA and has 44 strikeouts in 52 innings.

"I feel like right now I'm starting to hit my peak kind of at the right time," said DuFrene, who was named the USA South Conference Pitcher of the Week after his performance against Ferrum on March 30.

He'll have to keep that momentum going today for the Hornets in the postseason. He faced the Monarchs on March 2, and yielded three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work.

Said Davis, "We always have a lot of confidence that he's going to go out there and get it done. It really helps out our whole team offensively and defensively when you know he's on the mound."

Out of Woodside High School four years ago, DuFrene said he was hardly an "it" pitcher upon graduation. He wasn't a first or second team conference selection as a senior, and was stumbled upon by Anderson and the SU coaching staff by his size and sharp throws from third base during an American Legion showcase.

As part of his first recruiting class as the Hornets' manager, Anderson said DuFrene was thrown into the fire right away, as "the cupboard was pretty bare." And even if not particularly ready for conference competition at the time, the then-raw freshman registered three wins and a 5.03 ERA. He'd follow that up with a 5-2, 4.82 campaign his sophomore season.

"We still have video from when I was a freshman," said DuFrene, who was scratched from last year's postseason start because of a back injury.

"Looking at that compared to now, it's two different people. I look smoother — arm action is nice, just everything's fixed, I guess. I owe it all to him." — as in Anderson.

It's no wonder Anderson was decisive in pulling DuFrene last summer, as he's played an instrumental role in the hurler's development since he arrived in 2004-05.

"Each year Taylor has refined different aspects and we try to work on one thing at a time, correct a flaw, go to the next one. He's ironed out a lot of poor pitching mechanics. We've always liked his arm, but we've really had to start over mechanically," Anderson said.

DuFrene said former players Gerry Sasse and Jason Burgess contributed in mentoring him as a young player — a position he's assumed among the many underclassmen pitchers on the Hornets roster.

But back then, DuFrene said he was jumpy on the mound, had no balance and threw each of his repertoire of pitches from different arm slots. However, what seemed a work in progress then has become the Hornets' most valuable arm going into postseason play. Saved from what could've been chronic elbow problems, too, Anderson believes there is the potential for a career in baseball after Shenandoah.

"He's a workhorse, every time he throws the ball he throws with everything he's got," Davis said. "He just throws the ball with a lot of confidence, which you need to do as a pitcher."

*Contact Tim Tassa at ttassa@nvdaily.com

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