SAN ANTONIO – After missing a year due to injury, UTSA senior pitcher Andre Shewcraft is back on the mound.
Shewcraft spent the entire 2017 season recovering from a torn labrum.
"A lot of thoughts went through my head," he recalled. "My teammates were there to keep me up."
He spent the year recovering and working out with the team. However, he also added an unofficial coaching role.
"Last year, he was our bullpen liaison," head coach Jason Marshall said. "He took on more of a coaching role as a player. He's always been such the team captain-type guy."
The Pearland native worked hard to make a comeback for the 2018 campaign.
"A lot of people were pushing me throughout the year," he said. "It's been easy to come back and be part of the team again."
Shewcraft's first outing since surgery was a bit of an adventure.
On Feb. 17, in the Roadrunners' second game of the season versus San Francisco, the 5-foot-10, 220-pound right-hander made his first appearance on the mound in 664 days.
With two outs in the seventh inning and UTSA leading 9-0, head coach Jason Marshall made the call to the bullpen to bring in Shewcraft to relieve Steven Dressler.
The first batter Shewcraft faced struck out swinging on four pitches, but a wild pitch allowed him to reach first. He then walked the next two batters, both on five pitches, loading the bases.
But, that's when it seemed to feel right for Shewcraft. After all, he had pitched in 41 previous games for the Roadrunners, all out of the bullpen. It was not the first jam he had seen.
The next hitter stood in the left-handed batter's box. Facing a 2-2 count, Shewcraft forced him to roll over on a pitch that turned into an easy putout for senior first baseman Ben Brookover.
After sitting in the dugout and watching UTSA add another run to the scoreboard, Shewcraft trotted back out to the mound.
"After that first out I kind of got settled in and it was back to normal," he said.
He struck out the first batter of the eighth inning and induced a flyout from the following hitter. After giving up a hit, Shewcraft finished the frame with another strikeout.
"It was nerve-wracking," Shewcraft added. "I got excited when (Coach Marshall) told me to warm up. My first time out there kind of made me feel like a freshman again."
He finished his season debut with three strikeouts, two walks and a hit all on 35 pitches over 1.1 innings.
A week later, he was back on the bump, working a scoreless stanza in relief against then-No. 3 Texas Tech.
"It took me a lot to get mentally ready for that second time because my arm didn't feel great," Shewcraft explained. "The steps it takes to get ready to pitch, it's a long process. The second time out was a lot better. My arm recovered better this time."
Since then, Shewcraft has continued his dominance on the mound. He has made five relief appearances this spring without allowing a run. In six innings of work, he has limited opposing hitters to a .100 batting average while also registering eight strikeouts and a save, which came in UTSA's 5-2 win at McNeese State last Saturday.
"It's been a blessing for us," Marshall added when asked about the return of Shewcraft. "He is the ultra-competition guy when he gets between the white lines. He's the first-pump-type guy when he gets a strikeout. As a coach, you really appreciate the way he competes."
Competition. That's what Shewcraft missed the most.
"The intensity of being out there on the field with the guys," he affirmed.
Shewcraft and the rest of the Roadrunners return to action this weekend in a four-game series against Columbia. The set is slated to open at 6 p.m. Friday at Roadrunner Field.
