MOBILE, Ala. – Jaguar right-hander Dustin Crenshaw has had to overcome one of baseball’s most common surgeries in his time with the University of South Alabama baseball team.

Crenshaw underwent Tommy John surgery April 2, 2009, in his first season with the program after suffering an injury in a relief appearance against Baylor in Waco, Texas.

“I felt like my elbow tore on a changeup I threw at Baylor that year,” Crenshaw said. “I really didn’t want to throw a changeup after that. I didn’t like that pitch. I didn’t have command of it, and it hurt when I threw it. I came back throwing it, but I was always skeptical of it. When a changeup was called, I always had a fear of throwing that pitch.”

Crenshaw was given a recovery time of 12-16 months, standard for Tommy John surgery recovery. But he rehabilitated ahead of schedule, and began throwing less than a year removed from the procedure.

“My recovery time was 12 to 16 months, but I was throwing after 10 months,” he said. “When I first came back I felt good. I felt like I had good command of my fastball and changeup. I could tell that my breaking stuff was lacking a little. As the season went on, everything just got worse. My fastball command went away, I couldn’t locate my changeup for a strike and my curve ball became flat – nothing was really working for me.” 

Full recovery time for the surgery would have been by the summer of 2010. But Crenshaw battled back and earned his first career win at South Alabama on March 6 of last season against Siena, in which he tied a career high in strikeouts at the time, and allowed just two hits in four innings of relief.

He later earned his first win as a starter on March 14, 2010, at UALR, helping lead the Jaguars to a sweep of the Trojans to open Sun Belt Conference play.

This season, Crenshaw has been nothing short of outstanding. The right-hander leads the South Alabama pitching staff in wins (5) heading into the weekend series with UALR. He leads the Sun Belt in innings pitched (60.1) and walks allowed (3). His three walks allowed in his 60-plus innings pitched ranks tied for seventh in the nation. Crenshaw pitched 52 consecutive innings without issuing a walk to start the season before surrendering his first free pass in his seventh start of the year at Middle Tennessee.

“I was aware of it, but I knew eventually it would come to where I would walk somebody,” Crenshaw said of his streak to start the season.”I wasn’t planning on going through the whole season [without issuing a walk]. I didn’t want to walk anybody, but it’s going to happen.”

Crenshaw is now reaping the benefits of full recovery following his surgery, along with the Jaguar baseball team.

“My elbow feels good,” he stated. “I feel like I have better command of my fastball than I have ever had. I started throwing a split-finger fastball and dropped the changeup. I felt like the rotation on the changeup hurt, and I had better location on my split-finger than any changeup that I have ever had. My command is good and my slider is good. My curveball is lacking a little bit – I haven’t had that but the split-finger and the slider I have been throwing have been good, I have command of those and the fastball. That’s what I have noticed most after the surgery.

He is also benefitting from working with Jaguar associate head coach Mark Calvi – the 2010 Pitching Coach of the Year.

“Coach Calvi helped me with my fundamentals,” Crenshaw said. “I switched sides on the mound. I was on the right side and I switched to the left side. And I worked with my junior college coach back home over the summer, and we went over some things. We worked on my stride and my front side staying closed.”

“Dustin has gotten a lot stronger physically,” Calvi said. “We made a minor mechanical adjustment in the fall with him, but the rest has been his hard work. It takes at least two years for guys to fully put it together after that surgery. He is able to throw his offspeed stuff for strikes, and he locates well. He doesn’t walk hitters; he makes you hit him to beat him. He’s just broadened his approach to his stuff. I have asked him to think about doing some different things with his breaking ball. He has been a good student – he’s listened well and worked extremely hard. He takes the position seriously and I think he enjoys pitching. Dustin has done a fantastic job for us. You know what you are going to get every single time he goes out there, and that’s a good feeling as a coach.”

Calvi has helped Crenshaw improve not only physically, but mentally as well.

“He told us in the beginning of the year to not let anything affect you,” he stated. “Don’t let the umpire or other team affect you. Going out there knowing that and just focusing on nothing but the next pitch helps a lot.”

Crenshaw has prospered as a weekend starter for South Alabama, a role he prefers over relieving.

 “It’s nice being a weekend starter. You know when you are going to throw, and you have a routine that you go through,” he said. “Week-to-week you know when you are going and what you are going to do. I prefer starting over relieving, when you don’t know when you are going to go in and you have to get up then get down. That was one thing I was worried about with my surgery – if I have to get up, then down and back up again, I was worried about heating my arm back up to go.”

Crenshaw will make his next start Saturday at 2 p.m., in game two of South Alabama’s three-game set with UALR at Stanky Field. It will mark his ninth start of the season, and one in which he can help the Jaguars take another step toward their 26th consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament appearance.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

-USA-