Pete Noordsy wiped the sweat from his brow as he prepared to throw his next pitch.
The familiar snap echoed through East Field as the ball sailed into the glove of pitching coach Brett Merritt.
"Was that good?" Noordsy asked.
"Yup," Merritt said.
Days like these, even if it’s practice, with the New York Collegiate Baseball League’s Glens Falls Golden Eagles are a treat for the 2007 Glens Falls High School graduate.
Noordsy is in the final phase of his rehab from a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow suffered last July.
It’s been a long road for the sophomore left-hander at Division I Wofford College in South Carolina. In 22 appearances, including three starts, in his freshman season with a 6.20 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 45 innings.
An unexpected pop in his left arm during a summer game in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, a league similar to the NYCBL, put an end to a highly anticipated sophomore season.
Instead of vying for a spot in the starting rotation, Noordsy took a medical redshirt and spent his winter lifting weights and stretching his arm three days a week for an hour and half a day in the school’s rehab program. He began light tossing last November and gradually added pitching to his regime.
"I started at 45 feet and progressed to 108 feet," he said. "Basically that was the long-toss program. Eventually I started throwing off the mound, which probably started three and half, four months ago."
As the rest of the Golden Eagles stretched or tossed balls in the outfield in preparation for their game against Mohawk Valley that evening, Noordsy took his place back on the bullpen mound.
He hurled another pitch, but instead of a snap of the glove, there was a thud as the ball ricocheted off Merritt’s right ankle.
"I wasn’t expecting that pitch," Merritt said as he shook his ankle.
Noordsy got in a few more pitches, this time throwing to catcher Gary DerHagopian, who was well-equipped for any wayward balls.
The magic pitch count on this day was 65. When Noordsy hit it, he took his seat on the bench.
"It will slowly go up," he said about his pitch count. "Eventually I will be able to start throwing breaking balls and stuff. I’m limited to the amount of breaking balls I can throw right now. I just have to wait on that, but it should be more as I continue on with the season."
Noordsy has the green light to throw fastballs and change-ups. Breaking balls and the rest of his pitching arsenal will come later.
"Right now we’re not concerned with velocity," Merritt said. "We just want him to be comfortable and go at it 100 percent. We are not really going to monitor his velocity until he feels comfortable throwing the ball."
As a hometown boy, Noordsy was familiar with the summer league team. He contacted head coach John Mayotte, a Glens Falls native himself, after his surgery in hopes of working something out — which they did.
It’s not exactly as Noordsy pictured it, but he is a Golden Eagle, though his name is not on the roster — an issue that often leads to confusion.
During pre-game introductions against Mohawk Valley, members of the entire Eagles team along with the coaching staff were introduced. All except Noordsy, who was left sitting all alone in the dugout.
Unfazed by the unintentional slight, Noordsy ran onto the field, high-fiving teammates as he made his way to the end of the line.
"We’ve already got a roster spot available for him," Mayotte said. "We’ve saved a spot. We know that down the road he’s going to be better than any recruit we can possibly pick up."
Noordsy hopes to be on the roster by mid-July and on the mound, officially, before the end of the season. According to Mayotte, he would start out as reliever with extra attention paid to his pitch count.
"We don’t want to hurt the kid," Mayotte said.
Noordsy feels getting a few innings in at East Field would be a great way to end the summer and a nice confidence boost before heading back to Spartanburg, S.C., for his sophomore season.
"The goal is to get into a game, but it’s not like it’s a must thing," Noordsy said. "I’m more obviously worried about being ready for the fall back in college. But I would still love to pitch here, my hometown and stuff. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully I will be able to help the team."
"I know Tommy John surgery can be a real downer for a kid," Mayotte said. "But I know many cases where they come back stronger and better than ever. So, I’m hoping Pete will have that opportunity real soon."