Finally healthy, High Point pitcher bounces back

With High Point leading 1-0, Cheney got all three outs in the bottom of the first by strikeout. Then the Eagles erupted for 14 runs in a brutal second inning for the Wildcats. Cheney struck out the side again in the second inning before putting on a Boston Red Sox jacket and calling it a day.

‘‘It was just straight fastballs and a few changeups and that’s all I threw,” Cheney said. ‘‘They weren’t touching it.”

Cheney, who lives in Adelphi, had a fractured elbow in his throwing arm that was misdiagnosed as a growth-plate problem the fall of his sophomore year. He pitched only six games with High Point and summer teams the next two years, enduring excruciating pain in those few appearances.

It was only last summer when he got another opinion that he learned that the real problem was a broken bone. Cheney had surgery in August and rehabbed and trained hard all offseason. In two preseason games, he struck out 13 and gave up just one hit in six innings, so his regular-season debut on his birthday didn’t surprise coach Brian Rau.

‘‘He has pitched very well for us,” Rau said. ‘‘We’ve had a couple scrimmages and he’s been very strong, against South River and against North Point. In both games he gave us three very strong innings. We were basically expecting what we got. We’re pleased with it — don’t get me wrong — but that’s what he’s been showing us all season so far.”

And with the Eagles needing to rebuild their pitching rotation after last year’s second-place finish in the County 4A League, his return in good form couldn’t have come at a better time. Cheney said he wasn’t surprised at his proficiency after the long layoff, but he has surpassed some of his own expectations.

‘‘Things come for those who work hard,” Cheney said. ‘‘I was expecting pretty good things but nowhere near this much. I thought people were going to touch me and hit some fair balls and stuff like that. I’m really pleased with what’s going on but it doesn’t mean I can let up. I have to keep going at it every day, going at it really hard.”

Cheney was the Eagles’ ace on the junior varsity team when he was a freshman, and he was called up to the varsity late in the season, although he didn’t see much action.

He’s not sure how he broke his arm, but during his sophomore year he only made two appearances. He winced and nearly keeled over after every throw, recalled his father, Jim. After getting a second opinion, Cheney figured out why the pain wouldn’t go away.

‘‘The whole time my sophomore year I was pitching on a broken arm,” he said.

Once he got the final diagnosis last year, he quickly got on the road back to the mound. He underwent surgery late last summer at Johns Hopkins University, under the supervision of the Baltimore Orioles’ team doctor.

‘‘It really was a gift because people looked out for him,” his father said. ‘‘He was lucky.”

Cheney remains optimistic about his playing future, though he admits the injury ended the dreams of playing Division I baseball he had held since he first took up the sport. He was accepted to Barry University, a Division II school in Miami Shores, Fla., where he where wants to walk on. But first he is looking forward to leading the Eagles in his first full varsity season.

‘‘I’m kind of happy where I’m sitting now, but it’s no excuse to not work,” Cheney said.

E-mail Kevin Hilgers at khilgers@gmail.com.