Injuries Strike All-Americans Borbon, Roemer
Tenneesee OF Borbon could miss more than two months
As college baseball teams begin practice around the nation, injuries are taking a significant toll already.
Tennessee outfielder Julio Borbon, a preseason first-team All-American, is the biggest name to go down. Borbon fractured his left ankle during Wednesday's practice and will have surgery Tuesday that will keep him out of action for eight to 10 weeks, which should put him back in action right around the start of the Volunteers SEC schedule on March 16 against Alabama. The No. 4 prospect for Team USA last summer, Borbon stole 15 bases in 18 attempts for the national team. Speed is a major part of his game, making an injury to his ankle even more significant, though he's expected to make a full recovery.
Borbon isn't the only first-team All-American with a broken bone. Cal State Fullerton ace righthander Wes Roemer broke his pinky finger on his throwing hand, but the Titans are hoping he can pitch through it with the right treatment.
The No. 14 Titans will also be without sophomore outfielder Jared Clark for all of 2007 thanks to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Clark hit five home runs for Fullerton a year ago, second among returning starters to third baseman Evan McArthur--who is expected to miss two more weeks with a sprained wrist. Infielder Joe Scott, who had surgery in the fall to repair a displaced knuckle, is almost back to full strength.
Scott figures to play a more prominent role than expected for the Titans, because freshman shortstop Nate Bridges is academically ineligible for the season. Bridges, a product of California's Villa Park High, rated as the No. 22 freshman in the nation and was expected to start right away at short. He has elected to stay at Fullerton and work on his academics to get himself eligible for 2008.
Bridges isn't the only touted freshman who will miss 2007. Hard-throwing South Carolina righthander Sam Dyson, the 37th-ranked freshman in the country, had surgery over the winter break to repair his right labrum and rotator cuff. Dyson has one of the most electric arms in the freshman class but also needs to improve his command--he wasn't likely to earn a spot in South Carolina's weekend rotation in 2007.
Fellow freshman righty Nick Fuller still has a chance to work his way into the rotation while the Gamecocks wait for ace Arik Hempy to work his way back from Tommy John surgery, but for now the favorite to join Harris Honeycutt and Mike Cisco in the South Carolina rotation is junior college transfer Jay Brown.
Tenneesee OF Borbon could miss more than two months
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PrintAs college baseball teams begin practice around the nation, injuries are taking a significant toll already.
Tennessee outfielder Julio Borbon, a preseason first-team All-American, is the biggest name to go down. Borbon fractured his left ankle during Wednesday's practice and will have surgery Tuesday that will keep him out of action for eight to 10 weeks, which should put him back in action right around the start of the Volunteers SEC schedule on March 16 against Alabama. The No. 4 prospect for Team USA last summer, Borbon stole 15 bases in 18 attempts for the national team. Speed is a major part of his game, making an injury to his ankle even more significant, though he's expected to make a full recovery.
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| Tennessee's Julio Borbon |
The No. 14 Titans will also be without sophomore outfielder Jared Clark for all of 2007 thanks to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Clark hit five home runs for Fullerton a year ago, second among returning starters to third baseman Evan McArthur--who is expected to miss two more weeks with a sprained wrist. Infielder Joe Scott, who had surgery in the fall to repair a displaced knuckle, is almost back to full strength.
Scott figures to play a more prominent role than expected for the Titans, because freshman shortstop Nate Bridges is academically ineligible for the season. Bridges, a product of California's Villa Park High, rated as the No. 22 freshman in the nation and was expected to start right away at short. He has elected to stay at Fullerton and work on his academics to get himself eligible for 2008.
Bridges isn't the only touted freshman who will miss 2007. Hard-throwing South Carolina righthander Sam Dyson, the 37th-ranked freshman in the country, had surgery over the winter break to repair his right labrum and rotator cuff. Dyson has one of the most electric arms in the freshman class but also needs to improve his command--he wasn't likely to earn a spot in South Carolina's weekend rotation in 2007.
Fellow freshman righty Nick Fuller still has a chance to work his way into the rotation while the Gamecocks wait for ace Arik Hempy to work his way back from Tommy John surgery, but for now the favorite to join Harris Honeycutt and Mike Cisco in the South Carolina rotation is junior college transfer Jay Brown.
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