If you look hard enough, you'll see it.
Near the inside of Cole Uvila's elbow sits a thin scar spanning approximately 4 inches in length - the result of Tommy John surgery that occurred about two years ago.
At the time, the injury appeared to be a devastating blow for Uvila. The Port Angeles, Wash., product was in the midst of a promising senior season as the Friday night starter at Georgia State, where he had recorded a 0.90 ERA through two starts.
All that changed with one pitch.
"I just felt it pop," Uvila said, reflecting on the moment that changed his life.
Eight days after the injury, Uvila underwent Tommy John surgery, a graft procedure in which a torn ligament is replaced by a healthy tendon that is then threaded through holes drilled into the bone above and below the elbow.
Facing a lengthy recovery process, Uvila returned to his home state and began rehabbing at Driveline Baseball in Kent. Although he knew that he wouldn't be able to take the mound for the 2017 season, Uvila began the process of looking for a new program after pitching coach Adam Scott departed the Panther baseball program.
"It's funny, when I was a junior at Georgia State they were always talking about some NAIA team up the road that was like 55-5," Uvila said. "I was like, 'No way.' "
That program? Georgia Gwinnett - an up-and-coming juggernaut that had previously qualified for the Avista NAIA World Series in 2014. Scott helped put Uvila in touch with head coach Brad Stromdahl, and it didn't take long for the right-hander to sign on with the Grizzlies.
But the transition didn't come without a few hiccups. With a reliable three-man rotation already in place, Stromdahl struggled with the best way to utilize his new pitcher. It didn't take long for Uvila to propose a solution.
"We had some guys - (Hunter) Dollander, (Hunter) Peck and (Gregory) Loukinen stepped up on the front end," Stromdahl said. "So he said, 'Hey, listen. I throw hard, I'll go on the back end.' "
The move appeared to pay dividends for both Uvila and the Grizzlies. The right-hander boasts a 4.75 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 55 innings of work as a long relief specialist.
"It just really speaks to the depth of our pitching staff," Uvila said. "We've got so many guys who have stepped up and gotten a start, it seemed like a better fit for the team to move me to the bullpen. As far as mentality goes, it's a little bit different. I get to throw it harder and just attack guys."
One such opportunity occurred Tuesday afternoon when Uvila's number was called in a high-pressure situation during an elimination tilt against No. 1 Faulkner. With the bases loaded in the fourth and his team clinging to an 8-5 lead, the Georgia Gwinnett reliever helped his team escape the predicament by forcing Reese Cooley to fly out to center.
"He's just a guy who has wanted this his whole life," Stromdahl said. "He went out there and did exactly what he needed to do to put us in tomorrow's game. We all thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his effort today."
The relief appearance may have been overshadowed by the authoritative 20-9 result in favor of the Grizzlies, but Uvila's 51/3-inning effort helped keep the bullpen fresh for today's 3 p.m. loser-out clash with Freed-Hardeman (46-15).
"I would say out of everybody that's left tomorrow, we've got the most depth," Uvila said. "We've done a really good job of managing our bullpen."
---
Grissom can be reached at jgrissom@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @JoshuaGNews.
