New London's Chaffins set to take mound

It's been a roller coaster ride for Corey Chaffins and his baseball career at Eastern Michigan University.

But the New London graduate continues to surge on and is scheduled to pitch for the first time since October 2007 Friday when the Eagles open the season with two games in the Johnny Gill Memorial Tournament hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.

Eastern is scheduled to play George Washington at 12:30 p.m. and then the host school at 4 p.m.

It will be Chaffins' first actual game he's pitched since July 2007.

"Right now, I'm set to start,'' Chaffins said of Sunday night. "They're hoping it's a dead arm phase. I'm pretty much going to try and go as long as I can. If I get five innings in, I'll be happy.''

The former all-Ohio and Firelands Conference and District 9 Player of the Year with the Wildcats made an impact with Eastern Michigan as a freshman.

"It started out rough,'' Chaffins said. "We had the third hardest non-conference schedule in the country. Baseball is a whole different level. We had a good pitching staff that year.''

He eventually finished the season with a 2-2 mark in five starts.

Chaffins, a sophomore, went 401/3 innings and struck out 42 batters in 14 appearances that season, en route to sharing the team's Newcomer of the Year Award.

He tallied a career-high 12 strikeouts against Olivet and picked up his second career win as the Eagles downed Northern Illinois 9-3 in the MAC tournament.

Chaffins, a math major, allowed only two runs on four hits, scattering four hits with three strikeouts in 72/3 innings of work.

In the summer of 2007, while playing for a team in Delaware, Ohio in the Great Lakes League, Chaffins was shagging flyballs.

"I felt something,'' he said. "I tried pitching and topped out at 81, 82 and nobody knew why.''

He eventually went through Tommy John surgery that October and has spent the last 16 months trying to return.

"I've always wanted to come back,'' Chaffins said. "They gave me a choice -- I could have the surgery and sit out a minimum of a year or I could move to third base. It was a pretty easy choice. I think I'm a better pitcher.''

He said last season was tough.

"Mentally, it was the hardest thing I've had to do,'' Chaffins said. "Two of my roommates play. The hardest thing was not going on the road trips.''

It's been up and down since then.

Chaffins pitching against a live (practice) batter for the time in October. He lasted seven pitches and felt pain.

Chaffins had an MRI, then went through rehab and was shut down for six weeks.

He started back up again during the Holidays and then was shut down again for two weeks.

Chaffins restarted in late January and finally looked to be ready, as he pumped his fastball to 90. He went three innings against live batters in practice.

This week, Chaffins was back to between 82 and 84.

"It's been one of the most frustrating things I've ever done,'' he said. "The biggest thing is getting my endurance back.''

The surgery Chaffins had is named after Tommy John, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who was the first professional athlete to successfully undergo the operation in 1974.

It is known by doctors as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, a surgical procedure in which a ligament in the elbow is replaced with a tendon elsewhere in the body, often from the forearm, hamstring, knee or football.

Chaffins said he's going to let it fly in that first start.

"I'm not worried about it,'' he said. "I was in the high 80s and that's what I expect. As long I go out there and be fine, I'll be happy.''

The Eagles, who finished with a 25-34 overall mark, reached the consolation game of NCAA's Ann Arbor regional and were both Mid-American Conference West Division and MAC tournament champions last season, are counting on Chaffins to be one of their top starters this season.