If there are any players and coaches awaiting some advice on how to deal with the loss of sports in their lives, Jesse Boydstun would like a word.
Patience is something that Boydstun knows plenty about and he’s learned quickly not to take anything for granted when it comes to the game he loves. The Winston Academy product was set for a big freshman season and was going to help the Warriors of East Central Community College in the field, at the plate, and even on the mound.
That’s until about 10 days prior to the season in an intra-squad scrimmage. Boydstun was busting it down the line to first base and took a step past the bag when his knee hyper extended. Several different injuries occurred in that bad step, the most serious being a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Boydstun missed his entire freshman campaign and it took about five months for him to start getting close to normal.
“The first six months progressed pretty fast especially when I got home and started to rehab at Elite in Louisville. They just had so much more equipment,” Boydstun said. “I started to be able to cut at five months and then everything just started moving from there. It was a long process but it taught me a lot of things. I got better baseball knowledge just sitting in the dugout and watching my team.”
When Boydstun was let loose, he played every game like it was his last.
Getting a second chance at his freshman season, Boydstun was among the best in the NJCAA through the first 16 games of his career this season. He led the team with a .475 batting average and in most offensive categories including hits (28), doubles (8), home runs (3), RBI (21) and slugging percentage (.797).
Towards the end of the season, he was named the Player of the Week in the MACJC with his .692 batting average in four games with 13 hits, three doubles, one home run, five RBIs. The knee injury was a thing of the past.
“I was unsure about my leg and how it would hold up but was really feeling good,” Boydstun said. “We had a lot of freshman this year but were coming along well. We were just getting into a groove.”
The groove stopped due to the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide. However, Boydstun will again have another chance to finally put together a full season of college sports.
The NJCAA is awarding all spring athletes another year due to the loss of the season which means a third freshman season for Boydstun. With only Division II opportunities afforded him right now, he’s planning on coming back and proving himself for at least one more year with the Warriors.
“I’m planning on coming back,” Boydstun said. “I think I got my name on the radar. Most of our team is coming back and most of my signing class is still here. I feel like if I can produce the way I did this past year, I think some people will be interested.”
The positive attitude and hope for the future is evident from Boydstun as he got the boost he needed from just an 18-game schedule.
Not being able to finish the season was a bummer, but he also was thankful to be back out on the field with his teammates to get another taste of everything that baseball has to offer. Knowing he’ll be able to do it again is what has him thinking positive this spring while he sits at home and waits it out.
“All of these people are posting on social media about how tough it is to lose their season, but I was prepared for this,” Boydstun said. “I came in my freshman year and then boom it gets taken away from me. It sucks either way, but it was exciting to be back on the field even if it was just for 18 games.”
