Just Glad to be Here (TW Nick Jones Article)

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By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

5/31/2006

ORU's Nick Jones put up with injury, but can make up for lost time now

The way Nick Jones sees it, he probably shouldn't even be here anyway.

All the more reason to savor every pitch.

Tommy John (elbow ligament reconstructive) surgery at 16, stuck at third base in junior college, elbow injuries throughout his two years at Oral Roberts -- the baseball gods have given Jones many chances to get off the mound.

All he wants now is one more month. If professional scouts come calling on June 6-7, Jones says he'll likely not answer, and will instead simply start his new life outside of baseball.

"I've gotten to the point where baseball's been a great part of my life," said Jones, a senior from Broken Arrow. "It's been like a book, and the last chapter's about to close. It's something I've accepted really easily, and that surprised me. I didn't think it was going to be something easy to accept."

Jones is expected to take the hill Friday when ORU opens against Arkansas in the Fayetteville Regional. ORU hasn't advanced out of a regional since 1978 -- five years before Jones was born -- so this could be his last game.

"I've still got goals this year to achieve," Jones said. "We've still got to get the team to Omaha.

"I could have easily hung it up with the arm the way it is, knowing I'm not going to get that chance to play (pro ball), but I want to give these guys everything I have."

ORU (38-14) is the No. 3 seed, while 21st-ranked Arkansas (38-19) is seeded second. They meet at 7 p.m. at Baum Stadium. No. 1 seed Oklahoma State (39-18), ranked 20th, opens the tournament at 2 p.m. against fourth-seeded Princeton (19-24-1).

Jones goes into Fayetteville battle-tested in NCAA Tournament play. When the Golden Eagles were the 3-seed in last season's Clemson Regional, Jones started an elimination game against College of Charleston. The Cougars led the nation with a .364 batting average, but Jones gave up just four hits in a 3-0 complete-game victory.

"Special performance," said ORU coach Rob Walton. "He's capable of doing that. He had one earlier this year against Kansas State (two hits, eight strikeouts), where he was just dominating.

"If he's feeling good that day, he has a chance to be pretty good."

Therein lies the unknown. A second bone spur in his right elbow has flared up this season, causing him to be either excellent or average. He's 7-4 with a 3.67 earned run average and led the Mid-Continent Conference with 83 strikeouts, but has shown the potential for so much more.

A week after tossing a seven-inning no-hitter against Chicago State, he gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings in a loss at Southern Utah.

Jones said he will have elbow surgery once the Golden Eagles' season is finished. But even then, he won't go chasing the pro dream unless the dollar figures are too huge to ignore.

Walton said pro scouts are interested in Jones because he still throws his fastball 90-92 mph (on good days) and his hard, biting slider is a good out pitch. But would he be willing to chase fame and fortune if he had to kick around in the minor leagues for a few years first?

"That's something I'm definitely going to have to deal with at that point," Jones said. "I'm going to have to see how I feel about my arm -- can I get this thing ready, can I make an impact? I've got a lot waiting for me there, and I've got a lot waiting for me away from baseball right now. It's just something I've got to weigh, the benefits on each side, and make sure I'm not delaying more important things either way."

Jones grew up in Broken Arrow, played his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons at Victory Christian and played his senior year at Union. He then spent two years at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College -- most of it playing third base and right field. His father, Rick Jones, credits Bill Springman for "saving his career" at Union and said the two years he played for Roger Ward at NEO were "the turning point."

One day while running the bases, Jones turned his ankle badly enough to take him off the field. He was toying around in the bullpen before a game at Arkansas-Fort Smith, and when the scheduled starter became ill and couldn't throw, NEO assistant Brian Smith sent Jones to the mound. Jones responded with a four-hit shutout. Then came a two-hit shutout of No. 1-ranked Connors State, and suddenly Jones was a prospect at pitcher.

"Until then, they didn't even know," said Rick Jones. "If he hadn't twisted his ankle going around third base, he would have never gotten a chance to pitch."

Now, as Jones' pitching days are apparently winding down, he's at peace with everything that's transpired. He plans to use his business administration major and recreation administration minor to get into golf course management. And he credits his parents, Rick and Lauren, for his achievements.

"I don't think so. He's done a lot on his own," Rick Jones said. "He's said we've sacrificed a lot for him and that's not true. It was a privilege to give up things like vacations for him to play baseball. That baseball gave a lot more back to us than we ever sacrificed for him."