Freshman pitcher returning from injury in time for playoffs
Robbinsville – Ella Nelms seemingly had this season by the horns.
She started 16 games. She won 16 of them. She surrendered two runs (one unearned) and coughed up just 17 hits while logging 81 innings of work inside the circle. Her ERA is an almost-unfathomable 0.09, which is the lowest across the state.
Then, there's the strikeouts. On ten occasions, she broke into double digits for a single game – even shattering the program record with an 18-knockout performance at Kings Mountain on March 26. Currently, she has 169 for the year.
Yet, somewhere amid her 15th start – April 9, a special pairing with A.C. Reynolds at Western Carolina University – something felt off. She exited during an at-bat in the seventh, with Kynadee Spencer finishing off the Lady Rockets to give Robbinsville the victory.
Nelms was held out of the following day's road game with Cherokee, but toed the rubber for April 13's home game against Copper Basin.
That's when things went haywire.
"I tore, or strained, my rhomboid muscle on my throwing arm," Nelms said. "I knew I was getting sore, but I felt it pop against Copper Basin."
There are major and minor rhomboid muscles in the upper back, which connect the shoulder blade to the spine. However, Nelms doesn't chalk up the setback to being overworked and contends it could have been avoided.
"I can't do anything about it, but it makes me mad," said Nelms. "I could have done stuff to prevent this, but I didn't. I could have stretched and gotten my muscles stronger, because that's one of the reasons why it did strain.
"The doctors said my lat was too strong for my rhomboid and it pulled it forward, which strained it."
During her absence, Spencer and senior Suri Watty have filled the role of pitcher nicely. Spencer has started each game, with Watty stepping in as a reliever as needed. The Lady Knights started the year 17-0 and have went 3-2 in her absence, including losses to Enka and Kings Mountain – schools in respective 5A and 6A classifications.
Nelms was cleared to overhand throw April 23 and light pitching duties Monday. In the interim, she has kept a log of pitch counts and provided inspiration for Spencer and Watty.
Whether she will throw today's Senior Night showdown with Murphy remains to be seen, but the dominant rookie is excited about the prospect of aiding Robbinsville in its quest for a state ring.
"I'm so ready to get back inside that circle," Nelms said.