Winthrop baseball player Garrett Gainey was named Big South starting pitcher of the week on Monday, March 21.
“I was extremely excited about being honored as Big South starting pitcher of the week,” Gainey said. “I stopped and thanked God for giving me the ability to play this game I love and receive great awards such as this one.”
Gainey started playing baseball at the age of 3 and fell in love with the game. He played competitively from ages 6 to 15 until he suffered a full labrum tear in January of 2017, which required surgery.
“[I was] told from the doctor himself that this surgery is a pitcher’s nightmare, and many pitchers don’t come back to 100%,” Gainey said.
After surgery, Gainey began rehab and intense therapy in Columbia, South Carolina, where they helped him for two years to get back to playing in the field at one hundred percent.
Due to the labrum injury on his throwing arm, Gainey was unable to play during his sophomore and junior year of high school. In January of his senior year, he attended a baseball camp at Winthrop Ballpark, where he got the opportunity to return for an official visit two weeks later.
“I received a scholarship offer on my official visit and felt like Winthrop was a great choice for my academics and athletics,” Gainey said. “Getting any opportunity to play is a blessing for me because I overcame a surgery that not many pitches come back from.”
As a sophomore, Gainey has been the only pitcher on Winthrop’s roster to be credited with multiple wins so far this season.
“I get to compete with my teammates and earn a win beside all of those guys. They have a major impact in the games we have won this season,” Gainey said.
Since his freshman year, Gainey said he feels like he has “progressed tremendously by learning how to actually pitch in college rather than just throwing like in high school.”
Additionally, he feels like he has filled a leadership role for the team, which has always been a goal for him since his freshman year.
“Garrett has been outstanding for us this year because he has worked extremely hard to put himself in the position to have success,” head baseball coach Tom Riginos said. “I am looking for him to continue his success the rest of the year.”
Looking forward to the rest of the season and his time on the team, Gainey has expectations for the team to win a Big South Championship and to go to an NCAA Regional.
“We are coming together greatly as a team at the right time which is great for getting into conference,” Gainey said.
For the rest of the season and the next few years on the team, Gainey looks forward to making memories with his teammates and having as much time on the field as possible.
“I was blessed by God to receive a scholarship offer to play Division I baseball here at Winthrop University,” Gainey said. “Being able to play college baseball is such a blessing to me and I am grateful every single day for this opportunity.”
