Charlie Lemersal’s journey back from a dislocated left shoulder and a torn labrum was almost complete last January. Lemersal missed his entire sophomore season, but his first season of varsity baseball was about to begin.
Then, Lemersal dislocated his left shoulder a second time. It happened during a house league basketball game when Lemersal, who’s now a senior at Maine South, went up for a rebound and had the ball and his non-throwing arm pulled backward.
Lemersal immediately knew the severity of the injury the second time it happened, he said. His left shoulder was out of the socket and drooping down. He said he also knew, based on a conversation he had with his doctor following his first dislocation and torn labrum, which occurred when he fell during a soccer game as a sophomore, that his labrum had most likely been re-torn.
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An MRI confirmed that it was.
What Lemersal didn’t know, however, was if he would ever be able to play baseball again.
“That was the first thing I asked (Dr. Marc Breslow), ‘Will I ever be able to go back and play sports, competitively?’ ” Lemersal said. “He said, ‘Yeah, if (you do) proper rehab and strength training.’ I did everything right and now I’m back.”
After two lost seasons, Lemersal made the Hawks’ baseball team, which was scheduled to play its first game on Monday, March 21.
“He (wanted) to be part of the team,” Maine South coach Bill Milano said of the right-handed reliever. “His character, his determination are off the charts because he could have (said), ‘Hey coach, I had a couple surgeries and I’m not comfortable.’ But he wasn’t like that. He was determined to give it a shot and he did.”
Lemersal’s path back to full health started with surgery to repair his torn labrum. He wore a tight brace — one that wrapped around his stomach and kept his left arm immobile — for six weeks. He also worked with physical therapists at Athletico three times-per-week to first regain as much range of motion in his left shoulder as he could, then to strengthen it.
Maine South’s 2015 baseball season took place during the first months of Lemersal’s six-month rehab. Lemersal chose to stay involved with the team and serve as its manager, which he also did with the sophomore team the previous season. Lemersal did whatever he could to help during the Hawks’ practices, he said. During games, he kept Maine South’s stats by using the GameChanger app on his iPhone.
“He’s a fun guy. He always brings spirits up and everything. He’s funny,” Maine South senior pitcher Russell Langan said. “It’s always good to have him around.”
It was hard at times to be Maine South’s manager, Lemersal said, especially when a feeling of helplessness crept in — like if the Hawks were losing.
“But I’m definitely glad I did it because it helped me see what level the varsity guys played (at) and what level the sophomore guys played with, where I have to be with my rehab and how hard I had to push it,” Lemersal said. “It definitely helps, just watching the games. Being there with the team, it was a fun experience.”
An aspect of the later stage of Lemersal’s rehab was throwing off of a mound with his physical therapist. Lemersal did that twice a week, he said. Doing so helped ensure the strength, endurance and velocity in his right arm didn’t atrophy significantly.
Eventually, Lemersal was cleared to return to competitive sports. He decided to limit what he did in order to focus on baseball and try to avoid another shoulder dislocation.
Lemersal played fall baseball for Maine South. He had a big question prior to his return: How would he fare after missing his sophomore and junior seasons?
The answer came quickly.
“I almost surprised myself,” Lemersal said. “The first time I threw, I was like, ‘Oh geez, I’ve still got it. Sweet.’ “
Lemersal’s first game back was against St. Patrick. His first two pitches were off target that day, but he settled in and retire the first batter he faced.
Lemersal said he was very nervous during his initial appearances, specifically about the possibility of re-injuring his shoulder if he had to dive or fell on it.
“But after some games, I got my confidence back and now I feel like I’m 100 percent,” Lemersal said. “I’ve had no incidents, really.”
Lemersal threw a bunch in the offseason, he added. Lemersal was very nervous during tryouts, Langan said, but he made the team.
Milano watched Lemersal’s bullpen session on the final day of tryouts. He said he had pretty good command that day, and a nice difference in velocity between his fastball and off-speed pitches.
Langan was also impressed with the way Lemersal threw during tryouts.
“I was watching him and I was surprised that even after the two injuries, he came back in perfect form — just the way I remembered,” Langan said. “It was good to see.”
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Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @VanDrilSports