Alyssa Dewes knew something wasn’t right.

Her throws weren’t zipping down to second base like they used to, and she felt discomfort in her right shoulder.

After going to see a doctor, the Clarence (N.Y.) High School catcher was told that it was just regular shoulder soreness and to take it easy. But she showed no improvement even with physical therapy. So Dewes returned to the doctor.

“I went back to the doctor in January before the season started,” Dewes said, “and they broke the news to me that I tore the tendons in my shoulder from overuse.

“They said I had to get surgery right away.”

As a freshman catcher and outfielder for Syracuse, Dewes has faced a long road to recovery and switched position in the midst of it. She had to sacrifice the chance to win consecutive state championships and MVP awards, and missed her senior season to be ready to play for the Orange.

Dewes immediately began rehab to rebuild lost arm strength and try to relearn the game she has played her entire life. With Dewes already signed to join the Orange for the following year, SU head coach Leigh Ross maintained her faith in the unusually speedy catcher that caught her eye during recruitment.

“When she told me about the surgery,” Ross said, “I told her, ‘get the surgery, come back and work hard to get back to where you should be.’

“And she has. She’s worked really hard.”

Dewes was a multi-sport athlete at Clarence and a four-year varsity player and captain for the Red Devil softball her senior season. Dewes helped lead the Red Devils to the state championship for softball in 2012. She also was a four-year member of the track team in the 4-x-200 and 55-yard dash.

Coming off the softball state championship her junior year, she was primed to lead her team to consecutive titles as the reigning team MVP. After the injury, though, priorities became very apparent to her.

“My first thoughts were that I was worried about Syracuse,” Dewes said, “I wanted to be able to still come here to play but I was also pretty devastated.”

Rehabbing her way through her senior season and the summer, Dewes was able to start working out with her teammates immediately upon arriving at SU. The process of fully trying to heal a shoulder and relearn a throwing motion was a large undertaking.

Ross said that there were minor hitches in her initial throwing motion due to the lingering effects of the surgery, but there has been noticeable improvement from her arrival in the fall to now.

“I remember playing catch with her in the fall and it took a while for her to get warmed up,” freshman pitcher Sydney O’Hara said. “But she never hung her head about anything.

“She knew that she had a lot of work to do to come back and she’s definitely proved that she can do it.”

Her recovery was substantial enough in Ross’ eyes that the coaches developed their own plan on how to go about best utilizing Dewes for the season. She has been a catcher her entire life, but with a roster including two fellow freshmen catchers, the chances to get time behind the plate were slim.

Dewes has begun taking fly balls and reps with the outfielders as Ross believes that her athletic and speedy style of play will translate just fine to a different position.

Despite a few growing pains, Dewes is making progress reestablishing herself on the diamond.

“She’s got such good speed I wanted to see how she would do in the outfield,” Ross said, “And she’s put a lot of work in and has come a long way as an outfielder.”

While the rehab may nearly be done for Dewes, the prospect of jumping from junior year of high school softball to Division I is daunting. While first intimidated by the increased difficulty in hitting, she finds herself becoming more acclimated by the day.

“At first I was intimidated by these pitchers who throw harder with more movement,” Dewes said. “But I feel like I’ve been able to adjust to it now.”

Published on February 25, 2014 at 10:50 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman