By Andy Walter

NEWARK — On the play before it happened, Sally Velazquez thought she saw something was wrong.

“Dominic threw the one pitch and he shook his arm a little bit,” Velazquez remembered. “I looked over at my husband and I shook my head.”

Then, after her son, Dom, threw the next pitch in a Jan. 29, 2023, Delaware baseball preseason scrimmage, he just walked off the mound.

That’s when Sally knew that he might have seriously injured his arm.

“We were hoping and praying that it might just be a pulled muscle,” said Velazquez. “Then they did the MRI and we realized that it was worse.”

That moment, when the former Dover High All-Stater tore a ligament in his right elbow started Dom Velazquez on a seemingly endless journey to get back to perhaps his favorite place in the world — a pitcher’s mound.

On March 26, 2023, Velazquez underwent ‘Tommy John’ surgery to have the ligament replaced. Still, there were no guarantees that he would be able to pitch again.

That wasn’t the worst of it for the Velazquez family, though. While Dom was working his way back from the surgery, his father, James, had to spend three months in the hospital.

In October, James had a brother pass away.

“A lot of people don’t realize this but it was even more emotional because his dad ....was fighting for his life,” said Sally, her voice full of emotion. “It’s been a rough, rough time.

“It’s been a really, really rough couple years, I know he (Dom) just got hurt last year but so much has happened since then. With rehab, unfortunately, that’s something he had to do on his own because I was in the hospital with my husband. It was just a lot for Dominic to go through.”

The long road back

Like most athletes, Velazquez knew right away that whatever he had done to his elbow wasn’t a minor injury.

“I felt like a ‘pop’ and a ‘click,’” the 22-year-old pitcher remembered. “I threw the pitch and I instantly knew ‘That wasn’t right. That wasn’t supposed to feel like that.’ “

As a pitcher, Velazquez said you’re always aware that injuries can happen. He said the most difficult part was that he wouldn’t get to play again with some good friends, who were finishing up their college careers last spring.

Velazquez knew it would take a lot of hard work to be able to pitch again. But he was determined he was going to do whatever was required to get back on the mound.

“I never had any doubts,” he said. “But I can see how it’s easy to lose hope or give up. It’s just endless hours in rehab with the trainers.

“They all did a great job. They were very supportive the whole way.”

A three-time All-State selection at Dover, Velazquez said there were several things that kept him motivated through the difficult times.

“The love of being out there and competing, my parents, just being out there with my guys that I hang out with every single day,” he said. “Just being able to play for them and I know they’re going to do everything they can to make a play for me.”

Dom Velazquez flashes a smile as he walks off the mound at Citizens Bank Park following a shutout inning for the Blue Hens. Delaware Athletics …

When he could finally think about pitching again, Velazquez said the satisfying part was realizing how far he had come.

He remembered how disappointed and upset he was when he first got injured. He said going through an experience like that will teach you a lot about yourself.

Finally, on April 7, in a contest at Hofstra, Velazquez stepped back on the mound again in a real game.

He figured out that it had been 680 days since he last pitched in an actual Delaware game in May 2022.

“I was a little nervous warming up, getting ready to go back out there,” he said. “When I was taking the field, all the guys in the dugout are yelling. That was really cool to see and hear, knowing that they care about me.”

With a limit of 35 pitches, Velazquez needed only 21 to get through seven batters. He gave up one run.

Statistically, it wasn’t much. Considering what Velazquez had been through to arrive at that moment, it was huge.

“That was awesome,” he said.

Watching him finally pitch again, Sally Velazquez said she had mixed emotions.

“You’re happy that he’s back up there but you’re afraid that he might hurt himself again,” she said. “It’s just a matter of him being back on that mound because that’s where he belongs.”

At the Bank

If someone made a movie about Velazquez’ comeback, though, the big moment would be his second appearance.

This time Velazquez was standing on the mound in Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park on April 10.

The cavernous stadium was all but empty for the Liberty Bell Classic championship game between Delaware and Rider. But that didn’t matter to Velazquez.

Here he was playing on the same field that his favorite team calls home.

“I tried to take it all in before the first pitch,” said Velazquez. “I just looked into the stands and saw who was there. I looked up to the third level, looked out in the outfield, at the scoreboard.”

This time, Velazquez went two full innings and retired all six batters he faced — including three by strikeout. Most importantly, the Hens cruised to an 18-2 victory.

Velazquez earned the win — his first official victory since May 20, 2022. Of course, he had plenty of unofficial victories before then.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to have that feeling again,” he said. “Just walking off the mound and the way we played. It was really fun.”

Of course, Sally and James Velazquez were in the stands to see their son’s big comeback moment.

“When he got his first strikeout, that was very, very emotional,” said Sally. “Just because of everything he’d been there. You’re like, ‘OK, he’s back.’ This is what you’re used to seeing.

“You could see, he was excited. The smile on his face was just unbelievable.”

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