Blythewood baseball senior thriving months after double hip-replacement surgeries
There was a time this year when Alex Nevils didn’t know if he would play at all this season for the Blythewood baseball team. Now, the senior isn’t coming off the field any time soon.
Nevils was one of the last players to leave the field Thursday night following Blythewood’s 7-2 win over defending state champion Hillcrest in the Class 5A district playoffs. The win put the Bengals into Monday’s district championship game and tied a school record for victories in a season with 27.
Nevils went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs against the Rams. He has been a big part in Blythewood’s success this season since being inserted in the lineup in late March against Northwestern, three months after the second of his two hip-replacement surgeries.
“I didn’t expect to play this year,” Nevils said. “They gave me a six- to eight-month recovery and I wasn’t going to play. And just to be out here in less than five months on my most recent surgery is just all glory to God, honestly. He has worked really well in my life.”
Nevils is a three-year player for the Bengals and was the team’s starting catcher last season. During the summer, he began to experience severe discomfort and pain in both of his hips. He had trouble walking, tying his shoe and doing such things as getting in and out of a car.
Nevils has dealt with this condition all of his life.
“Everything hurt. I knew it was time to get something done,” Nevils said. “.... I was born with this. I had hip impingement on both hips, meaning the head of the femur was not a sphere and sheered the hip sockets, tearing the labrums.”
When it was determined that hip-replacement surgeries were needed, Nevils, his parents Mark and Nelly, and Blythewood coach Banks Faulkner discussed the options. One option was postponing surgeries until he got to college at Wofford, where he is signed to play. If he did that, there was a chance he could miss or redshirt his freshman year with the Terriers.
Another option was to have the two surgeries, work hard in rehab and try to salvage some of his senior season. Nevils chose option two and had surgery on the right hip Nov. 17 and left hip Dec. 22.
Even though doctors told him of the six- to eight-month recovery time, Nevils was hopeful to be back on the field sometime this year, possibly sometime in April before end of the regular season.
He met that personal target and then some.
Nevils played his first game March 21 against Northwestern and went 2-for-3, hitting in the seventh spot of the Bengals’ lineup. He moved to leadoff two games later and hit his first home run against Rock Hill on March 28.
For the season, Nevils is batting .438 with four homers, 10 doubles and 17 RBIs. He also has a .574 on-base percentage.
“He has been incredible. Our lineup really took off right when we put him in the leadoff spot,” Faulkner said. “It gives us what I call an Alpha dog up there. Alex is capable of running the ball out of the park. It seems like every game he starts off the game with a double.
“... He has been huge. It was a gamble when we did the surgery. We felt like it was a wise decision. We felt like we had a chance for him to get back. We didn’t expect him back as early as we did. We wanted him to be full-go, and he is as healthy as could be and playing at a really high level.”
Nevils still goes to therapy twice a week, doing a lot of sprint work to try and get his legs back where they were pre-surgery. There was some pain after games at first, and he would have to take a few days rest before starting again. Deeper in the season, everything is starting to feel more normal.
“I just have to listen to what my body’s telling me,” Nevils said. “I need to rest every now and then, but we are closer to being fully healthy and than not.”
Nevils has yet to catch in a game this year, but Faulkner hasn’t ruled out using him there if needed in the playoffs. He hopes he and his Bengals teammates can put the finishing touches on what has been a historic season for the program and win the school’s first state championship.
“Sitting on the bench and watching the guys do what they do made me want to get out here more,” Nevils said. “I just want to be out here being with these guys. We got a great group and it was a really good feeling getting back out there, being able to hit home runs.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 11:14 AM.
