When senior Artie Lewicki (4-1, 1.62 ERA) takes the mound at Wake Forest, it will be his first ACC start since May 26, 2012. That afternoon Lewicki tossed seven innings of shutout baseball as Virginia defeated Florida State 7-0 in Greensboro at the ACC Tournament.

Three months later Lewicki underwent Tommy John surgery, the rehabilitation and recovery essentially costing him the entire 2013 season. He returned to the mound this season on Feb. 19, earning his first win in more than 21 months against William & Mary.

For the Wyckoff, New Jersey, native, the time away from the game was not a discouragement but actually raised his appreciation for baseball. It allowed him to look at the game not just from his perspective as a pitcher, but also from the offensive side of the game.

“The biggest thing I learned is definitely got to be that you can’t take this game for granted and that at any given moment it can be snatched away from you,” Lewicki said. “It taught me how to have a different perspective on the game from being able to watch both the offense and the defense instead just being so focused on the defense. Once you learn some offensive ticks, just from having so much time off you can go out and apply them when you’re playing again.”

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