Prior to last year it is fair to say Midland Trail hurler Bo Persinger had never heard of a soleus muscle.
He is fully aware of it now.
A torn soleus muscle forced Persinger to miss basically his entire junior season on the diamond and cast an unfortunate shadow on his chances to play baseball at the next level.
That shadow dissipated back in early December when Persinger signed to play baseball this coming fall at West Virginia Wesleyan.
While the Patriots standout was thrilled to sign with the Bobcats, the decision was not as cut and dry as it may have appeared on the surface.
“It is pretty crazy. I go to trade school for half of my school day, so I had also received a pretty good job offer from the Sheet Metal Union (in Charleston). I also had some pretty big attention from Davis and Elkins,” Persinger explained. “Just leveling everything out, I was thinking I am not ready to go to work just yet. I still want to be a kid. All three of the options were great options and it was really tough at first. Once I decided I was really relieved.”
The path to the next level has been complicated for Persinger.
His freshman season was wiped out when springs sports were shelved due to the Covid pandemic.
Undaunted by the setback Persinger had a strong sophomore season and was sure to be a key cog in a Midland Trail team that had serious state tournament hopes last year.
Fate stepped in during basketball season a year ago and change the entire landscape for the Patriot standout.
The soleus muscle is in your lower leg and is located behind your shin bone and is commonly known as the calf muscle. Sudden movements can cause the muscles to tear if over-stretched.
“I played (basketball) against Sherman on a Tuesday and felt tightness in my calf,” Persinger said. “Wednesday at practice I kind of limped through it, but the following Thursday I was just jogging down the court and tore it.”
Persinger did not play the remainder of the basketball season, but after rest and therapy appeared to be on track for baseball season.
“I played a doubleheader at Clay County. I pitched the first game and had a runner whenever I was on base, so it didn’t bother me that much,” Persinger said. I played second base in the next game and when I was rounding third base, I hurt it again.”
Finding the true cause of the pain took some time and involved a trip to Morgantown.
“The first doctor told me it was and Achilles issue. Since I could still put weight on it, he didn’t think it was torn through. He wanted me to do some therapy and hopefully avoid surgery,” Persinger said. “I wasn’t really making any progress, so I went to a doctor in Morgantown for an MRI. I tore the soleus halfway through and I also tore a couple of ligaments around it completely through.”
Persinger returned for sectional play last year, but after missing the regular season, the true player was just not there.
“My sophomore year, in over 50 innings, I walked less than 10 people. In the sectional against (Greenbrier) West I walked like seven people. I felt really rusty for sure,” Persinger said.
While he had limited exposure on the high school diamond, it was Persinger’s work in the summer and fall with the Appalachian Aces that proved to be the difference.
“I started with them in the fall of my sophomore year. This past fall we were on some DII fall ball schedules and I pitched well at Salem. When I got that on film and sent it to some coaches, that is when I started getting some replies,” Persinger said. “I felt good pitching in fall ball and only struggled once in the fall season. Other than that I felt like I had great stuff and my off-speed was really moving. That was some of the best baseball that I have pitched in a long time.”
As with many young players, the decision of where to play college ball boils down to being part of a family. For Bo Persinger, it will be more than just symbolic since his older brother Cy Persinger is already on the West Virginia Wesleyan roster.
“The way I decided between the two schools was basically Cy and already knowing some people up at (Wesleyan),” Persinger said. “I loved (head) coach (Brett) Ripley at Davis & Elkins. He is a great guy. It was tough, but I feel like I made the right choice.”
With the big decision now behind him, Persinger has his eyes on a successful senior season and getting better heading into college.
“I have already started working on my own with a couple of guys that are not playing basketball. I feel good because I have stuck with my program,” Persinger said. “I need to get some more velocity on my fast ball. I throw it good for high school baseball, but I need to add a little for the college game. I not only need to throw strikes, I also have to locate the ball where I need it.”
In his first outing of the season against Clay County, Persinger picked up the win allowing only three earned runs, while fanning 16 batters.
