A year ago, redshirt sophomore pitcher Rye Davis lost vision in his right eye.

Davis sat out last season after being hit in the face with a ball traveling 110 mph. He broke several bones in his face and underwent multiple surgeries, all aimed at returning him to the mound this year. Even with his return, his vision isn’t completely back.

“It hurt pretty good,” Davis said. “It was rough going through all the surgeries last year.”

Western managed to make the 2009 Oxford Regional final in the NCAA tournament without Davis, leaving him out of the postseason.

“Watching all the games hurt last year because we had a great year, and I felt I could have helped,” Davis said.

Davis had a 4.59 ERA in 2008 and posted three wins while leading the team in saves with four.

He was in line to be the Toppers’ No. 1 closer before his injury. After redshirting last year, he has five relief appearances in 2010.

“Not being able to see out of an eye to where he is now is just amazing,” Head Coach Chris Finwood said.

Davis has improved statistically on his freshman season, as he hasn’t given up a run in 6.1 innings of relief work. He leads the team with two saves early on.

Finwood said he’s impressed with Davis so far this season, noting everything the pitcher fought to get back to the field.

“He’s just an amazing kid to overpower everything he went through,” Finwood said. “Obviously he is throwing the ball better than he has ever thrown it, so I think he’s past it all.”

With Davis back on the team, the bullpen has only allowed one run after the sixth inning in their first eight games of the year. Finwood attributed much of that success to Davis’ return.

“Any time you have an arm like that in the bullpen, it is just great and everyone out there has benefited from him,” Finwood said.

Freshman pitcher Andrew Keltner said they call the 6-foot-5-inches, 250-pound Davis “Big Country.” Davis is from Pig, Ky., which has a population of 323.

Keltner said Davis is the best in the bullpen at motivating the rest of the pitching staff.

“He always wants to throw, even when he can’t pitch,” Keltner said. “That makes us all want to be better.”

Davis said he’s very grateful for his “second chance,” as he is back as a closer this season.

“Me getting hurt last year and coming back made me a stronger person,” Davis said. “Coming back this year was a gift from God.”

With Western’s baseball season still three months away, motivation may be hard to come by for the team. But the Toppers say they have all the motivation they need.

“Our goal this year is to win the regional,” sophomore shortstop Logan Robbins said. “We came close last year, so we are working harder this year to win it this year.”

Fall practice will conclude this weekend with the Fall World Series, an annual best-of-three intrasquad tournament.

“It is a fun way to finish team practices for the fall,” Head Coach Chris Finwood said. “The guys definitely get after it.”

The winning team will eat steaks at a team cookout before Saturday’s Homecoming football game, with the losers receiving hot dogs. The losing team will also have to give the winners the shirts off their backs, Finwood said.

But Robbins said pride is the biggest incentive to play well in the series.

“All of us want to win so we can brag to each other about it the rest of the year,” Robbins said.

The Toppers have been practicing together since October, but this weekend will be the last time they will play as a team until preseason practice begins in January.

Finwood said he’s been impressed with how the team has progressed throughout the fall season.

“We have been improving every day, and when you get the kind of guys who want to improve, it makes it so much easier on us,” Finwood said.

Robbins said the team has been focusing more on personal improvements throughout the fall.

“We have been helping each other out in individual workouts in practice,” Robbins said.

Finwood said the goal of fall practice is to determine where players will be able to make the most impact in the spring.

“It is important to figure out who fits in each position now before the preseason starts,” Finwood said.

Western went 42-20 last season and won three games in the Oxford Regional of the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed. The Toppers also finished the year ranked 23rd in the Collegiate Baseball poll. Last season’s team relied on power hitting, but Finwood said there may be a different style of play this year.

“We lost a lot of power, but we are still going to be putting pressure on the defense,” Finwood said. “We may bunt more, especially early in the season.”

The players say they’re looking forward to their first game action since the spring.

“It will be good to have live games this weekend,” junior catcher Matt Rice said. “These type of games are good for the young guys.”

Western continues the Fall World Series at 5 p.m. tonight and at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Nick Denes Field. The event is free and open to the public.