Beaver Pitcher Returns to Winning Ways with Help of Pitching Alum
Mason Gehling works with former Beaver pitcher Dr. Michael Dirkx, a 2012 BVU graduate, to regain strength after injury.
Mason Gehling worked his way out of a jam by getting a pair of strikeouts to end the fifth inning as Buena Vista University topped Hamline University, 11-5, on Feb. 19, the third of a three-game sweep over the Pipers.
Gehling fanned seven while scattering four hits in his season debut, recording his seventh straight win in the process.
Quite a story for a right-handed pitcher who, months ago, wasn’t sure he’d ever pitch again. Gehling broke his thumb and second metacarpal on his right hand while also sustaining ligament damage in his right wrist, all of it the result of a freak mishap in the most unlikely of settings: Celebrating the 2022 American Rivers Conference Baseball Championship.
“I went from winning the conference to knowing that my season was over to wondering if I’d ever pitch again.”
Mason Gehling, Beaver pitcher
“I went from winning the conference to knowing that my season was over to wondering if I’d ever pitch again,” said Gehling, who slipped during the “dog pile” traditional celebration on the mound, suffering multiple broken bones in the seconds that followed.
Gehling’s surgery to repair the damage was conducted by a familiar face to BVU and its storied baseball program. Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Michael Dirkx ’12, of Northwest Iowa Bone, Joint & Sports Surgeons teamed up with fellow Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Phil Deffer to get Gehling on the road to recovery.
Dirkx pitched for the Beavers as an undergraduate, and, like Gehling, played a key role in winning a conference title.
“I had a great experience playing for Coach Steve Eddie (MSE ’07) and Pitching Coach Steve Sonka,” Dirkx said. “Beyond the competition and the great experiences with my teammates, my professors in the School of Science prepared me for medical school, ultimately enabling me to treat people and practice in a profession I’m passionate about.”
Dirkx continues to return to campus to work regularly with Dr. Sarah Schlichte ’17, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and her life sciences undergraduates in the University’s Cadaver Lab.
“I was with Mason after the surgery in May and it was kind of surreal experience, seeing one of our past pitchers conduct a post-op consultation with one of our current pitchers,” Eddie said. “I knew Mason was in great hands.”
Dirkx placed Gehling’s right hand and wrist in a cast after surgery. The cast came off on June 6 as doctors removed stitches, took X-rays, and fit Gehling for a brace. He played some light catch two months after the injury, then progressed to throwing more in earnest last fall.
“Trying to hold a pencil when classes started last August was kind of difficult,” says Gehling, a computer science major. “But I kept getting stronger. Now, it all feels pretty normal.”
Having a former Beaver pitcher taking him through the recovery proved reassuring.
“As I sat in the waiting room, Dr. Dirkx talked to me and was so relatable,” Gehling said. “Since he’d been a collegiate pitcher, he knew how scared I was about the injury. He talked me through it and made sure I understood how they’d address the fractures and ligament damage.”
Gehling’s fastball topped out at 87 miles per hour in his debut in Kansas. Eighty percent of his pitches were strikes. The most important fact? The Beavers won.
“Getting back on the mound and competing for our team was all that I wanted,” Gehling said. “I’m very thankful I had great people around me, from the doctors who treated me, my coaches who advised me, and my family and teammates, who kept encouraging me. It was great to be back!”