In his second at-bat after returning from wrist surgery, Jake Wood was intentionally walked.

Rusty or not, that's the kind of respect the Moravia power hitter has earned throughout Section IV.

“Jake's got all the tools you could want from a baseball player,” Blue Devils coach Rich Valentino said. “He's got a great bat, excellent speed - you can't coach speed. He hits to all fields. He just has a great sense of pitch recognition. He can see the spin. He goes with the outside pitch and if it's inside he gives it a ride.”

Wood did just that in the championship game of the Cayuga County Invitational this weekend. The lefty turned on a breaking ball in the first inning and delivered a three-run home run that propelled Moravia past Union Springs.

Wood had seven hits in his first eight at-bats after returning from injury, with a homer, three triples, a double and a tournament MVP on his resume.

“It was a good weekend all around,” Wood said. “It was just good to get back out there. We really hit well, we put it together at the plate.”

Watching from the bench isn't something Wood is accustomed to.

He's been a leader on the soccer field, the basketball court and the baseball field. In fact, it was on the soccer field where he broke the navicular bone in his right hand.

At first, Wood thought it was nothing more than a sprain. But as the pain refused to subside, he got the wrist examined and was forced to spend the entire basketball season in a cast.

“That was the worst,” Wood said. “Baseball is my favorite sport, but sitting out the entire basketball season, my senior season, it wasn't easy. It's not fun watching from the sideline.”

The navicular bone is quite small but because it requires so little blood supply, it's difficult to heal.

Wood was in a cast for a total of 15 weeks and opted for surgery in early April.

But true to his competitive nature, Wood recovered quickly from the operation and was back on the field earlier than expected.

“They put a pin in (his wrist) to heal the bone,” Valentino said. “When it was taken out he went to the doctor on his own and got out about a week early. He had good range of motion so he was good to go.”

And his recent production would comply.

Wood has sizzled in his return to the three-hole in Moravia's lineup.

“The wrist feels good, I don't even think about it,” he said. “I think my bat speed might be a little faster.”

Through five games, Wood is batting .733 (11-for-15). While his gaudy numbers speak to his natural ability to swing the bat, Valentino believes Wood's fielding is just as important to the Blue Devils.

“He's a captain and our No. 3 hitter, but he also plays a solid center field,” Valentino said. “Defensively, he's a big boost. With his speed, he can track down balls other guys can't.”

Next year, Wood will test out those skills at the Division I level. He is attending St. Bonaventure in the spring on an ROTC scholarship and will walk on to the baseball team.

“It's hard to get recruited at such a small school,” Wood said. “But I've talked to their coach and my brother (Scott) played there for a year. So I showed him I could play.”

Valentino has no doubt that Wood possesses the talent to excel at the Division I level. But right now, he's focusing on Division III of the IAC and the Blue Devils' inevitable trip to the Section IV Tournament.

“As a sophomore Jake was a starter and a big part of our sectional championship,” Valentino said. “He's one of the best, if not the best hitter in the IAC. We're going to need him swinging that bat when playoff time comes around.”