Capp Bengston’s baseball career was derailed in 2023. 

Last season, the Crofton Bluejay pitcher experienced shoulder pain in his right arm and an MRI revealed a torn labrum. After surgery in September, Bengston was told it would be 9-12 months before he’d play again. 

Bengston was in a sling for six weeks after surgery, underwent physical therapy and slowly built back up the strength in his arm. 

But not without some hesitations. 

“There’s times I was like ‘I don’t know if I really want to play baseball anymore,’ ” Bengston said. “Because if I reinjure this, do I want to go back through this again? You have those thoughts, too. But then you get through it and my arm feels better than it has in quite a while. So it was definitely worth it.”

As a result, Bengston is the 2024 Mark Mehlhaf Memorial Comeback Player of the Year, an honor that dates back to 1981 by the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association. 

The honor was both surprising and rewarding for Bengston.

“It means a lot because there’s a lot of hours and work that goes into getting yourself back to a position where you can play again,” Bengston said. “It sometimes feels like it’s not always seen. But then you get an award like this and it makes it all worth it.”

Bengston didn’t miss any games in 2023, but the pain was sporadic and he said “in hindsight I should have just went and done it sooner.”

Seven months after surgery, Bengston started strength and training exercises on his arm. By the spring, he slowly increased his workload and was back throwing in June. 

“I would say I missed like the first third of our season,” Bengston said. “I was able to throw a little bullpen here and there. But nothing live until maybe early June and I kind of started getting back into it. Now I am pretty much full go. I don’t know if I can throw nine innings right now. But I can probably throw six or seven for sure.”

He’s been a key cog for Crofton, which finished the regular season with a 9-9 record. But more importantly, he’s back playing amateur baseball with his friends. 

“It’s huge having the guys’ support, too,” Bengston, 26, said. “Just having that support system, that's why you work so hard to get back is to play with those guys and hang out with them during the summer. That makes it all worth it.”

Bengston, who is originally from Wausa, Nebraska, has played with the Bluejays for seven seasons. He joined the team after playing Legion baseball and calls Crofton a “cohesive group.”

“I just like that camaraderie of seeing the guys every summer and it just gives me an opportunity to compete at my age where it’s still high level competition,” said Bengston, who works at Explorers Credit Union in Yankton.