SLIPPERY ROCK— His numbers appear modest on paper.

Just having numbers at all is reason enough for a smile to cross Slippery Rock University senior outfielder Travis Trimbur's face.

Trimbur is hitting .292 with no homers and 15 RBI. He has four doubles and 17 singles among his 21 hits.

Before this season, injuries and surgeries limited him to 54 at-bats and 29 games played in his first three collegiate seasons. The Karns City graduate had hit 11 home runs, collected 38 RBIand batted .480 during his senior year with the Gremlins.

"This is the only year I'm healthy, really,"Trimbur said. "I have to make do. I'm getting playing time, and I've learned to appreciate that."

Trimbur lettered in three sports in high school and never had a significant injury. He's had no such luck in college.

"Travis was our No. 1 recruit the year he came out of high school,"SRUcoach Jeff Messer said. "His bat was outstanding, he had an incredible throwing arm. ... We were excited about his prospects as an outfielder.

"He just hasn't been able to get on the field."

Early in his freshman season, Trimbur dove for a ball in the outfield and injured his shoulder. He batted .243 in 18 games that season, collecting eight hits in 33 at-bats.

"That dive kinda started the downward turn for me,"Trimbur said.

He wound up having surgery on his nonthrowing shoulder and had trouble swinging a bat in 2005. He had only two hits in 21 at-bats and was moved to the bullpen as a relief pitcher.

"He was a pretty good pitcher in high school and we figured we could get some innings out of him,"Messer said. "But he was just a thrower at that point. Our real interest in Travis was still as an outfielder."

Trimbur pitched 3Z\c innings out of the bullpen as a sophomore, striking out five and allowing no runs.

Trimbur appeared set to compete for a starting outfield spot last season, but he broke his ankle that January, only weeks before The Rock's spring trip to Florida.

"Just a freak accident," he said, shaking his head. "I was out for six months. I wasn't sure if I'd ever play again."

Trimbur's sister and brother-in-law live in Cincinnati and hooked him up with the Champions Summer Baseball League there.

"I played right field and hit .300 last summer,"Trimbur said. "It made me believe I could still play."

Trimbur has played in 25 games this year, starting 21. He has 72 at-bats — more than his previous three years combined.

A criminal justice major, he is scheduled to graduate in the fall. He has one year of baseball eligibility remaining after this season.

"It's still up in the air whether he'll be here next spring — but we'd love to have him,"Messer said. "All through those injuries and setbacks, Travis never once approached me about quitting or giving it up.

"Even this spring, when Scott Bender was tearing it up and cost Travis some playing time, he didn't get discouraged."

Another outfielder, Bender is hitting .359 with 24 RBI.

"I love playing baseball,"Trimbur said. "No way I was quitting."

With the PSACTournament starting Wednesday, he hopes it begins a postseason run that winds up with a berth in the NCAADivision IIWorld Series.

"That's why everybody's out here playing,"Trimbur said of a possible World Series berth. "That'd be a dream, getting that far.

"Yeah, I feel like injuries cheated me out of a college (baseball) career, but playing in the World Series would make up for a lot of that."

PSAC Baseball Tournament ScheduleWednesdayGame 1:Slippery Rock (31-13) vs. West Chester (29-12), 4 p.m.

Game 2:California (33-13) vs. East Stroudsburg (22-20), 7 p.m.

ThursdayGame 3:Shippensburg (23-21) vs. Kutztown (43-3), 9 a.m.

Game 4:Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, noon

Game 5:Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 3 p.m.

Game 6:Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 2. 6 p.m.