CAMDEN, N.J. — Nate Buttenfield has a new home for his newfound fastball.

The Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League signed the 30-year-old North Hills Highbaseball coach and former Saxonburg Eagle County League pitcher last weekend.

It was a relief for Buttenfield, who was in limbo for nearly three weeks after wowing pro scouts at a tryout in Philadelphia.

Buttenfield is just happy to be unleashing his mid-90s fastball on a professional level again after a nearly six-year hiatus.

"It really is a higher level of baseball I've ever played," Buttenfield said. "This is baseball at a professional level and it's fun to be around."

It's a long way from the mound at Highfield Park and even further away from the dugout at North Hills, where Buttenfield led the Indians to the playoffs this spring.

He's surrounded by ex-major league players fighting to get back to the big show.

Guys like Danny Graves, Junior Spivey, CarlEverett and even Tike Redman dot the rosters in the league, looking for a second chance.

Buttenfield is looking for his after a long, long wait.

Drafted by Seattle in 1999, Buttenfield never made it very far in that organization and was released. He signed with a Frontier League team, did not pitch well and was released from that league, too.

So, on the back burner of his mind, he kept his dream of making it in pro baseball on simmer. He didn't realize it would take this long for it to boil over.

In his first outing out of the bullpen for Camden, he was just as impressive as he was withSaxonburg this season.

Buttenfield, 6-feet-7 and lanky, pitched three scoreless innings for Camden in a loss to Somerset Sunday. He allowed two hits and struck out two.

"I was definitely excited," Buttenfield said. "I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be."

Buttenfield said his arm has been tuckered out after throwing so many pitches for so many scouts.

His arm is bouncing back, and, once he got the first out Sunday, he clicked into that zone.

"That first inning was 1-2-3," Buttenfield said. "That was certainly a confidence booster."

Buttenfield is still getting used to his new digs. He has former major leaguers Craig Paquette, Angel Pena and Danny Bautista in the clubhouse. Bobby Abreu's brother, Denny, roams the outfield for the Riversharks.

"They are big league guys," Buttenfield said. "They've been around the game forever. A lot of those guys have been released from big league clubs. They are very professional."

But they still get a kick out of Buttenfield's journey from highschool coach, to men's league stalwart to professional pitcher.

"They ask, 'Hey, where did you come from?'" Buttenfield said. "I tell them a men's league and they are surprised. A couple of them asked me how I got here after being away for five or six years. I tell them I don't know, either."

Buttenfield got there by adding 5 mph to his fastball, thanks to grunting it out with his North Hills players during their workout routine and throwing batting practice.

Now that he's there, he wants to move on to someplace bigger, just like his new teammates.

"I have the same dream: to play and pitch in the big leagues someday," Buttenfield said.

He married his wife, Kristen, last year and the newlyweds are trying to cope with Buttenfield's newfound career, taking five hour bus trips along the East Coast, hundreds of miles from home.

"I miss her and she misses me," Buttenfield said. "But she knows this has always been a dream of mine and she's been very supportive about it."