May 1, 2008

A day after earning the biggest win of his career against 19th-ranked Houston April 18, James Oliver, along with his brother John, a Second Lieutenant Army Ranger with the 82nd Airborne of the United States Military, provided the highlight of the series when they took the field for a ceremonial first pitch at Young Memorial Field.

It was a chilling moment that brought fans and the Cougars to stand and respectfully applaud the service of the Blazer hurler's brother, a moment James says was unsurpassed by his win the night before.

"It was an awesome moment," James said of his brother throwing the first pitch. "I'm so proud of him and I'm sure the guys on the team get tired of hearing me talk about him and brag about him. What he's doing for our country - I just wanted him to get some recognition so I was honored that he could do it and that the schedule worked out. I was so excited to see how the crowd responded to him."

John, 24, was deployed to Iraq last July where he remained until he returned home for a short time on Wednesday, April 16, just two days before James and the Blazers knocked off the 19th-ranked Cougars.

James, a junior biology major at UAB, said having his brother on hand to watch him pitch against Houston was special all on its own and that the win was most undeniably the pinnacle victory of his career.

"It was a good win - they were really good and the scouting report was that they could hit a fastball which they did, they hit five solo homers," James said. "I was nervous, but even when you're facing a good team, you have to pitch to your strengths and do what you do well and really command your fastball and throw a breaking ball for a strike."

John's road to joining the U.S. Military began his junior year at Vestavia Hills High School when he decided to attend the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Following his graduation from West Point, John and the rest of the Oliver family knew he would be getting deployed, but the location was unknown.

"We knew when he graduated that he would be going somewhere and it was just a matter of where," James said. "We were all kind of hoping he would go to Afghanistan or get stationed in Germany and not be in such a combat area but John chose infantry and airborne so it was kind of inevitable that he would be in some sort of battle situation."

The Oliver's learned early last summer that John would be getting deployed to Iraq in mid-July. James was away at the time playing summer ball with the Mineral Wells Steam of the Athletes in Action Texas Collegiate League when he got the news. Fortunately, James was able to take a leave from his team to see his brother off.

"It wasn't surreal but it was kind of like wow, this could be the last time I ever see my brother, it just felt weird," James said. "You wish there was something you could do so he wouldn't have to go, but it's the life he chose and I'm very proud of him. I just wish I could trade places with him and give him a break every now and then."

After John had left for Iraq, James returned to his team in Texas and put together an inspiring summer season and was selected to play in the Texas Collegiate League All-Star Game.

In the taxing days and months moving forward, with his brother fighting for his country halfway around the world, James turned to baseball to ease the duress.

"It was good to stay busy," he said. "I was pitching every five or six days in Texas so I would think about John and pray for him everyday, but to stay busy and go straight from Texas to starting practice (at UAB) and school, it kind of keeps me from wondering what John's doing right now and if he's in a serious situation."

With the distance from John, James admits communication can be difficult and even frustrating. Iraq is eight hours ahead of Birmingham, making it difficult for James to catch up with his brother.

"The email isn't very good over there, it's like worse than dial-up, so that form of communication is kind of sketchy, but he calls home about once every two weeks so it depends on what time of day he calls," James said. "If he calls at five their time, I'll be in class, so when I get to talk to him is when he calls really late at night. If I talk to him once a month that's pretty good."

As to what the two brothers talk about when they have the opportunity to connect, James says that just depends.

"I think some stuff he can't tell and some stuff he may not really want to tell," James said. "Most of the time we talk about how we're doing and how everyone is doing, but usually you can tell by the sound of his voice if things are going well or not going well. If he calls and he says `It's been rough here and we've had some tough missions' then you know it's not going well and he's probably not going to talk about it."

John's return trip home in April was brief and he returned to Iraq last week. The duration of his current mission is unknown, James says John could come home as soon as July or as late as September. Even with the uncertainty of the assignments, James says his brother has never questioned what he is doing or why he is doing it.

"There have been times where he's said that it's going to be a long mission and that Iraq is still unstable, but he said they are making progress and that it's a good thing they are there," James said. "John's never said why did we go or why did I choose this career. He believes that the U.S. is doing a lot of good there."

Even while pitching with a heavy heart, James has earned a spot in UAB's weekend rotation this season and is playing the best baseball of his career.

James is 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA since joining the weekend rotation against Presbyterian on April 6. He pitched a seven-inning complete game against the Blue Hose in that game, allowing no earned runs.

That performance is what set up his next start, a road outing at seventh-ranked Rice which resulted in his only loss since joining the rotation. Following the loss at Rice, the Blazers returned home and James earned his win over 19th-ranked Houston.

His last start was a complete game victory at home against Marshall last Friday, a game the Blazers won, 15-3, thanks to Oliver laboring for 114 pitches and setting a career-high with five strikeouts.

"It was the most work I've done on the mound in awhile," James said of his win against the Thundering Herd. "I thought the key was that they are really aggressive and I was able to get them to hit a lot of ground balls and our defense turned double plays. I thought it was a combination of being able to throw a breaking ball for a strike and having a 12-run lead and playing great defense. That's what allows you to throw nine innings."

As John continues to fight for his country in Iraq, James continues to find peace of mind on the mound and is scheduled to make another Friday start at No. 30 East Carolina this weekend.