GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Part of Jeff Allison wanted to earn the win. Then again, just being back on the mound felt pretty good all by itself.

Allison, the top draft pick of the Florida Marlins two years ago, returned to the field Thursday night for the first time since his near-fatal drug overdose last summer. Playing for the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers, Allison allowed seven hits and three runs in five innings for a no-decision in a 7-6 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds.

After a shaky start, the 20-year-old righty showed flashes of the promise that made him a top pitching prospect before drug problems nearly destroyed his career and ended his life.

“Regardless of what happened or not tonight, the fact of the matter was I was playing again,” Allison said.

“I wanted to do well – don’t get me wrong – but it was great just to pitch.”

It was Allison’s first appearance in organized baseball since appearing in three games for the Marlins’ Gulf Coast League rookie team two summers ago. His addiction to the powerful painkiller OxyContin, a reported failed drug test for marijuana and a heroin overdose all led to him missing the 2004 season.

Allison’s long road back to the mound made him the center of attention on this night. After warming up in the bullpen, he got a hug from catcher Luis Alen before taking the field.

After Allison forced Josh McCurdy to fly out to end the fifth, pitching coach Steve Foster greeted the prospect with a handshake and a slap on the back at the steps of the dugout.

Allison finished with three strikeouts and no walks, and was pulled after throwing 69 pitches – 47 for strikes – with many hovering in the low-90s on the gun.

“I’m so impressed by him, a 20-year-old kid going through this,” Greensboro manager Brandon Hyde said. “He was anxious to pitch.”

Allison was the 16th overall pick in the 2003 draft after a standout career at Peabody High School, where he went 8-0 and didn’t allow an earned run in 63 1-3 innings during his senior season. He signed for a $1.85 million bonus.

Allison’s problems began when he left spring training last year without permission. Shortly afterward, he said he had a “problem” with OxyContin and that he’d been fined $200,000 by the Marlins for failing a drug test for marijuana, prompting him to leave camp.

Then, on July 17, he nearly died of a heroin overdose and had to spend a weekend in a hospital.

Allison got off to a rough start Thursday. Pete Maestrales smacked Allison’s second pitch down the first-base line for a double. Two batters later, Jason Franz hit a 3-1 pitch to center field for a double that scored Maestrales.

Things got worse before Allison even threw another pitch. He was called for a balk when he dropped the ball – which brought Alen and Foster to the mound.

Allison responded by forcing an RBI fielder’s choice and a fly out to get out of the first inning down 2-0. He ended up with the no-decision when the Grasshoppers went ahead with six runs in the bottom of the seventh.

“I was happy to be back out there,” he said. “It’s just an unbelievable feeling right now. It’s pretty emotional, to be honest with you.”

AP-ES-05-05-05 2240EDT