FORT MYERS, Fla. - Terry Doyle arrived in the Red Sox clubhouse at JetBlue Park early Monday morning. So early, in fact, that he allowed himself a couple of fist pumps when he saw his name on the bulletin board.

Put yourself in his spikes: You're a former Boston College pitcher in camp as a nonroster player, and you've just learned you'll be working an inning on Thursday, when the Red Sox play their annual exhibition game against the Eagles.

"I'm excited," said Doyle, who grew up in Salem. "It's the first outing of the spring, and to be able to do it against the alma mater in a game that's so much fun for the school, and for the guys on the team, I'm looking forward to it and I'm really glad they gave me a chance."

Doyle, 27, has kicked around for a while. He signed with the White Sox after being selected in the 37th round of the 2008 amateur draft. The Twins selected him in the Rule V draft last year, but he didn't make the team and was sent back to the White Sox, and pitched well for their Triple-A Charlotte club - a 6-3 record and 2.83 ERA in 12 appearances, 11 of them starts - before making a midseason move to Japan to pitch for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Now he's back in the United States, hoping to find a spot with the team he rooted for as a kid. Oddly, his first test will be against BC.

"It's going to be against guys I've worked out with the last couple of offseasons," he said. "It's guys I know and guys who caught my bullpen sessions there, and played catch with me.

"But I'm still trying to win a job," he said. "And trying to go out there and pitch a scoreless inning and throw as many strikes as I can and get guys out."

Asked, for instance, how he'll pitch if he faces BC catcher Matt Pare, he said, "I haven't actually seen him hit much, so I'm just going to do what I do, get ahead on the count and try to put him away."

The Red Sox game against BC begins at 4 p.m. The Red Sox also play Northeastern at 1:35 p.m. Both games will be seven innings.