Maggard making his way back

Brett Maggard waited a long time between wins. Nearly two years to be exact.

The last time the Springstead lefty had earned a victory on the mound was April 23, 2008, in a district tournament quarterfinal versus Hernando.

He was a freshman back then, but already the ace of the Eagle staff. However, ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction - better known as Tommy John surgery - derailed his sophomore season.

Though he did play seven games in the latter portion of that campaign, he couldn't pitch. That had to wait until this year, and the comeback hasn't completely gone smoothly.

Maggard, now a junior, entered Thursday night's pivotal Class 5A, District 7 home game versus Ocala-Forest winless in three appearances despite a 1.91 earned run average in 7 1/3 innings.

Against the Wildcats, he finally broke through tossing five shutout innings, permitting two hits and three walks while striking out seven in a 10-0 triumph that lasted just six innings.

"Everything is just getting better," Maggard said. "I started out slowly. I hadn't pitched in two years. It's starting to come along. I can feel my pitches better. My curveball and change-up are getting better. I've added some velocity, too.

"It (the arm) feels 100 percent now. At the beginning of the season it was a little sore. Now it feels great."

Springstead Head Coach Frank Vitale, whose team improved to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in 5A-7, has continued to use Maggard for big games, but a strict pitch count has kept him from stretching out his top hurler.

Additionally, Maggard has had bouts of wildness, particularly two starts ago at Forest (4-6 overall, 2-2 5A-7) when he walked seven in 1 2/3 innings.

"He's struggled with his control this year," catcher Matt Adams said. "But he came out (Thursday night) and was excellent."

This time he not only had his longest stint of the season, but reached 75 pitches for the first time. Vitale said Maggard would not go higher than 80-85 pitches this year.

"He's throwing the ball well," Vitale said. "He had control. His fastball was popping. He's not where he was as a freshman with his off-speed pitches. That takes longer to come back because of the feel and maybe subconsciously he's thinking when he throws the curveball something might snap in his elbow.

"...He was our best pitcher as a freshman and he missed all of last year. It's a lift for everybody (to have him back). The guys know he was our number one pitcher two years ago. Now he's back to being our number one and that pushes everybody else back one. He's also a big bat in our lineup."

An outfielder off the mound, Maggard came in hitting .350 with eight runs batted in. He'd also scored 14 times, impressive considering he'd come up to bat 30 times. Forest held him in to a 0-for-3 performance.

Still, his continuing recovery from his arm injury took center stage in the postgame discussion.

"It was real hard," Maggard said. "There's so much therapy to do and the pain you have at first is terrible. But this is what I love to do. I'll do what I have to do and I'm back now."

Adams leads onslaught

Maggard's battery mate Adams went 2-for-2 with a walk, a double, two runs scored and three RBI. He and Jack Diven accounted for three first-inning runs on back-to-back two-out singles.

"My approach, coach and I have been working on it the past couple weeks," said Adams, who came in 3-for-23 on the season. "My coaches told me to keep working on staying focused and keep my head up. This is the first time I've felt good."

Chris Churay chipped in a two-run single in the fourth. In the sixth the Eagles scored twice on passed balls, once on an Adams double, once on a Bobby Pasarela single and finally on a wild pitch to invoke the mercy rule.

The win put Springstead two games up in the loss column on both Forest and Central in the four-team 5A-7 race. The Eagles host the Bears next Thursday, and would clinch the district's top seed with a win.

"This is kind of a statement game," Vitale said. "I don't think we're lacking in confidence, we've got that. It's just a matter of coming to play every day."

SPRINGSTEAD 10, OCALA-FOREST 0 (6 INN.)
123 456 R H E
FOR 000 000 -- 0 3 2
SPG 300 205 -- 10 8 1
FOR - Neal, Kennell (6), Mahoney (6) and Mazzurco.
SPG - Maggard, Pasarela (6) and Adams.
W - Maggard (1-0). L - Neal.
2B - Adams, Churay (SPG).
3B - none.
HR - none.
Records - Ocala-Forest (4-6 overall, 2-2 5A-7), Springstead (9-0 overall, 4-0 5A-7).