EDITOR'S NOTE: This feature originally appeared in the May 12 edition of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
FARMINGTON -- Tyler Gregg never envisioned he'd have Tommy John elbow surgery before he got his driver's license.
But Farmington's junior right-handed pitcher has returned to presurgery form and is throwing harder than ever heading into the Cardinals' game against Sylvan Hills in Class 5A State Tournament in Harrison.
The Cardinals (19-8) are the No. 4 seed from the 5A-West, while the Bears (25-5) went unbeaten in 5A-Central play to earn the conference's top seed.
"We like our chances when (Gregg's) on the mound," said Farmington baseball coachJay Harper.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Gregg has thrown two no-hitters and sports a sparkling 0.64 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 43.2 innings.
It's the type of stat line he feared he'd never deliver again after he underwent ligament surgery on his right elbow in November 2014. As a freshman the previous spring, Gregg was named the All-NWA Media Newcomer of the Year for his hitting and pitching prowess.
"But then I had surgery, and I was out for a whole year. It was a killer," Gregg said.
The procedure, named for the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who first had the surgery in 1974, involves taking a tendon from elsewhere in the body to repair a torn or ruptured ulnar collateral ligament -- the one Gregg had overused while striking out batters since Little League.
During the first five months after surgery, Gregg said he was "stressed out all the time" while wondering if he would ever pitch at a high level again.
"That thought went through my head a lot," Gregg said. "I wasn't very confident about it."
About eight months into rehabilitation, he began throwing again. At first, he took it slowly. There was pain -- tons of pain -- as he tried to retrain the muscles around his repaired tendon.
"It was hard to watch because he was in a a lot of pain and couldn't go as long," said Cardinals catcher Caleb Reagan. "We're used to throwing 90-pitch bullpens, but we started out at 20."
Now Gregg is back to throwing 90-pitch bullpens. Even better, he's touched 90 mph on his fastball -- much faster than before.
"He's back," said Reagan, a Connors State pledge who has caught pitchers throwing in the mid-90s during summer ball.
Gregg doesn't believe he's all the way back. He had to change his ¾ arm slot to "more over the top" after the surgery and isn't pleased with his control.
"My accuracy is still off. I've never had as many walks (28) as I have this season," Gregg said.
Last season, Gregg didn't throw a pitch but was "happy" to be able to contribute offensively. This season, he's batting .341 with a team high .642 slugging percentage, 34 RBIs and 6 home runs.
That, along with a solid supporting cast, has Gregg confident heading into today's state tourney opener.
"I think we have a big shot of making it to the state championship game," Gregg said. "Even though we're a fourth seed ... I think we're going to prove a lot of people wrong."
Sports on 05/18/2016