FREEPORT — Her softball career began with such promise.

Spinal fusion surgery altered that.

It altered Maya Borghol's life ambitions as well.

Borghol hit .405 with three homers, 17 runs scored and eight stolen bases her freshman season at Freeport. She was picking up collegiate interest heading into her sophomore season as the Yellowjackets' center fielder.

Only that season never happened.

She suffered a pulled quad while playing summer ball in 2018. She wound up being diagnosed with spondylolisthesis — a lower spine condition causing the lower vertebrae to slip forward onto the bone beneath it — and had surgery requiring four screws and two rods inserted into her spine to stabilize it.

Borghol tried to play her sophomore year.

“She just couldn't do it. The pain was too much,” her mother, Kelly Borghol, said.

Borghol planned on trying to play her junior season before the 2020 spring sports season was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Honestly, I don't think I could have played anyway,” Borghol admitted. “I was still having pain.”

She was still going through therapy, seeing different doctors, talking with nurses, etc.

Borghol wound up being diagnosed with amplified muscular skeletal pain syndrome, an affliction that causes the nerves “to send mixed signals to her brain,” her mother said.

“We tried acupuncture, MRI, everything we could think of. Everything was in place. Physically, she was fine,” Mrs. Borghol said.

But her body wasn't convinced.

Borghol gave up on pursuing softball in college. Her repeated hospital and doctor visits convinced her to attend Duquesne University's School of Nursing next fall.

“I spent so much time with medical people and became fascinated by the things they do,” Borghol said. “I decided that's what I wanted to do for a career.”

She carries a 3.9 grade point average at Freeport.

While her future is in nursing, Borghol has not said goodbye to softball just yet. She decided to play her senior year for the Yellowjackets.

Her and Emily Schmidt are the only two seniors on the team.

“I had played volleyball and basketball, too, leading up to high school,” Borghol said. “Softball was my favorite sport, though. I had decided to concentrate on that before I got hurt.

“I have friends on the team and this was going to be our last chance to play together. I didn't want to pass that up.”

Her teammates voted her a captain this season, joining Schmidt and junior Autumn Powell in that role.

“Maya has been through so much,” Schmidt said. “I admire the way she's been able to come back. She's a competitor and she provides leadership for the team.”

Borghol homered in her second game back. She bats in the lead-off position and is back in center field.

“I wasn't sure what to expect, coming back after so long,” Borghol said. “But, honestly, it feels like I never quit playing. The muscle memory is still there. I may be a little rusty, that's all.”

Schmidt agreed.

“Only a little rusty,” Schmidt declared. “I didn't know how she'd do when she came back. Maya's worked at it and she's getting her muscles back. She's only going to get better.”

Schmidt is not pursuing softball in college, either. She will be attending Penn State to major in engineering.

“We have a lot of new players, but we're going to be very competitive,” she said of Freeport's softball hopes this spring. “This is our last year and we want to make it count.”