Gallery by Karen AkersĀ
Paige Maynard erupted onto the local softball scene right out of the gate.
As a freshman at Liberty in 2018, the right-handed hurler was the star on a senior-laden team, earning second-team all-state honors.
While gifted, the senior, who transferred to Shady Spring after her freshman year due to proximity, is admittedly a workaholic and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Outside of the spring she’s spent countless hours traveling all over the country, competing in travel ball tournaments in hopes of playing at the next level.
Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by friends, teammates and family, she made those hopes a reality, signing her National Letter of Intent to continue her career at Penn State.
“As soon as I went on campus for my unofficial visit I just felt at home already,” Maynard explained. “I love the atmosphere and it’s extremely welcoming. The coaches were welcoming and it was just a great atmosphere.”
For Maynard the decision to take her talents to Pennsylvania was made over a year ago. It also took a load off of her shoulders and allowed her to become a better player. While many players use the travel season as an exhibition to showcase their talents to college coaches, the 6-foot senior was able to play the last year absent of that burden.
“It’s a lot easier for me,” Maynard said with relief. “With the organization I’m with (the Indiana Magic) we’ll have like 30 college coaches behind the backstop watching us so it’s a lot less stressful knowing that I know where I’m going and I don’t have to try to impress anymore. I don’t have to try to sell myself cause I’m already sold so it’s good.”
Maynard, who garnered her second consecutive all-state nod last year with the Tigers, helped Shady to the sectional championship game last season but isn’t satisfied. With her recruitment out of the way she’s been able to redirect that effort towards her game.
“I have my main pitches which are my rise, drop and changeup but I’m wanting to develop another,” Maynard said. “I want one that either goes west or east, so that’s one thing I want to improve on. You can always improve your spots too. And of course I want to clean up some of the small mechanics issues that pitchers have. I had a curveball and then I went through a speed jump or something and I kind of lost it so I’m going top try and get that one back. I’ve been throwing a screwball for awhile so I might just try to polish that one up and get it to where I want it.”
It’s a testament to the type of player Maynard is.
Even after a 1-0 loss in the sectional tournament last season she was disappointed in her performance. She’s a player that’s always wanted to improve and has put in the work to do so, something she’s inherited and hopes helps her out moving forward.
“My dad kind of put that in me,” Maynard said. “Since an early age I’ve always thought I could always be better. Plus the travel ball side has pushed me. There’s always another pitcher who’s better, there’s always somebody out there who has more strikeouts and has a lower ERA, so I think with that aspect and how competitive I am, it also drives some of it so it’s always going to be apart of me. Even in swimming. This is my first year doing it and I’m still wanting to always get the fastest time, so I’m always trying to be better.”
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94