<p>Finding a silver lining to the cloud that cut the junior college baseball season short (along with every other sport) hasn’t been that hard for Dustin Sprong.</p><p>When the end came in the second week of March, the former Indian Creek standout hadn’t pitched for a month anyway.</p><p>Sprong, who landed at Howard College in Texas this fall after leaving Xavier and hopping into the transfer portal, had been experiencing some discomfort in his elbow for a few months. He came back and pitched one inning of relief in a Feb. 8 game against Ranger College, striking out three while allowing two hits and two unearned runs, but when the soreness flared back up, Howard coach Michael Lopez opted to shut the hard-throwing righty down for a few weeks.</p><p>By the time Sprong was ready to pitch again, the season was over.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>"It was looking really good, he was feeling good," said Lopez, who captained Arizona to a College World Series title as a senior in 2012. "We started stretching out with long toss a little bit and things like that, and it was going in the right direction — and then COVID happened. So it was kind of unfortunate; we didn’t get to look at the finished product."</p><p>Though he was sad to see the season end early, Sprong wasn’t anywhere near as heartbroken as he would have been if he’d been at full strength.</p><p>"I know it was tough for a lot of guys," he said, "but for me personally, still coming off of my elbow injury, it was good to have another few months of rest and have more time to figure out what to do."</p><p>Back at home, Sprong has been working out with older brother Dylan, who is now a pitcher at Marian. The two have been trying to make use of the time at home by improving their throwing technique — using some tools that Dustin learned during his abbreviated year with the two-time NJCAA national champion Hawks.</p><p>"What they know baseball-wise is unlike anything I’ve experienced before," he said. "I’ve definitely learned different ways to use my body to maximize what I can do and take stress off the arm. It’s not like I’ve lost any velo or lost anything. If anything, I’ve gained more — even after eight months of sitting and watching."</p><p>When Sprong — who shared Daily Journal Player of the Year honors in 2019 after leading Indian Creek to a fourth consecutive sectional title — gets back down south, he’s expected to figure prominently in Howard’s baseball plans if he’s healthy. Lopez envisions starting him out with some high-leverage relief situations, with the hope of having him in the starting rotation eventually.</p><p>"He’s got that two-seam, that sinker, so to speak, with a slider," the coach said, "and it’s a three-quarter arm slot so it’s kind of funky. It can get you some ground balls."</p><p>Regardless of whether he’s starting or coming out of the bullpen for the Hawks, Sprong plans to stay at Howard for either one or two more years and do enough to either land with a Division I team in a Power Five conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) or get drafted by a major league franchise.</p><p>But while he’s got big dreams, he’s not stressing out about them.</p><p>"I’m not worried about it at all," Sprong said. "Whatever happens is meant to happen, and if there’s someone out there that deserves a spot more than I do, good for them. But I’m going to work as hard as I can to get there either way.</p><p>"I’m in a good spot now. From this point, it’s just getting stronger and throwing harder."</p><p>Lopez is confident that once scouts see what a healthy Sprong can bring to the table, they’ll be intrigued.</p><p>"If the velo’s good," he said, "anybody that comes and watches the way that arm works and the way the body moves, you’re definitely going to go, ‘Whoa, who’s that guy?’"</p>
