Last year, Zach Beringer sat in the bullpen before during pre-game warm-ups and wondered if he could ever pitch effectively again.

After Wednesday’s dominance against Nebraska-Omaha, it’s clear that he is already showing signs of his old form.

Beringer’s return to the mound was a long time in the making. And it couldn’t have gone any better for the 20-year-old right hander.

“I always expect to do well and keep a positive mindset. To do as well as I did, I’m glad and don’t expect anything less, but this my first outing and I’m very pleased with it,” Beringer said.

Beringer allowed one run and struck out eight batters at chilly Eck Stadium, leading Wichita State (7-4) to a 5-3 win.

Beringer didn’t wait around to soak up the moment. The second he stepped on the mound he got into his rhythm, found the strike zone and kept Nebraska-Omaha hitters off balance with his off-speed stuff.

“He did a good job, I was concerned with how he may handle it early on in the first inning, but he did a good job,” WSU coach Gene Stephenson said.

It was his first start since undergoing back and knee surgery after his involvement in a car crash that left Beringer and Tobin Mateychick, the passenger in the vehicle with serious injuries. Beringer sustained serious injuries to his back and knees and doctors performed surgery to stabilize his fractured vertebrae and his knees.

The long grind of rehab began shortly after his operation—he could barely walk for the first month. Beringer spent the next six months rehabbing his back and his knees four times a week.

“It took a lot out of me mentally, knowing that I was so far from playing,” he said.

The Shockers will go into this weekend’s series against Texas-Pan American University with a three-game winning streak. But they also go with an unhappy coach Stephenson, who didn’t have kind words about the rest of his team not scoring any runs after the second inning.

“I’m not happy with their performance in way shape or form. It was poor performance from our standpoint,” he said. “It’s frustrating but we did get the win and I guess I should be thankful. The most important thing is to prepare for the upcoming series this weekend and have to be a lot better than we were today.”