Rebels aren’t done yet

Published 6:25 pm Tuesday, June 10, 2008

ADAMS — Making it to the Class ‘A’ State Baseball Tournament for the first time in school history was a big deal for the Rebels. But they’re not done yet.

“Our goal all year has been to get to the state tournament. Now that we’ve made it, we might as well finish it,” Southland pitcher Kody Retterath said. “It’s exciting, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet because we haven’t finished yet. We’re gonna go up there and try to do something with it.”

The Rebels (24-2 overall) have won 21 straight games and are now just a three-game-winning-streak away from taking a state title. But the team is going by their motto of not looking ahead as they prepare for their opening round game with Mayer Lutheran (8-15 overall), in Jordan Thursday at 10 a.m.

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“We’re just trying to keep the boys focused on baseball. There’s a lot of hoop-la that surrounds it,” Southland head coach Scott Retterath said. “If we play Rebel baseball like we’ ve played practically all year, then we’ll be all right. That’s all I ask is to play the game like you’ve been playing, and if a team beats us in the field, they beat us.”

While the Rebels have the best record in the Class ‘A’ tournament and a team batting average that hovers around the .380 mark, they are not going to look past Mayer Lutheran, which played some 2A and 3A schools during the regular season.

“You just gotta go in and think that they’re the best team you’re gonna play,” Southland pitcher Brian Voigt said. “In our conference you can’t overlook anyone so our conference helps us with that.”

The Rebels have seen Mayer Lutheran play just one game this season and know little about the rest of the teams at state.

“We went up and watched them play so we have a little idea of what they have,” Scott Retterath said. “I don’t know if we saw their best pitcher. They’ve got some kids who can hit the ball hard. They’re not in the state tournament because they’re a bad team, even though their record’s not the best.”

As for pitching, Scott Retterath hopes he can get through the tourney using mostly just his two seniors, while keeping sophomore Mitch Nagele in the bullpen. Kody Retterath is 6-1 with a 1.41 ERA this season and Voigt is 7-1 with a 1.13 ERA and 78 strikeouts.

“It’ll be Kody or Brian starting the first game,” Scott Retterath said. “All our pitchers are good, but I’ve got a hard time taking the ball out of one of my two seniors’ hands. I’m hoping we can get some relief for those guys if we get up or down by too much.”

So far, the nerves haven’t set it. But Scott Retterath said they’ll come along.

“I don’t think the kids are too nervous yet. We get to practice (in Jordan) Wednesday so that should take some of the awe off it. They’ll see what the park looks like and get a feel for it,” he said. “But once it gets started, everybody will probably be nervous, including myself. Once the game gets rolling it’s gonna be baseball as usual.”

Besides a solid pitching staff, the Rebels lineup may be its most potent force at state. Southland doesn’t have any weak links in its lineups and the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters had the only RBIs for the team in the Section 1A title game.

“That’s been the fun thing with this team is you never know whose gonna step up at any given time,” Scott Retterath said. “That makes it so there’s no pressure on any player to feel like they have to step up.”

It also appears the 10 a.m. start time will not affect the team’s focus.

“We’re normally not morning people, but when it comes to the state tournament it doesn’t matter,” Voigt said. “We’ve played at 10 a.m. before.”

Class ‘A’ state baseball tournament schedule

Thursday

Southland (24-2) vs. Mayer Lutheran (7-15), 10 a.m. in Jordan at the Mini Met

Red Lake Falls (18-5) vs. Browerville/Eagle Valley (12-7) in Chaska Athletic Park, 10 a.m.

Cherry (15-8) vs. Hawley (15-2) in Chaska Athletic Park, 12:30 p.m.

Wabasso (22-6) vs. New Ulm (20-4) in Jordan at Mini Met, 12:30 p.m.

Semifinals (in Jordan): games at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Consolation games (in Chaska): games at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Friday

Championship game at 5:30 p.m. in Jordan

Third place game at 2:30 p.m. in Jordan

Consolation title game at noon in Jordan