The Rebels turned the game into a track meet in a 13-3 win over Lyle/Pacelli in the first round of the Subsection 1A West Division baseball playoffs at Riverland Tuesday.

No. 3 seeded Southland (13-7 overall) wreaked havoc by stealing 12 bases as they cruised to the six-inning victory.

“Once we figured out their catcher didn’t have the greatest arm, we started running like crazy,” said Southland’s Matt Schroeder, who had two steals. “At the top of the order we just run around.”

Schroeder had two doubles, including a two-run blast in the sixth inning that put his team up 11-3.

“I’ll bet the wind effected the pitcher more than the hitters,” he said. “I was seeing the ball well today.”

The No. 6 seeded Athletics (7-9 overall) struggled on the mound and in the field. They walked a total of 11 hitters and committed seven errors.

“We had trouble finding the strike zone,” L/P head coach Steve Baumann said. “(Michael Lonergan) hasn’t pitched as much as maybe he should’ve during the year. We’ll have to work on control with him over the offseason. You walk that many batters and that just makes it tough.”

Lonergan and Colin Sheehan split time on the mound as L/P’s ace Cody Meyer played shortstop with a shore shoulder. Meyer’s status is in question for Thursday’s elimination game against No. 7 Kenyon/Wanamingo, which will be at Riverland at 5 p.m.

“It didn’t help that I couldn’t throw Cody today. I don’t know if he’ll pitch Thursday or not. I don’t want to take a chance and I value a kid’s arm,” Baumann said. “He also chipped a finger on his throwing hand in pre-game warm-ups.”

The Rebels, who will play No. 2 Hayfield Thursday, had just eight hits. But they made things happen by drawing walks and being aggressive on the base-paths.

“We hit the ball fairly well today and we took advantage of what they gave us. We used our speed to our advantage,” Southland head coach Scott Retterath said. “The name of the game in high school baseball is to get guys on base. Things start happening when you do that.”

Southland took a 5-0 lead in the second when Alan May knocked in a run with a bloop single, and another run scored on an ensuing throwing error. The Athletics’ got the second out of the inning when they threw out Schroeder while he was trying to steal home. Alan May also attempted to steal home, but Chris May fouled off the pitch.

Southland’s Adam Kiefer came up with a two-out run scoring single to cap the rally.

L/P pulled to within 7-3 in the fifth, when it scored two runs on a two-out throwing error by the Rebels.

Mitch Nagele got the win for Southland as he allowed four hits, three walks, and one earned run while striking out six.

“Mitch is coming off a shoulder injury and he pitched fairly well,” Retterath said. “But I’ll give L/P credit. They never gave up and they hung right in there. I think their starting pitcher (Sheehan) tired a little bit and we were patient at that plate.”

The Rebels will likely start Alan or Chris May against Hayfield and the Vikings will likely be throwing their ace, Ben Pollock.

“I look for it to be a pretty good game,” Retterath said. “They’re gonna bash the ball around a little better (than L/P).”

1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E

L/P 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 4 7

S 1 4 1 1 2 4 13 8 4

Southland pitching: Mitch Nagele (W), 6 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 R, 1 ER, 6 K

Southland hitting: Matt Schroeder, 2-for-2, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 2 R, 2 SB, 2 BB; Alan May, 1-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2 R, SB, BB; Chris May, 1-for-4, RBI, 2 R, 2 SB, R; Adam Kiefer, 2-for-2, RBI, R, 3 SB, BB; Josh Bamrick, 0-for-2, SB, 2 BB; Mitch Helmer, 1-for-4, RBI, R; Grant Hegge, 1-for-1, SB, 2 BB; Danny Schneider, 0-for-2, R, BB; Clint Bergene, 0-for-3, BB;

L/P pitching: Colin Sheehan (L), 2 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, 6 R, 3 ER, 1 K, HBP; Michael Lonergan, 3 IP, 4 H, 6 BB, 7 R, 5 ER, 4 K, HBP

L/P hitting: Colin Sheehan, 1-for-4, R, SB; Nate Williamson, 0-for-2, R, BB; Lonergan, 0-for-3; Cody Meyer, 0-for-3; Aaron Juenger, 0-for-2, BB; Brady Stier, 1-for-3, double, R; Carter Guthmiller, 0-for-1, RBI, BB; Randy Klouse, 2-for-3; Skylar Meyer, 0-for-3