ADAMS — After losing his last start on a walk-off homer, Southland pitcher Alan May wanted a fresh start when his team took on No. 1 ranked Wabasha/Kellogg in Adams Monday.

May made good on his chance as he struck out seven, while allowing just three hits and one walk in a 6-0 shutout win over the Falcons (6-1 overall).

“I came out with a chip on my shoulder and I knew I had to get back on track,” May said. “We’re starting a new season right here.”

The Falcons’ most serious scoring threat came in the third inning when Zach Wolfe singled and Tommy Greenheck reached on a Rebel error to put runners on second and third with no outs.

May struck out two straight hitters before getting Zach Schmitz to softly ground out on a two-strike breaking ball.

“I was just trying to stay ahead of the count, so I could use my breaking ball to let the defense make a play tonight,” May said.

With the shutout, Southland (6-3 overall) became the first team to hold W/K under 10 runs so far this season.

“Alan pitched a whale of a game tonight. That’s a powerful lineup they’ve got there,” Southland head coach Scott Retterath.

W/K pitcher Hunter Baab retired the first eight hitters he saw, but when Tyler Kressin and Alan May drew back-to-back two-out walks in the third, Adam Kiefer responded with a two-run double down the left field line to put Southland up for good.

“This kid was pretty easy for me to see and I knew I had to get a big hit to get us started,” Heifer said. “I got a nice fast ball right down the middle and drove it.”

Southland ‘s second hit of the game didn’t come until the bottom of the sixth, when Kiefer led off the inning with a double. Connor Mielke ripped a two-run double down the left field line and Mitch Nagele blasted a two-run homer over the left field fence to make it 6-0.

“You’ve got to get hits with guys in scoring position and tonight we were fortunate enough to do that,” Retterath said. “That’s something that’s been eluding us all year.”

Southland has now won three straight games and the best of those victories came on Monday against the Falcons, who took second at the Class ‘A’ state tournament last season after beating Southland in two straight games in the Section 1A tournament.

“This is big,” Kiefer said. “We need to come to play like this every game and if we do that, we’ll be a good team.”

W/K 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 3 2

Southland 0 2 0 0 0 4 X — 6 5 3

Southland pitching: Alan May (W), 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 7 K

Southland hitting: Alan May, 0-for-2, R, SB, BB; Adam Kiefer, 2-for-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, R; Chris May, 0-for-3, R, SB; Connor Mielke, 1-for-3, double, 2 RBIs, R; Mitch Nagele, 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBIs, R; Mitch Heimer, 0-for-3; Clint Bergene, 0-for-3; Trevor Emanuel, 0-for-3; Tyler Kressin, 0-for-2, R, SB, BB, HBP

W/K pitching: Hunter Baab (L), 6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 K, HBP

W/K hitting: Eric Sandstrom, 1-for-2, BB; Holden Hartert, 0-for-3; Jordan Dick, 0-for-3; Zach Wolfe, 1-for-3; Tommy Greenheck, 0-for-3; Scott Klees, 0-for-2; Baab, 0-for-3; Zach Schmitz, 0-for-3; Will Greenheck, 1-for-3; Geoff Schumacher, 0-for-1