Southland freshman shines in pitching debut
Published 10:05 pm Thursday, May 8, 2014
ADAMS — Southland freshman Chris Webber has watched a lot of good pitching this season and he’s seen a lot of good pitchers play for the Rebels while growing up in Southland.
Webber took his turn on the mound in Adams Thursday as he pitched a three-hitter to pick up a win in his first career pitching start for the No. 2 ranked Rebels. Southland beat Rushford-Peterson 5-1.
Webber cruised early on as he didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning.
“There were a lot of nerves,” Webber said. “It was really scary at first, but when I got going it was nice and easy. It wasn’t too hard after that. Trent [Reinartz] is a very good catcher and he stopped a lot of balls that I threw in the dirt. Nothing gets past him.”
Webber never faced any jams and RP (0-11 overall) scored its lone run on a 2-out single in the fifth, but the Rebels were still leading 4-1 at that point. Reinartz, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI, said he had plenty of faith in Webber on the hill.
“He was pretty focused from the start. He’s a good pitcher and he hit his spots,” Reinartz said.
Webber said he’s watched how Southland ace Lukas Anderson has pitched this year, and he’s also learned from former Southland pitcher Alan May, who now plays football at Winona State. May was in attendance at Thursday’s game and it gave Webber a boost.
“Alan May was a very good pitcher and he’s a close friend with my dad,” Webber said. “He always comes over and teaches me different pitches and different moves.”
Southland head coach Scott Retterath said he needed a good showing out of a fifth pitcher, because he wanted to save his team’s top four hurlers for upcoming match ups at Chatfield Friday and at Wabasha-Kellogg Monday.
“I don’t think he knew he was starting until I handed him the ball right before the game,” Retterath said. “He did fine and he kept the ball down. For the most part, he kept them off balanced.”
Jordan Heimer had the two biggest hits of the game for Southland (13-0 overall, 10-0 Three Rivers) as he knocked in a run with a two-out single up the middle in the first and he lined a two-run single down the right field line to put Southland up 4-0 in the fifth.
“We just had to keep plugging away. You can’t get down on yourself and you have to keep your confidence at the plate,” Reinatz said. “We’re pretty confident. Coach keeps telling us to stay humble and hungry and if we keep doing that, we’ll be good.”
RP 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 – 1 3 2
Southland 1 0 0 1 2 1 X – 5 5 1
Southland pitching: Chris Webber (W) 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K
Southland hitting: Trent Reinartz, 2-for-3, RBI, BB; Taylar Schwartz, 0-for-2, R, SB, 2 BBs; Lukas Anderson, 0-for-4, R; Jordan Heimer, 2-for-2, 3 RBIs, BB; Webber, 0-for-3; Alex Ruechel, 0-for-3, SB, R; Paxton Gray, 0-for-3; Ike Klockner, 1-for-3, SB, R; Josh Anderson, 0-for-1, 2 BBs