Reiner makes mark on diamond

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/06/2011 (5459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tyler Reiner and the defending champion William Morton Collegiate Warriors of Gladstone are back at the provincial high school baseball championship this weekend in Portage la Prairie.

It’s the high school swan song for Reiner, a Grade 12 student and the MVP of last year’s tournament.

"I think we’ve got just as good a team as we had last year, so we’ve got a shot at repeating," said Reiner, whose Warriors open against the Virden Golden Bears today after most of Thursday’s action was rescheduled because of rainy weather.

"But we’ve still got to go out and play and there’s still some other good teams out there. We lost a couple of older guys from last year and gained a couple of younger guys this year, but I think we’ve still got about the same talent base on the team and still have a good shot at winning."

Today’s game between William Morton and Virden pits Reiner against one of his baseball buddies in Zane Sawyer. The pair of pitchers played together the past three summers with Team Manitoba at the 15-year-old, 16-year-old and Canada Cup levels. In the fall, they’ll be teammates again when they begin studies at Minot State University in North Dakota.

"We became pretty much best friends over the years," said Reiner, a 17-year-old right-hander. "Even in the winter, when there’s not much baseball stuff, we still talk and text each other a lot."

Sawyer finalized his college plans this spring, while Reiner chose Minot in November after visiting the campus.

"It just seemed like a great fit for me," said the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Reiner, who lives in Plumas. "It’s only four and a half hours away from home, for one thing. Another thing, I wanted to play baseball in the States if I could, and it was the same tuition cost at Minot for an out-of-state student as an in-state student.

"Plus, I’ve played with Zane on provincial teams and I’ve been really good friends with him. There’s some other guys I know on the (Minot State) team. Also, they’re going Division 2, which will be a really good calibre of baseball. And when I went down to see the campus, I was pretty impressed and instantly got along with (Beavers head coach) Brock (Weppler) and felt a connection with him. It was really good."

Reiner is warming up for the college season with a full plate of baseball this summer. He’s a rookie with the Neepawa Farmers of the Manitoba Senior Baseball League and plans to play Midget AA with the Plumas Pirates, Midget AAA with the Midwest All-stars and possibly a few junior games with the Pembina Valley Orioles.

"I just think getting lots of baseball in and getting the arm ready for the fall and the upcoming year at Minot will be good, especially the experience with the Farmers," he said. "There’s some older guys there, and some coaching to help improve my skills. The guys have welcomed me pretty easily and I’m having fun playing on the Neepawa team. It’s good competition."

Reiner showed his stuff Sunday in his MSBL pitching debut. He gave up just three hits over seven innings as host Neepawa blanked the Brandon Montana’s Marlins 4-0.

"I just went out there and tried to prepare as best I could and I was lucky enough to have a good performance," he said. "I had great ‘D’ behind me."

Reiner manned second base for the Farmers in their season-opening 7-6 win over the Oak River Dodgers last week.

Neepawa is scheduled to visit the Marlins in MSBL action tonight at Andrews Field, but Reiner will be in Portage for the high school provincials.

"Everything has been feeling good lately," he said. "I’m starting to get really into the baseball season and the arm is feeling good for pitching."

EXTRA INNINGS: The MacArthur Truck and Trailer Senior AA Baseball League season is scheduled to begin next week, with the Cardinals facing the Young Guns on Monday and the Cubs meeting the Orioles on Tuesday. The Rays’ first game is set for June 13. The Marauders didn’t return to the league this season, but the arrival of the Young Guns keeps the five-team complement in place.