Riceville ‘Rydes’ on: Wildcats advance in Class 1A District

By Kristi Nixon

ST. ANSGAR — There is something about the confidence Riceville’s baseball team exudes when Ryder Fair is on the mound.

The Wildcat junior is among top-six in the entire state in pitching starts and top-two in Class 1A with 10 and he helped lead his team to a Class 1A District 4 opening round 14-2 five inning victory over Northwood-Kensett on Saturday, July 1.

“We knew we were going to throw (him a lot),” Riceville coach Bryce Conway said. “He’s started a lot of games and pitched a lot of games. He’s thrown a lot of pitches for us, but I really think his preseason preparation put him in that position, and his arm was ready. He was preparing in February and I thought he was in midseason form to begin the year. He’s been really good on the mound for us even in games that we’ve lost, he keeps us in it. Our magic number is four, if we can score four runs when he pitches, we have a good chance to win.”

Prior to Saturday’s postseason game, Fair was 2-5 and had thrown 750 pitches this season. Against the Vikings, he threw just under 50 and has the potential to return on Wednesday, July 5 against St. Ansgar, a 16-0, four-inning winner over Rockford.

“That was a huge deal for us,” Fair said of his pitch count. “We know when I am on the mound we compete with the best teams. That’s not because of me. I don’t want to take the credit for that, my teammates make great plays for me. As you saw today, I didn’t have that many strikeouts, my team makes plays for me and that’s what I strive to do. I don’t want to have to do everything. I want my teammates want to be involved in the game and want to play. I want the ball, that’s for sure.”

As a matter of fact, he recorded only three strikeouts, one each from three of the last four in the N-K lineup. But, he only needed five pitches to get through the first that set the tone for the game.

“When he’s on the mound I feel like we always have a chance,” Conway said of Fair. “He’s been locked in all year. He’s been consistent, and when he’s on the mound, we are pretty good. I think our defense understands that they are going to put the ball in play and have to be ready. He’s not going to walk or hit many guys at all. I think our mindset changes when he is on the mound compared to some other guys who aren’t quite there yet. That was huge for us.

“Honestly, coming into the game we’re trying to win, that was kind of the last thing on my mind, but now it’s a reality he can will be able to come back on Wednesday. His arm is good, which I expect it to be.”

Fair added, “I let my teammates make plays, that’s usually my job. No matter who I play, I let me teammates make the plays for me.”

With Fair dealing, small ball proved huge for the Wildcats offensively. A total of nine bunt singles and/or sacrifice bunts forced the Vikings into some misplays in the field which allowed Riceville to capitalize. Riceville didn’t hesitate to take the extra base in this game.

“We’ve had some really good practices lately,” Conway said. “We were prepared today. We have athleticism in our lineup, I feel like when we put the ball in play on the ground, put pressure on the other team. Today we executed a lot of good bunts, obviously, which is awesome to see. Capitalized on some mistakes by them, no doubt. Have to be aggressive, we don’t get enough hits to constantly put pressure on the defense. We can’t wait for a big hit, that’s not who we are, we know that. I’m just happy for the kids that we executed well, things went our way. Today they did.”

Fair was 2-for-2 at the plate and was hit by a pitch. Eighth-grader Reagan Richardson hit 3-for-4, including a double, two RBI and stole a base. Andrew Pridgen also went 2-for-4 with a double. But every single player in the Wildcats’ lineup reached base at some point in the win.

“We had been in a slump lately, but we finally put it together today. Our coach really helps us with the mental game.”

When the Wildcats played N-K earlier this season, the Vikings rallied to win via walk-off, 4-3, on May 31. N-K used the same pitcher, Evan Lorenzen, to start.

“That was a really good ball game,” Conway said. “They have a really nice pitcher and today we squared him up, with some bunts. We had a lot to play for today. We felt like we have the potential to be a competitive team. We have not shown that consistently throughout the year. With them walking us off. That put a little extra hop in our step, extra motivation. We want to finish your season, no offense to them. They are well-coached, a good team, and we caught them on a good day for us.

“I know this will give us some confidence, but we can’t have false confidence, either. We have to play well. If we don’t play well, we won’t win. That’s the truth. When we play well, are locked in mentally, we can be pretty good. The kids can understand that now. It’s going to get harder, it doesn’t matter who we play, it’s going to be a good pitcher who is tough to score against. We’ll work on it and we’ll be ready.”