From Rehab To Championship...
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
However, on Saturday night, Kistler and the rest of his Iowa Western Community College Reivers teammates celebrated the 2010 JUCO World Series championship at Grand Junction, Colorado's Suplizio Field.[[In-content Ad]]The 2008 Warsaw Community High School graduate finished this season at 10-1 overall and 9-0 during the regular season, carrying a 3.75 ERA.
With that kind of production, Kistler signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball at Division-I St. Louis next year.
"They had offered a 90-percent scholarship a month ago, and I told them I was interested," Kistler said during his drive back from Colorado Tuesday. "I was interested and took a visit to the school, but let them know that I'd like to wait until the end of the season, so I could look at any other offers and make a decision. There's some other Iowa Western players at St. Louis, and they told me how much they like it there."
The move to a Divison-I school, along with just winning a JUCO World Series title, seemed very far away to Kistler after he blew out his arm early in his senior season at Warsaw.
The injury occurred during warm-ups going into Warsaw's Northern Lakes Conference-opener, shelving him for the year.
"Sitting out my senior year was rough," Kistler said. "I really wanted to play with Braden (Kline) and the other guys that I grew up playing baseball with."
Despite the injured elbow, Kistler still took at-bats for the Warsaw Tigers, but that ended after he underwent Tommy John surgery midway through the season.
Following a setback in his rehabilitation, Kistler did see the field as a freshman at Iowa Western, although it was only 20-2/3 innings, which he had a 5.23 ERA and a 1-2 record.
With the elbow completely healthy, Kistler returned strong this season, being named Regional Pitcher of the Year.
The regular season was nice for Kistler, but returning to the JUCO World Series was something the entire Reivers team was looking forward to.
In 2009, Iowa Western suffered two quick losses, making its postseason appearance a brief one.
"We were there for maybe 24 hours," Kistler said about last year's trip to Grand Junction. "It was pretty bad."
This year, the fifth-ranked Reivers began the double-elimination tournament by defeating No. 10 Crowder College 12-0.
In its second game, Iowa Western squared off with the second-ranked Southern Nevada, the team of this year's No. 1 MLB draft pick Bryce Harper.
Kistler saw his first action of the postseason in the Southern Nevada game, coming in in relief in the sixth inning, inheriting two base runners. After giving up an RBI-single, Kistler posted the second out by striking out Gabe Weidenaar, which brought Harper to the plate with two outs.
In his at-bat, Harper showed why scouts are so high on him when he blasted a three-run shot over the left-field fence, giving his team the lead, and him eight RBIs in the game.
"I missed my spot, but it was still six inches outside," Kistler said about the pitch to Harper. "He can hit about anything."
The shot turned out to be the game-winner, and gave Kistler his first setback of the season.
In the losers' bracket, Iowa Western got back on track by defeating Crowder a second time, 13-3, setting up a rematch with Southern Nevada, which had lost 10-8 to top-ranked San Jacinto.
In the rematch, Southern Nevada was without Harper, who was serving a two-game suspension after being ejected from the San Jacinto loss for arguing balls and strikes.
Without Harper, the team fell 9-8 on a two-run, walk-off home run by Iowa Western's Brent Seifert.
In a best-of-three championship series against San Jacinto, Kistler got his first start of the postseason, going seven innings, allowing eight hits and four runs while striking out five. The Reivers got the 10-4 win, but Kistler may have suffered a physical setback in the victory.
In the seventh inning, Kistler felt a pop in his elbow, sending him to the bench.
Once he returns home, Kistler plans to get an MRI done on the elbow, hoping there's no further damage to it.
"If I did injure it, I did it for a good cause," Kistler said about getting the win. "It was worth it."
The Reivers put an end to the JUCO World Series by coming back and defeating San Jacinto again, this time 5-4.
"There's no feeling like winning a championship," Kistler said.
With the MLB draft continuing, there's a possibility his season numbers could get a him a call from a major league club, which would just add another chapter to his baseball career.
"This season could open some doors," he said. "Hopefully."
However, on Saturday night, Kistler and the rest of his Iowa Western Community College Reivers teammates celebrated the 2010 JUCO World Series championship at Grand Junction, Colorado's Suplizio Field.[[In-content Ad]]The 2008 Warsaw Community High School graduate finished this season at 10-1 overall and 9-0 during the regular season, carrying a 3.75 ERA.
With that kind of production, Kistler signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball at Division-I St. Louis next year.
"They had offered a 90-percent scholarship a month ago, and I told them I was interested," Kistler said during his drive back from Colorado Tuesday. "I was interested and took a visit to the school, but let them know that I'd like to wait until the end of the season, so I could look at any other offers and make a decision. There's some other Iowa Western players at St. Louis, and they told me how much they like it there."
The move to a Divison-I school, along with just winning a JUCO World Series title, seemed very far away to Kistler after he blew out his arm early in his senior season at Warsaw.
The injury occurred during warm-ups going into Warsaw's Northern Lakes Conference-opener, shelving him for the year.
"Sitting out my senior year was rough," Kistler said. "I really wanted to play with Braden (Kline) and the other guys that I grew up playing baseball with."
Despite the injured elbow, Kistler still took at-bats for the Warsaw Tigers, but that ended after he underwent Tommy John surgery midway through the season.
Following a setback in his rehabilitation, Kistler did see the field as a freshman at Iowa Western, although it was only 20-2/3 innings, which he had a 5.23 ERA and a 1-2 record.
With the elbow completely healthy, Kistler returned strong this season, being named Regional Pitcher of the Year.
The regular season was nice for Kistler, but returning to the JUCO World Series was something the entire Reivers team was looking forward to.
In 2009, Iowa Western suffered two quick losses, making its postseason appearance a brief one.
"We were there for maybe 24 hours," Kistler said about last year's trip to Grand Junction. "It was pretty bad."
This year, the fifth-ranked Reivers began the double-elimination tournament by defeating No. 10 Crowder College 12-0.
In its second game, Iowa Western squared off with the second-ranked Southern Nevada, the team of this year's No. 1 MLB draft pick Bryce Harper.
Kistler saw his first action of the postseason in the Southern Nevada game, coming in in relief in the sixth inning, inheriting two base runners. After giving up an RBI-single, Kistler posted the second out by striking out Gabe Weidenaar, which brought Harper to the plate with two outs.
In his at-bat, Harper showed why scouts are so high on him when he blasted a three-run shot over the left-field fence, giving his team the lead, and him eight RBIs in the game.
"I missed my spot, but it was still six inches outside," Kistler said about the pitch to Harper. "He can hit about anything."
The shot turned out to be the game-winner, and gave Kistler his first setback of the season.
In the losers' bracket, Iowa Western got back on track by defeating Crowder a second time, 13-3, setting up a rematch with Southern Nevada, which had lost 10-8 to top-ranked San Jacinto.
In the rematch, Southern Nevada was without Harper, who was serving a two-game suspension after being ejected from the San Jacinto loss for arguing balls and strikes.
Without Harper, the team fell 9-8 on a two-run, walk-off home run by Iowa Western's Brent Seifert.
In a best-of-three championship series against San Jacinto, Kistler got his first start of the postseason, going seven innings, allowing eight hits and four runs while striking out five. The Reivers got the 10-4 win, but Kistler may have suffered a physical setback in the victory.
In the seventh inning, Kistler felt a pop in his elbow, sending him to the bench.
Once he returns home, Kistler plans to get an MRI done on the elbow, hoping there's no further damage to it.
"If I did injure it, I did it for a good cause," Kistler said about getting the win. "It was worth it."
The Reivers put an end to the JUCO World Series by coming back and defeating San Jacinto again, this time 5-4.
"There's no feeling like winning a championship," Kistler said.
With the MLB draft continuing, there's a possibility his season numbers could get a him a call from a major league club, which would just add another chapter to his baseball career.
"This season could open some doors," he said. "Hopefully."
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