Reindle Rises In The Ranks

Sophomore Makes his way 
into shiloh christian rotation

Jake Reindl of Shiloh Christian, the small schools baseball newcomer of the year, compiled a 5-1 record with a 1.48 ERA this season for the Saints.
Jake Reindl of Shiloh Christian, the small schools baseball newcomer of the year, compiled a 5-1 record with a 1.48 ERA this season for the Saints.

SPRINGDALE — Jake Reindl poked his head inside Shiloh Christian baseball coach Jimmy Harris’ office and asked for a private meeting.

The baseball season was just a few weeks old, and Reindl felt it was time he had a serious conversation with his coach about his role on the team. The move caught Harris a little off guard at first.

“He wasn’t in the lineup, and he came to me one day and told me he needed to talk to me,” Harris said. “The first thing I asked him was, ‘You’re not going to quit me, are you?’ And he’s like, ‘No, I’m not going to quit you.’”

But like Jimmy Chitwood from the film “Hoosiers,” Reindl was succinct and direct with Harris in the one-on-one meeting.

“He said, ‘It’s time for me to start pitching,’” Harris said.

Reindl, a sophomore, had a shoulder injury a few years before when playing for a travel team. Although the injury did not require surgery, he and his family thought it best to quit pitching for a while.

“My shoulder had been feeling better, and my dad and I thought it had been enough time to try pitching again,” Reindl said.

Harris said he started Reindl off slowly, using him at the end of a couple of games. The more he pitched, the more success he had. By the end of the season, he compiled a 5-1 record with a 1.48 ERA. He won both games in a 5A-West Conference doubleheader against Clarksville, and recorded a save and a win in a twinbill against Huntsville.

Reindl’s rise up Shiloh Christian’s pitching depth chart earned the 5-foot-10, 165-pounder the All-NWA Media Newcomer of the Year award.

“At the end of the year he was our best pitcher,” Harris said. “Our team started believing in him and started believing that when he was on the mound, we were going to win.”

The Saints failed to make the Class 5A state tournament this season after winning the Class 4A state title three straight seasons. But with the entire team returning next season, the Saints should be right back in the postseason mix.

Harris said Reindl has a calmness on the mound that belies his youthfulness.

“On the mound there is something there that he just finds peace,” Harris said. “He’s just very confident when he’s on the mound.

“He is a tough dude on the mound. He is a warrior. He’s very calm. And he forces contact.”

About halfway through the season, Reindl got some valuable advice from a former Shiloh Christian pitcher that paid great dividends.

Chris Oliver, who led the Saints to a state title and is now a reliever for Arkansas, taught him how to throw a split-finger pitch that Reindl called “my out pitch.”

“Chris really helped,” Reindl said. “He gave me some tips on how to make adjustments in games. He helped me with my control and with velocity.”

A serious meeting with the coach and the mastery of the split-finger fastball helped Reindl rise from his role as mop-up pitcher to staff ace over the second half of the season.

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