Shulista returns to mound, Solon overwhelms Waukon, 11-0 (w/video)

DES MOINES - The last anyone heard, Brandon Shulista was done pitching for the summer. A shoulder injury incurred late in the regular season could affect his college career, too.

Yet there he was on the Principal Park mound Tuesday afternoon, doing his thing. He threw four shutout innings in Solon's 11-0, five-inning win over Waukon in a Class 3A state baseball tournament quarterfinal.

“Originally they told me I had torn my labrum, and that I'd have to get surgery,” Shulista said. “But I ended up picking up a ball one day, and it felt pretty good to throw. So I started kind of easing back into it.”

Shulista returned to his orthopedist, who took another look at his wing. There was a different diagnosis this time, one that made him and Iowa Central Community College (where he has signed) relieved and happy.

“They ended up telling me that's just kind of how (his shoulder) was built,” said Shulista, whose return was a relief stint in Solon's substate final win last week over Davenport Assumption. “I've got a little something fuzzy in there, but I guess it's just the way I am.”

So he's back, providing a lift for top-ranked and top-seeded Solon (37-4). Shulista was an all-stater last season, pitching the Spartans past Carroll Kuemper in the 2A title game, and moved to 9-0 this season (to go with an earned run average under 1.00) by allowing two hits and striking out seven.

“It's definitely a lot more comfortable for us with him back on the mound,” said Solon outfielder Derrick Loveless. “It brought more confidence to our team overall. If he just keeps doing what he's doing, he'll be fine.”

And Solon will be fine if it continues to play as it did in this one. The Spartans - who draw Marion (27-16) in a Friday noon semifinal - scored in all five innings, five times in the third and three times in the fourth against mistake-prone Waukon (15-25).

“We just didn't have it today,” said Waukon Coach Matt Breitbach.

Waukon starting pitcher Logan Wood (6-7) tried to attack Solon's high-powered offense with a variety of off-speed pitches and arm angles but wasn't helped out much by his teammates, who committed three errors behind him. That made only one of the six runs charged to him in 2 2/3 innings earned.

“I got news that they couldn't hit the breaking ball, but that only worked for so long,” Wood said.

“We've been working on (hitting against) slower pitchers, off-speed stuff, because we knew he was going to throw a lot of junk today,” said Loveless, who went 3-for-4, including a two-run triple.

Austin Dall added two hits and two RBI for Solon, and Shawn Olson two hits and an RBI. Loveless was a 27th-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in June and said he received a recent contract offer from the club that "I'm not supposed to talk about."

He said he and his family are deciding whether pro or college ball are best for him. He has signed with the University of Iowa.

Here's a short video interview with Shulista: