Caleb Loffswold’s strong relief performance helps Cedar Rapids Xavier top Class 3A No. 3 Marion

MARION – Caleb Loffswold remained chill during his trial by fire.

The Cedar Rapids Xavier junior was thrust into his first varsity pitching appearance as a reliever against Class 3A third-ranked Marion. The moment wasn’t too big for the left-hander.

Loffswold pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings and earned the save in the Saints’ 5-2 victory over the Wolves in a non-conference high school baseball game Thursday night at Les Hipple Athletic Complex.

  Buy Photo

“The coaches really gave me a lot of confidence,” Loffswold said. “I just went out there, being myself and played loose. The defense played great.”

Loffswold admitted it was the most stressful situation he has experienced on the mound. Xavier Coach Dan Halter said Loffswold has been a factor in the spring and anticipated to throw him early this season.

“We knew we were going to use him,” Halter said. “We wanted to use him this week.”

With the Saints short on arms due to pitch restrictions and state track, Loffswold was needed. He got the call in the fifth inning, taking over for starter Tate Proskovec. Loffswold inherited one runner with one out and a 5-1 lead.

“I was just thinking about throwing good pitches and get outs,” said Loffswold, who also plays football and basketball. “Let my defense make plays behind me.”

The start was a little rough. Loffswold opened with a walk. He attempted to pick off a runner but the throw from first to second sailed into left field, allowing another run to score. Loffswold responded with a strikeout and snagged a groundball up the middle to end the threat.

“Can't say enough about him,” Halter said. “They’ve got bats. I’m very proud of him. He was very poised, kept his head and just executed. He did his job.”

The Wolves put the leadoff batter on the final two innings but Loffswold avoided any damage. In the seventh, Luke Stearns opened with a double. Jake Miller reached on a fielder’s choice with one out. Saints shortstop Jack Casey teamed with second baseman Mac Driscoll and Proskovec for a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

“It’s always nice to face a good competition,” Loffswold said. “With the people around me, it’s just really nice to go out there and have confidence on the mound. Be able to pitch well.”

Proskovec, an all-stater in his second outing already this season, didn’t allow an earned run and gave up just two hits in 4 1/3 innings.

“We really only had a few arms left,” Halter said. “For Tate to give us depth, he went shorter on Monday with the weather delay, we didn’t want to leave him on that for the week so we were able to bring him back. He was efficient with his pitch count.”

Xavier (3-1) was led by the top half of its lineup, taking a 2-0 lead in the first. Casey was skimmed by the first pitch of the game. He scored on Proskovec’s single and Sam Schimberg’s RBI double chase home Beau Morio.

The Saints added a run in the third on two Marion error in the third. Proskovec singled to score Casey in the fourth and Schimberg scored on an error in the fifth. Xavier managed eight hits, getting a game-high three from Driscoll and two from Proskovec. Casey reached base three times and led all players with two runs.

“They’re a really good team and really good program,” Halter said. “They're track record speaks for itself. They are well-coached and play hard.

“Seems like we played them 20 times in the last three years. It’s a really good team and that's a good win for us.”

Marion’s Austin Goodrich had two hits. Dawson Goad and Stearns each scored.

The Wolves (0-1) showed some rust in their season-opener, committing four errors. The early game exposed some areas to improve and was a good learning experience.

“The first game for us, playing a lot of young kids,” Marion Coach Steve Fish said. “We have some other kids who are hurt.

“We did some uncharacteristic things … We’ll be fine but there’s some things to work on.”

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com