Shulista helps Solon to 2A quarterfinal win (w/video)

DES MOINES - Turns out Solon can win a pitcher's dual, too.The top-ranked Spartans' prolific offense was uncharacteristically unprolific most of Monday afternoon. But Brandon Shulista made sure a relatively pedestrian output was more than enough, throwing a two-hitter that stymied Interstate 35, 4-0, in a Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal at Principal Park.Shulista's gem moves the Spartans (39-2) to Thursday's 6 p.m. semifinals against Wamac Conference rival Waterloo Columbus (23-15). Solon swept a regular-season double-header, 9-2 and 11-3."I try not to say it's pressure," Shulista said of Solon's favorite status here. "We're just trying to take them one game at a time and hopefully come out on top."A junior right-hander, Shulista (11-o) was roughed up in Solon's substate final win over Cascade last week, giving up double the runs (8) he had the entire season. But he was in total control here, retiring the first 10 Roadrunners, seven on strikes.A consistently large strike zone aided both he and I-35 starting pitcher Blake Brommel (8-3). I-35 had only two baserunners reach second base and none get to third."It's mainly arm slot with him," Solon Coach Keith McSweeney said, talking about mechanical adjustments the coaching staff made between his starts. "Sometimes a lot of high school guys start dropping as the season goes on and you get wear (on your arm). You've got to get them back on top. He's a tall guy, so when he throws from the side, the ball comes in flat."""The ump had a pretty nice strike zone in terms of how big it was," Shulista said. "I guess it was both ways, too. But throwing a lot of strikes always helps. I kind of prepared all week for this (start). Going back to my (normal) mechanics, my pregame routine and everything. I came out today and had a lot better showing than I did against Cascade."Brommel held Solon, meanwhile, to just six hits: two each by Marshall Koehn, Derrick Loveless and Ryan Butler. Keep in mind, this is a group of Spartans that came in with a .411 batting average and averaging 10 runs a game.It was truly nickle and diming for Solon, with a run each in the first, second, third and sixth innings."Normally when you get to the state tournament, teams are going to be better," said Loveless, who had a triple, run and RBI. "So it's going to be a lot tougher when you face better pitching. You're not going to score as many runs."Leadoff hitter Koehn went 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs, a run and three stolen bases. "We hit a couple of balls that would have been out at Solon," he said. "This is a lot bigger park. You've got to adjust to it."Here's a short video interview with Loveless and Koehn: