Around the Horn

Let's go "Around the Horn" with Salina Ortho, Kansas Pregame's look at some of the top baseball stories from across the state, presented by Central Kansas' largest Orthopedic's Practice, Salina Ortho.

There’s a new all-time pitching wins king at Rock Creek, yet his mission is still several weeks from being complete.

Daegen Vinduska, a crafty left-handed pitcher, hurled two-hit ball over 4.2 innings Monday to lift his top-ranked (Class 4A) Mustangs to a 5-1 win here over the Rossville Bulldogs in the first game of the doubleheader that was moved up four hours due to the pending weather. With it, the southpaw Barton Community College baseball signee became Rock Creek’s all-time leader in pitching wins with 19.

The Mustangs took the nightcap 8-2. Cooper Sieben struck out six, allowed five hits and upped his log to 6-0.

“It’s always awesome being on a team that does such great things,” Sieben said. “Daegen is a great person and I love being around him. He brings a great energy to games and really sets the tone when he pitches.

“I think Daegen has done an absolutely amazing job of being the best version of himself. I’ve always told him he’s going to be a record holder here at Rock Creek and that he’s going to do special things and he’s done just that. Daegen has also done an amazing job of supporting not just me but the whole team, making sure we live up to the expectations even when he’s gone.”

“He was pretty dominant from the start to the end,” catcher Drew Becker said of Vinduska. “He got a little wild for a couple pitches but immediately got back in the zone. After the game Coach Sieben gave him a game ball and congratulated him for his milestone. I told him that this isn’t gonna be his last game and we got a few more we have to win.”

“It’s a great honor for Daegen and our team,” Mustang coach Shane Sieben said. “Daegen has been a mainstay in our rotation since his freshman year when he threw a complete game shutout in the state championship. He’s now 19-3 in his high school career.

“The thing I’m most proud of with Daegen is how he’s stepped up as a leader.”

“Well it is crazy. As a freshman I never would've thought I'd be close,” Vinduska said.

“It feels good. To be leaving something behind at the school to show the success the team has helped me get. Something to give other guys a goal to try and beat,” Vinduska said.

Vinduska, as he has all season in which he’s now 7-0, labored through 88 pitches but dictated the flow of the game by delivering the next pitch seconds after the previous one. Freshman phenom Brock Lubbers notched his sixth save in six tries and yielded just an infield single in 2.1 innings of relief.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Vinduska said after striking out eight and walking three.

The only Rossville run scored without a hit on a third-inning walk, steal, wild pitch and sacrifice fly. No other Bulldog reached third base.

Rock Creek scored two runs on just one hit in the top of the third. Kade Welfringer singled off the shortstop’s glove and eventually scored on a Becker bases-loaded hit by pitch. Donavan Debita plated on a wild pitch.

Brandon Krainbill swatted an RBI single and Vinduska delivered a sacrifice fly for a 4-1 lead in the fifth before a seventh-inning run on singles by Becker, Vinduska and Ryker Zoeller.

“To be honest, I am blessed to be apart of this accomplishment because Daeg and I are best friends on and off the field,” Becker said. “So just being able to be apart of this is very exciting.”

The 22-1 Mustangs conclude their regular season Thursday at Wamego before entering regional play the following week.

“Daegen is obviously a special arm,” Debita said. “The biggest thing is his tempo and the pace he plays with. He doesn’t allow the batter to decide the pace of the game, it’s on Daegen’s time.”

Vinduska, finalist for 4A pitcher of the year as a junior, has been masterful on the mound. He’s crafted a sparkling earned run average of 1.30 and has 53 strikeouts in just 36 innings to just 17 bases on balls on the season.

“That comes because of a great defense behind me, too,” Vinduska said.

“Honestly, we’ve been blessed with this defensive group we have this year,” Debita noted. “If our guys throw strikes we are gonna make plays for them and luckily for us they throw strikes, so we do our best at making each other look good.”

“What makes him a great pitcher is his ability to control his pitches and throw them where he wants to,” Becker said.

In his record-tying performance on Friday against Silver Lake he hurled a one-hit, 73-pitch shutout in 4.2 innings in which he fanned eight.

“I conserved for our game Monday,” Vinduska noted.

“Arm feels alright, defense was great behind me,” he said. “My changeup was on and they couldn't hit my fastball.”

“He’s a good pitcher, really good,” Krainbill said. “He’s a good leader, he’s always picking people up and dominating on the mound. He’s showing why he is going to Barton. And even a better dude in the classroom.”

“His fastball is very dominant. However I think his change-up is his most effective pitch,” Becker said. “He throws it from a 3/4 type slot and throws hitters off with its movement.

“Fastball has got up to 85 (mph) this year which is a pretty big jump from last year, change up is probably 75-78.”

“Honestly just the work he’s put into this sport, it shows itself,” Debita said. “Daegen is also a great kid and I couldn’t ask for a better senior to look up to.”

“It’s been pretty cool because you know when he goes up to the mound he’s gonnna attack the hitter,” Krainbill said. “You always gotta be on your toes in the field and makes the pace of game go good.”

Vinduska carries his weight at the plate. Despite a cold start, he’s hitting .310 with one triple and three doubles, 10 walks, 13 runs scored and seven stolen bases.

“Daegen has taught me so many things in my time with him,” said Debita, a .315 hitter with a .949 OPS, 17 hits, 23 runs scored and 15 walks. “I’d say the biggest one that I take away is you’re gonna struggle, that’s a given, it’s baseball. But when you struggle you gotta find a way to still contribute and Daegen does an unbelievable job at that. If he’s not hitting too well he’s gonna make every play at first, or Daegen will go throw six scoreless innings.”

“He was a part of the 2021 state Championship game pitching as a freshman. He stepped up in his role pretty fast coming in as a freshman pitching the championship game and throwing a shutout to win the championship,” Krainbill said.

“He makes it really easy,” said Becker, who leads the team in batting average (.383), OBP (.600), RBI (23) and extra-base hits (10). “He controls the game, we play at his tempo, and whatever pitch I want him to throw, he does and typically executes the spot as well.”