Northwoods League: A dream summer for this Willmar Stinger
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 3---- A dream came true for Gannon Reidinger this summer.
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Reidinger suited up for the
of the
.
It was an opportunity that the Minnesota State University-Mankato freshman could not pass up.
He spent his formative years attending games at the Beehive.
And, after idolizing ballplayers each summer, the Montevideo star became a Stinger.
"It was surreal and a dream come true for me," said Reidinger, who resided at his family's cabin on Big Kandiyohi Lake while playing for the Stingers. "It was absolutely awesome. I always dreamed of doing it. I thought those guys were big leaguers when I was a little kid."
Reidinger pitched a team-high 26-2/3 innings across seven appearances in his first-half contract.
Willmar, which had a 16-20 record in the first half, was 5-2 in games that Reidinger pitched.
The right-hander posted a 2-0 record with a 2.70 ERA and 23 strikeouts in his tenure.
He also clocked 91 miles per hour on his fastball, which is the fastest speed in his career.
"Gannon should have been an all-star, in my opinion," said Stingers field manager Freddy Smith, who saw shortstop Kyle Panganiban and relief pitcher Parker Barraza announced as all-stars to the Great Plains Division team on Monday. "He's a local boy, so we expect him to be back for next year."
Reidinger made his Willmar debut on May 27 at Bill Taunton Stadium. It was the team's home opener.
It went about as well as he could have hoped it would.
He tallied seven strikeouts and allowed one hit in seven innings to lead the Stingers to a 1-0 win against the Minot Hot Tots.
"I couldn't have asked for a better start to my summer, especially with the good crowd and the whole family there," Reidinger said. "There were quite a few people there, including the Raymond Rockets."
Reidinger pitched for Raymond, a Class B amateur baseball team, last summer.
If he would have signed with the Rockets this summer, it would have been bumped up into Class A based on the points system and him being an NCAA Division II player.
So the 6-foot-6-inch, 215-pound pitcher will play for the Madison Mallards, a Class C team, for the remainder of his summer. He will also join the Montevideo Post 59 American Legion baseball team.
Reidinger does have familiarity with the Mallards between Brendan Koosmann, a recent Montevideo graduate and former teammate, and Brandon Hill, the head coach of Alexandria Technical and Community College who tried to recruit him to join the Legends.
"I'm looking forward to some time off," Reidinger said. "I won't pitch for our Legion team until around playoff time, but I'll get to swing the bat, which should be fun. I hope we can make another state run."
Reidinger will gear up for his sophomore season with the Mavericks soon.
He is optimistic about what is to come after recording a 4-1 record with one save and a 2.34 ERA in 34-2/3 innings pitched in his freshman season.
"I was really excited about how I pitched and coming into next year, I hope I can take a bigger step and earn a bigger role for the team," said Reidinger, who is studying sports management in hopes of becoming an athletic director in the future. "I really hope I can earn a weekend spot at the start of the year. That's my goal."
Smith also believes the future is bright for Reidinger.
"The fact that he can throw his fastball, slider and changeup each for a strike makes him a three-pitch guy, which differentiates him from most guys who are two-pitch guys," Smith said. "f I'm a pro scout — he's a freshman — that's someone I'm keeping my tabs on a couple years from now in the 2028 draft."