Steady pitching powers MHS baseball to quick start

Apr. 14—MITCHELL — There's throwing, and then there's pitching.

Mitchell High School's best arms tasked with toeing the rubber know the difference.

From atop the mound, Mitchell has been in control to start its spring baseball season, propelling the Kernels to a 5-0 opening week of play. It's a simple approach and a fundamental understanding of the game that are paying off most, according to head coach Luke Norden.

"These guys aren't trying to do too much," Norden said. "They're just getting it in the strike zone and getting good things to happen. That's an understanding our guys have developed and a big key for us."

The 2025 season a year ago was one of development for many of the Kernels' top arms this season. As a group, they learned a lot about their position and what can help make them successful. Tops among those lessons was the importance of controlling the strike zone with an array of pitches. Along the way, that progression unlocked more nuances of the game, from pitch sequencing to making an effective pickoff move and many elements in between.

Now the more experienced Mitchell roster is putting those skills to use in game situations, and the Kernels have hit the ground running. Mitchell was in action against O'Gorman on Tuesday night in Sioux Falls, then hosts Huron for a Thursday doubleheader at Drake Field.

"I think a lot of us learned more about pitching, not just getting up there and throwing," said senior Tyler Christensen, who was an all-state pitcher for Mitchell last spring. "We know what pitch to throw for what count and what situation. We're all just a lot smarter up there on the mound."

In four of its first five games, Mitchell allowed three or fewer runs, and the Kernels had three pitchers combine to limit Fargo (N.D.) Shanley to one hit in the Border Battle tournament in Sioux Falls.

Senior Jacob Ebert, who pitched 21 2/3 total innings last spring, won both his 2026 opening-week starts while stacking up 10 2/3 innings of work. Fellow seniors Christensen, Carter McCormick and Kaiden Allen all started one game, with Allen also earning a win in his start. On the back end, the Kernels converted all three of their save opportunities, including two by junior Ian Weber.

In total, Mitchell used nine different pitchers across its first five games, as the team recorded a 2.97 earned-run average and a .250 batting average against. For good measure, the pitching was backed by a .953 fielding percentage.

With the pitching holding opposing offenses in check, the burden on the Kernels' offense has lessened as they try to find their own rhythm at the plate. Even still, Mitchell is hitting .360 as a team with an on-base percentage of .503.

"Obviously, we want to go out there and score a lot of runs, but when the whole team has confidence in the pitcher that's on the mound, it helps everybody out," Christensen said.

The Kernels are self-aware, too. They understand that there isn't one singular arm on the roster with the power and velocity characteristic of prototypical ace pitchers. But Mitchell makes up for its perceived lack of a dominant arm with depth, and that's a point of pride within the Kernels' pitching staff. Plus, the Kernels feel the construction of their pitching staff is favorable for what it takes to go on a postseason run.

"We might not have a headline pitcher who is up there throwing 90 (miles per hour) and might win a game for a different team, but we've got a team and a bunch of good guys who are going to work together," McCormick said. "In a three-game series, we can definitely throw at least three great arms up there. We might lose one, but we like our chances in the other two."

It's early in the season and there's plenty of games still ahead. But the Kernels' current form could make it difficult to determine what arm belongs where in the postseason rotation. That's a bridge Mitchell's coaches will cross down the road if it comes to it, and it would be a welcome question to have to address, as it would mean Mitchell's pitching prowess is intact.

"When we get to playoff time, we want to have a conversation where we don't know right away who we're going to put out there," Norden said. "Ideally, they're all pitching well to where it doesn't matter who we go with."