SE: Rigler Riding Confidence on Mound in Senior Season for K-State
Mar 16, 2017 | Baseball
K-State senior Parker Rigler walked off the mound and, for a brief second, acted as if he had capped any other outing. Then he cracked a smile. Then his teammates swarmed him.
On March 5, when this moment occurred, Rigler finished off K-State’s first no-hitter since 1991 with one of his six strikeouts to end a 14-0 win against Eastern Illinois. By the time the senior had finished interviews and got to this cell phone, it was filled with 85 to 90 text messages. He said his Facebook page was “pretty blown up, too.”
“A lot of really, really kind people took the time to say congratulations and everything,” Rigler said. “That meant a lot.”
The no-hit accomplishment, something not achieved at the program in more than 25 years and last done by a Wildcat against a Division I opponent in 1976, meant Rigler was part of K-State history. It also meant he would collect a handful of honors and recognitions nationally.
On top of being named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, Rigler received National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s National Pitcher of the Week honor. He’s only the second Wildcat in school history (Jim Ripley, 2004) to receive the NCBWA weekly honor.
“That’s pretty special,” Rigler said of the awards, before downplaying his actual performance. “I don’t know…it was another game for me. Everything worked out great, but it’s just hard for me to blow it up into too much proportion. It was very special, I’m very honored, but I didn’t really see any of that stuff coming.”
Rigler threw a seven-inning no-hitter at Cowley Community College, where he spent two seasons before transferring to K-State. While at Cowley, Rigler never lost. He posted a 20-0 record in 26 appearances that included All-American honors as a sophomore.
His loss-less streak would come to a quick end at K-State, as he dropped his first two starts as a Wildcat. When asked if the beginning of his K-State career was a tough adjustment, Rigler responded without hesitation: “Oh, yeah.”
“It was good, though. Everybody needs to learn how to win and learn how to lose. When you learn how to do both of those, it makes you a better, well-rounded baseball player,” he continued. “It made me better. It gave me a drive for success. You don’t want to ever get to a point to where you’re settled with where you’re at, so it was good for me.”
This season, the left-handed native of Edmond, Oklahoma, leads K-State in innings pitched (25.0), ERA (1.80), strikeouts (18) and opponent batting average (.186).
“He’s been really in command of what he’s been doing,” K-State head coach Brad Hill said. “He’s controlling the strike zone and mixing up his pitches pretty well. He’s had pretty good composure on the mound.”
For comparison, Rigler posted a 4-9 record that included a 4.89 ERA last season. The difference this year, he said, has been an increased confidence on the mound, along with some added muscle weight to his 6-foot frame.
“The confidence, coming out and being able to attack a lot more, trusting my stuff and letting it work — the mental side of the game,” said Rigler, who’s also learned how to compete against the rigorous lineups amongst most Division I teams. “At the Division I level, you have guys up and down the lineup that can hurt you and do some damage, so you know not let up on anybody, challenge everybody in the lineup and not take anybody for granted.”
This lesson was reinforced last summer, when Rigler played in the Cape Cod League in Maine. He posted a 4.03 ERA in 29.0 innings of work against a host of talented teams.
“That was really big for me, allowing myself to build confidence and face some of the best players in the country. I had a lot of success up there,” he said. “Coming back here, I just worked really hard all fall and came out and just tried to pitch with my hair on fire a little bit.”
Heading into this weekend’s home series against Iowa, Rigler’s record stands at 2-1 in four starts, all on Sundays. His lone blemish, in an 11-2 loss to UC Riverside last weekend, included throwing 6 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and only one earned run.
“Parker pitched great, pitched really good,” Hill said. “He had a good day today for us.”
Coming off his historic no-hitter, Rigler said he knew “reality” would hit eventually. Even in a respectable outing, a view Rigler shared with his coach, he knows he’s capable of more.
“It’s not too often when everything just falls into place, everything goes perfectly smooth like last weekend,” Rigler said last Sunday. “Today, that’s exactly what happened. They were barreling balls up a lot more, hitting it to where guys weren’t. I’m pleased with my outing but, at the same time, it wasn’t enough to win, so I have to continue to get better.”
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