By GARY VAN CLEAVE
Special to Great Bend Post
He will go down in the annals of Ellsworth Bearcat baseball history as one of the greats to climb the hill 60 feet, six inches from home plate.
Lane Rolfs accomplished something few high school pitchers in today’s world do because of limited pitch counts and batters doing what batters do.
Rolfs surpassed 200 career strikeouts as a Bearcat.
“In today’s game passing 200 career strikeouts seems to be a pretty big deal to me because of how good hitters have become,” Rolfs said. “I think it takes a special kind of arm to be able to strikeout that many guys. Not just to have a good arm but to have the mental and physical toughness that I’ve improved over each year.”
He was enshrined in the 200/100 Club at Ellsworth with 238 career strikeouts and 104 runs batted in. He narrowly missed another 100 Club with 98 hits.
“Surpassing 200 career strikeouts gave me a sense of pride for myself and the work I’ve put in over the years,” said Rolfs, who earlier this week announced he would play baseball this fall at Southwestern Iowa Community College. “I felt honored to be seen as one of the top pitchers around the state.”
“I’ve never faced him in high school, but his arm angle and delivery is pretty funky and throws batters off guard,” Hoisington’s Tony Moore said.
Cole Webber, Bearcat pitcher who’s playing football at Missouri Southern this fall, called Rolfs a great pitcher.
“When he got up to the mound, it was always a relief because we knew he was going to make it very easy defensively,” Webber said. “Nobody ever liked facing him in practice too much, because once he got up on you, he would throw a nasty breaking ball and buckle you. Lane was always a reliable starter since we were freshman, and he was a great athlete that I loved having on my team.”
Russell junior standout Mason Rohr had a couple hits off Rolfs in their game on April 2.
“He was a different arm slot that you don’t see often, with a fastball that you couldn’t get comfortable on,” Rohr said. “His curveball was a great pitch that keeps hitters off balanced.”
Rolfs registered 17 career victories on the mound along with a career ERA of 2.909. At the plate, he managed a nifty .410 batting average and .538 on-base percentage.
In just his senior year, Rolfs batted .472, sported a .630 OBP, drove in 32 runs and scored 32 runs. He was 7-0 with a 1.765 ERA in 39.2 innings in which he fanned 74 batters and walked just 19.
“He has to be very efficient, effective and intelligent,” said Rohr, a .580 hitter for the Broncos. “Playing on and around the zone is the best thing he does because every pitch he throws has the ability to be a strike but is difficult to hit.”
“He’s a solid pitcher who can mix it up and keep hitters off balance,” Sacred Heart standout Evan Bogart said.
“As I ballplayer, I am always willing to learn or discover something new,” Rolfs, a lefty, said. “I am always trying to improve my game no matter how good I am doing. I am somewhat superstitious about trying to repeat the things I do that help me succeed and make me a better player every day.”
This year Rolfs threw two shutouts - a five-inning blanking against Beloit and a complete-game seven-inning masterpiece against Southeast of Saline. Rolfs also flirted with a pair of no-hit outings: three no-hit innings against Minneapolis and 3.2 no-hit innings against Lincoln-Sylvan Lucas. Over his storied career, Rolfs notched 10 shutouts.
“I would say as a pitcher I have become very confident in my stuff and what I can do every time I step on the mound from all the success that I’ve had over each year,” Rolfs said.
Rolfs was selected for the KABC All-Star Game at Wichita’s Riverfront Stadium. He started in left field and batted twice in the five-hole where he walked and drove in an RBI single.
This summer he’s played for the Kansas Curve out of Wichita and the Kingman Islanders.
“There were definitely some times that I impressed myself,” Rolfs said of his career, “but I always know and tell myself that I could have done way better at times.”
“Lane had very good mechanics, and watching him helped me figure out how to work out some kinks in my own pitching,” Webber said. “One thing I learned watching him was to stride out farther as I came down the mound, which helped me throw harder and more accurately.”
Rolfs admitted success on the diamond hasn’t been easy.
“If I’m being honest I definitely don’t think I left every ounce of me out on the field throughout my career,” the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Rolfs said. “But I can definitely say there were many times I fought my tail off and gave it my all.”
Between high school, summer and fall ball Rolfs’ strikeout total is over 400. Knock on that proverbial wood, that total could hit 600-700 in the next four years at college.
Something that would impress a younger Lane.
“Freshman me would think of my senior self as a really great player with all the things he’s accomplished,” Rolfs said. “But I would probably be telling him to continue working harder each day because he knows that he has all the potential to be better than he already is.”
Rolfs also visited Butler CC, but picked the Spartans of SWCC.
“I feel pretty relieved and am just excited to start this next chapter in my life,” Rolfs said.