-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Jack McEvoy of St. Edmond tags out Southeast Valley Nolan Johnson on Tuesday at Rogers Park

Brant Reiling earned his first career varsity win here Tuesday night, as the St. Edmond baseball team downed Southeast Valley, 3-2.

Reiling worked quickly between early rain and constantly dipping temperatures at Rogers Park, striking out five over five-plus innings. The senior allowed six hits and walked just one.

Fellow classmate Nick O’Brien recorded the final five outs to pick up the save. O’Brien struck out Nolan Brand with the bases loaded in the seventh to secure the season opening win for the Gaels (1-0 overall).

Nick Bennett and Jackson Kochendorfer each drove in a run, while Jack McEvoy, O’Brien and Sam Dougall all scored once for St. Edmond.

“It’s early in the season, so you never know what to expect,” SEHS head coach Joe Shanks said. “But I thought Brant had a good outing. And Nick came in and pitched well in relief.

“We had some good at-bats, but we also struggled with consistency at the plate. We were trying to make things happen when they weren’t there.”

Brand led the Jaguars (0-2) with two doubles and Jackson Housen went 3-for-4 at the plate. Housken was dealt the loss on the mound, striking out six but walking five over five innings of work.

Southeast Valley, which suffered a loss in its opener Monday night vs. Iowa Falls-Alden, struck first in the opening inning. Nolan Johnson and Housken each reached on infield singles, with Brand plating Johnson with a double.

Reiling, though, was able to escape the inning with a strikeout. He recorded two strikeouts in the second, had a six-pitch inning in the third and retired 11 of 12 during one stretch.

“Brant had an outing like this last year vs. Humboldt,” Shanks said. “He pitched to the defense, and early on, we made plays. Later in the game, we failed to do that and Southeast Valley got back into it.

“But overall, I was happy with his outing. (Reiling) is a kid we are going to depend on and it was good to start with a strong performance.”

St. Edmond quickly answered in the home half of the first, as McEvoy singled with two outs. He came all the way around to score on a throwing error.

In the second, O’Brien singled and Housken walked the bases loaded for Kochendorfer, who also drew a base on balls. Bennett singled in Dougall to make it 3-1.

“Nick has the stuff to be a good pitcher, we just need to harness it,” Shanks said. “We’re going to depend on him and several others as the season goes.”

The Jaguars made it interesting in the seventh as Johnson singled with two outs. Housken followed with a hit and Dakota Jaeschke was intentionally walked to load the bases for Ryan Gustafson. Johnson scored on a throwing error, but O’Brien was able to get Brand chasing a pitch to end it.

Southeast Valley returns to the diamond Wednesday night, hosting East Sac County. Next action for St. Edmond is Thursday when they play at Manson Northwest Webster.

ST. EDMOND 3, SOUTHEAST VALLEY 2

Southeast Valley 100 000 1 — 2 8 1

St. Edmond 120 000 x — 3 4 2

Jackson Housken (L, 0-1, 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 5 BB), Mason Ackerson (1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 K, 1 BB) and Ryan Gustafson; Brant Reiling (W, 1-0, 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 1 BB), Nick O’Brien (S, 1, 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 1 BB) and Jake McEvoy. 2B–SEV: Nolan Brand (2). RBI–SEV: Nolan Brand; SE: Nick Bennett, Jackson Kochendorfer. SB–SE: Cole Allison, Sam Dougall.