You always remember your first.
For Kai Rempel, the date of March 1 will always be special after picking up his first career college win for Cloud County Community College.
The Calgary native allowed two runs on three hits with two walks in five innings of work in a 7-6 nailbiter over Weatherford Community College.
It came in Rempel’s fourth appearance of the young season, so he was more than happy to get the proverbial monkey off his back.
However, he was also quick to pass on the accolades to his fellow T-Birds.
“I have to give credit to my defense – there were a tonne of balls in play and they made all the plays for me,” Rempel told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “The offense was great, too, putting up a tonne of run support, and a bunch of pitchers behind me that just got it done.”
The right-hander acknowledges that he’s come a long way since playing Little League baseball in his hometown and is hoping this is just the start of something big.
TAKING IT MORE SERIOUSLY
Like most kids, Rempel remembers trying every sport as a kid, with hockey and baseball being his two favourites.
However, he admits he always did it just to have fun and be around his buddies.
When they started leapfrogging him in hockey, Rempel says he started focusing more on baseball, going through the Junior Dinos program, which later became the Calgary Bucks.
It didn’t come easy though, as he remembers trying to be a two-way player with a good arm and average bat, but was cut from the top team.
It served as a massive wake-up call.
“I remember my dad saying, ‘Use it as fuel or motivation for next year,’” Rempel recalled.
“He said that it could make me a better player.”
When some of his friends started moving over to the newly created Webber Academy, the young athlete decided to take it more seriously under the watchful eye of former Major League Baseball hurler Chris Reitsma.
LEARNING FROM PROS
Heading into the complex just west of Calgary, Rempel says he had no expectations as a kid throwing 75 miles per hour.
He admits he never even thought about college baseball until he went to Webber.
“That first winter, they showed me the weight room for the first time,” Rempel said.
“They did some mechanical work and there were a lot of long days with Chris and the Rapsodo (camera and radar monitor), just trying to figure out how to be a better pitcher.”
Little-by-little, he started seeing his work paying off, helping him make rosters with the Wildcats and playing a bigger role on their teams.
“I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them – it was a huge risk and it paid off in the end.”
Being at Webber also introduced Rempel to another big name in Alberta’s baseball circles – Michael Soroka.
He says Reitsma was always quick to have his pitching groups watch the Washington Nationals hurler in action.
More than that, Soroka has made himself available to chat with young hurlers whenever they need some advice or words of encouragement.
“First time meeting him, I was pretty scared,” Rempel laughed. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s Mike Soroka,’ but after you get to know him, you can kind of tell that he’s a nice guy and that he loves talking about the game.”
Having a fellow Calgarian in the big leagues also serves as inspiration for Rempel and his teammates, as he says they were able to see the hard work in action and what it takes to get to the next level.
FLYING TO THE NEST
To get himself ready for his collegiate career, Rempel found an opportunity to pitch with the Sylvan Lake Gulls in 2024.
He helped provide a steady presence for the Western Canadian Baseball League team, going 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA in 10 appearances (including two starts), striking out 31 batters in 27 innings.
After getting hit around during his debut against the rival Okotoks Dawgs, Rempel says he was able to settle in and get into a good routine to stack up a few solid outings.
“Getting that reassurance that I’m good enough to play at this level and that I don’t have to be scared to throw my breaking ball,” he said. “Once those good appearances were flowing, it was like, ‘Let’s keep this rolling and keep doing what I’m doing.’”
The 6-foot-3 hurler put an exclamation point on his summer season with a six-inning performance against the Brooks Bombers on Aug. 4, where he allowed just one run on three hits and no walks while striking out 11 in a 4-1 victory.
The Gulls would go on to win one more game to break the league record for regular-season victories in a season with 44.
ALL THE TOOLS
Before he comes back to the Gulls for another summer in 2025, Rempel says he wants to take care of some business in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.
On a personal level, he’s continuing to hit the weight room with hopes of bumping up his velocity.
The freshman is also trying to develop a slider.
“I kind of had one in high school, but it wasn’t as good as I wanted,” Rempel said. “It kind of turned into a cement mixer sometimes, so I’m trying to have another secondary pitch I can throw in during long at-bats.”
At the team level, Cloud County is once again stacking up to be one of the best teams in the conference.
“I think we have all the tools we need,” he said. “We have great pitching depth, we have a great offense, a great defense, we have all the tools – it’s just a matter of consistency.”
That was put on display in Rempel’s first win, as Weatherford is the No. 1 ranked team in team in the country, in what was also Eric Gilliland’s 259th victory as head coach to set the program’s all-time wins record.
Rempel would love to add to that in the weeks ahead as the team looks to capture regional and conference championships.
And maybe a run at a National Junior College Athletic Association championship as well, which would be a first in the program’s history.
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