Cale Cannoy played football at Marion High School, so he's accustomed to wearing pads to protect his chest and ribs from injury.

Now he's wearing a special pad on his chest when he pitches.

Twice in his prep baseball career, Cannoy has been hit by vicious line drives on the mound. It happened two years ago in the Metro Tournament and sent him to the emergency room in an ambulance.

It happened again two weeks ago against Benton Community and they called an ambulance again, although this time he didn't have to go immediately to the hospital.

"The coaches are calling me a ball magnet," Cannoy said Monday night, able to joke about it now.

Cannoy suffered a deep contusion on the left side of his upper body when he was hit two weeks ago. "I thought I cracked a rib or broke it right away," he said.

The X-rays so far have been negative, but he said there could be a hidden fracture in there somewhere. He plans to be examined again after the season, but not now.

The latest incident was scary enough, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the first one two years ago when he got hit in the middle of his chest as a sophomore.

"A few inches higher and I could have dropped over dead," he said. "Any lower and I could have suffered some organ damage."

Marion Coach Steve Fish wasn't sure if Cannoy would want to pitch again after he was struck by that line drive against Benton Community two weeks ago.

"To get hit like that again, I was worried mostly about his mental well-being more than a game," Fish said. "It's his decision and we just had to have him be comfortable again."

Cannoy was injured against Benton Community on June 18. Eleven days later, he took the ball against Anamosa and pitched a four-hit shutout.

"There wasn't any doubt (about pitching again)," Cannoy said. "I was just more nervous than anything. After I got out to the mound I didn't even think about it."

Fish liked what he saw against Anamosa.

"That went fairly well," he said, "and I asked him after the game, 'Do you want the ball again?' And he goes, 'Yes.'"

Cannoy took the ball again Monday night and tossed a five-hit shutout as Marion blanked Center Point-Urbana, 10-0, in six innings in the second game of a Wamac Conference doubleheader at Marion.

The Indians won the first game, 14-2, in five innings on Senior Night.

"I think he passed the test again today," Fish remarked. "It's nice to have him maybe back at full strength come tournament time. It gives us another weapon."

Cannoy, a left-hander who has played varsity baseball since he was an eighth grader, finished the night with a 5-1 record and a 2.74 earned run average.

The Marion coaches aren't kidding about Cannoy being a ball magnet. A line drive came whizzing his way again Monday night, only this time it missed him by about a foot.

"It just woke me up after that," he said. "I was like, 'That was really close.'"

Marion catcher Addison Johnson visited the mound after the near-miss to have a few words with the senior. Within a few seconds, Cannoy was smiling and laughing. "He was joking with me," Cannoy reported.

The national federation of high school sports modified the bats this year to reduce the exit speed of batted balls and make it safer, but it's still dangerous when you're standing less than 60 feet from home plate and somebody fires a rocket in your direction.

"We've talked about putting a mask on him," Fish said, probably only half joking.

Cannoy has battled numerous injuries during his sports career at Marion. He sustained two concussions in football and missed most of the 2011 baseball season with a damaged left elbow.

He keeps coming back for more. "He's such a competitor," Fish said, appreciating his spirit and attitude.

Cannoy graduated from Marion this spring, but his sports career is not over. He plans to pitch at Coe College next year, one of four Marion seniors who plan to play college baseball.

Second baseman Mitch Wagner is headed to NIACC, pitcher Tyler Hedtke is headed to Clarke College and Johnson will be joining Blackhawk Community College.

Hedtke (5-2) got the victory in the first game Monday. Shortstop Christian Stekl went 3-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBIs. First baseman Trev Biery was 3-for-4 and socked a two-run homer. Wagner and Josh Davila had two hits. Sean McGarvey, Cannoy and Logan Fuller collected two RBIs.

Stekl went 2-for-3 in the nightcap with two more RBIs and three runs scored.

Marion raised its records to 25-10 overall, 19-7 in Wamac games and 10-4 in Wamac West Division games. The Indians had won three straight West Division titles, but that ended Monday. Benton Community swept a doubleheader to finish 12-2 in the West Division and Waterloo Columbus split a twinbill to finish 11-3. Marion finished third in the division.

Center Point-Urbana fell to 9-24 overall, 5-21 in the Wamac and 1-13 in the West Division.

GAME ONE

CENTER POINT-URBANA (2)
Holtz, ss, 2 0 0 0, Lindsey, rf, 3 1 0 0, Smith, p/1b, 2 0 1 2, Silker, 3b, 2 0 0 0, M.Caraway, dh, 2 0 1 0, Sagert, c, 0 0 0 0, Gatrost, lf, 2 0 0 0, Kramer, 2b, 2 0 1 0, C.Caraway, 1b, 0 0 0 0, Shaffer, p, 2 0 0 0, Dighton, cf, 2 1 1 0. Totals 19 2 4 2.

MARION (14)
Wagner, 2b, 4 1 2 0, Stekl, ss, 3 2 3 2, Biery, 1b, 4 2 3 2, Johnson, c, 1 0 0 0, Hardman, cr, 0 3 0 0, Davila, dh, 3 2 2 0, Hedtke, p, 0 0 0 0, Charipar, cf, 2 1 1 1, McGarvey, lf, 3 1 1 2, C.Cannoy, rf, 2 1 1 2, Connelly, pr/rf, 1 0 1 1, Fuller, 3b, 3 1 1 2. Totals 26 14 15 12.

Center Point-Urbana    002 00 -  2  4  2
Marion                       671 0x - 14 15 2

Smith, Shaffer (2) and Sagert; Hedtke and Johnson. W - Hedtke (5-2). L - Smith (2-5). 2B - Smith, Stekl, Connelly. 3B - Stekl. HR - Biery.

GAME TWO

CENTER POINT-URBANA (0)
Holtz, ss/c, 3 0 1 0, Lindsey, rf/p, 2 0 0 0, Smith, 1b/ss, 3 0 0 0, Silker, 3b, 3 0 0 0, M.Caraway, dh/p, 3 0 2 0, Sagert, c, 0 0 0 0, Gatrost, p/lf, 2 0 1 0, Shaffer, cr, 0 0 0 0, Kramer, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Tritle, lf/rf, 2 0 1 0, C.Caraway, ss, 0 0 0 0, Dighton, cf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 22 0 5 0.

MARION (10)
Wagner, 2b, 4 2 1 0, Stekl, ss, 3 3 2 2, Biery, 1b, 2 2 0 1, Johnson, c, 3 0 1 0, Larsen, cr, 0 0 0 0, Davila, dh, 3 1 1 1, Connelly, rf, 0 0 0 0, Charipar, cf, 2 0 0 1, McGarvey, lf, 3 1 1 0, C.Cannoy, p, 3 0 1 0, Q.Cannoy, cr, 0 1 0 0, Fuller, 3b, 3 0 0 0. Totals 26 10 7 5.

Center Point-Urbana   000 000 -  0  5  6
Marion                      400 024 - 10 7  0

Gatrost, Lindsey (5), M.Caraway (6) and Sagert; C.Cannoy and Johnson. W - C.Cannoy (5-1). L - Gatrost (1-1). 2B - Tritle, Wagner, Davila. SB - Biery, Q.Cannoy.