St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 137

St. Charles Post 5SC MONDAY.JUNE12.1989 Spencer METRO COLLEGIANS grew up dreaming of playing pro ball some day. But he also remained realistic. "From the start, I knew the chances were slim," he said. "There's just not much call for 5-8 catchers, so I decided to have as much fun as I could with baseball." A baseball and basketball star at Orchard Farm, Spencer received only limited recruiting interest coming out of high school.

He decided to walk on at UMSL. "I played a year under Jim Dix and really learned a lot about baseball," he said. "He knows the game about as well as anyone I've ever met. "But I owe a lot to all the coaches I've had. Every one of them has taught me something about the game." Spencer, who works as a supervisor with a cellular phone company, is also managing the Ballwin Junior Legion team.

"I think it's important to put something back into the game," he said. "I've been very fortunate and I really enjoy working with the kids. I'd still like to play some more, but I'd definitely like to continue coaching. "No matter what happens, I'm sure I'll always stay involved in baseball." Richards, who taught at Orchard Farm in the early 1970s, had several St. Charles-area players on his 26-8 squad this spring.

Lefthander Dave Meers (St. Charles West) was 6-0 with a save and an earned-run average of 2.04. Infielder-outfielder Ron Hunt (Wentzville) replaced Spencer in right field, hitting .284 with two homers and 25 RBIs. Second baseman-catcher Trdy Summerfleld (St. Charles) batted .342 with a homer and 29 RBIs.

"I picked it up again at UMSL, but I don't think I've ever really thought of myself as a catcher. "But I've learned to enjoy it. As a catcher, you're always into the ball-game. It's the best seat in the house." Spencer's catching duties also seemed to help him at the plate. After a slow start, he hit better than .400 in the second half of the season.

"Once I switched positions, I put all my work into being a good catcher," the versatile switch-hitter said. "Instead of worrying about my hitting, I just hit. "It was really a great way to finish off my career." In limited pitching duty early in the season, Spencer was 2-0 with a 3.77 earned-run average. But his pitching was put on hold when he moved behind the plate. "Going into the season, we were looking at Duane as our righthanded closer," Richards said.

"But our starters threw extremely well, and Duane was just more valuable as a catcher. "We were in a spot and Duane came through for us. But that's the kind of player Duane is. He doesn't worry about stats. All he cares about is helping the ballclub.

"Duane's been a very important part of this program for the past couple of years, and we'll miss him a great deal." But Spencer may not be through at Maryville. Richards has talked about the possibility of adding Spencer to his staff as a part-time assistant. "I owe a lot to Maryville and Norm Richards," Spencer said. a great guy, and I'll never forget the opportunity he gave me." Like a lot of youngsters, Spencer Herculaneum 3 3 12 8 DeSoto 3 3 9 6 Hillsboro 3 3 10 9 Crystal City 15 3 12 St. Plus 0 6 3 16 Magnet High League Overall Math 8.

Science 7 1 11 8 ViPArts 4 4 4 5 O'FollonTech 3 3 5 10 Metro 3 4 3 9 Management 1 6 1 6 Mississippi Valley League Overall Highland 10 2 17 12 Wood 8 4 18 11 Jersevvllle 6 6 16 15 Mascoutah 6 6 10 15 O'Fallon 6 6 12 21 Roxana 4 8 12 17 Betholto 2 10 8 18 Missouri Independents Overall St. L. Prep 18 4 Troy 13 3 Montgomery Co 9 4 St. Dominic 15 7 DeSmet 13 7 Borglo 13 7 Vlanney 11 7 SLUH 12 9 CBC 14 11 Lutheran 8 7 Normandy 5 8 Chamlnade 6 11 Wlnfleld 4 12 Wright City 4 15 Public High League Overall Vashon 6 1 10 8 Soldan 5 2 11 6 Roosevelt 5 2 11 6 Beaumont 4 3 5 9 Sumner 3 4 7 5 Naval ROTC 2 5 4 12 Southwest 1 5 3 10 Northwest 15 4 16 Suburban East League Overall Clayton 8 1 16 5 Hancock 8 1 16 6 Affton 7 2 11 9 Jennings 5 3 9 8 Wellston 4 4 10 7 Orchard Farm 3 3 9 7 Bayless 2 6 5 13 Brentwood 2 7 5 13 Maplewood 1 6 1 11 Berkeley 1 8 2 15 Suburban North League Overall McCluer 12 2 22 6 Hazelwood 10 4 17 7 McCluer 9 5 12 12 Hazelwood 8 6 14 12 Pattonvllle 7 7 8 15 Rltenour 5 8 6 12 Hazelwood 4 9 10 11 Rlvervlew 0 14 0 17 Suburban South League Overall Parkway South 11 1 19 3 Oakvllle 10 2 19 6 Webster 6 6 15 8 Eureka 6 6 15 10 Parkway North 6 6 14 10 University 2 10 4 15 Ladue 1 11 4 17 Suburban West League Overall Parkway 13 1 18 5 Lafayette 11 3 19 7 Lindbergh 8 6 12 7 Parkway West 7 7 10 12 Mehlville 6 8 9 12 Kirkwood 5 9 7 15 Fox 3 11 5 15 House Springs 3 11 4 14 Southwestern League Overall Belleville 10 0 25 5 Granite City 5 5 23 14 Belleville 5 5 20 14 E.St. Louis 4 6 12 15 Collinsvllle 3 7 10 18 Alton 3 7 11 19 Trl-Countv League Overall Valley Park 6 2 12 8 Valmever 6 2 11 17 Westminster 4 3 10 10 9.00, Rod Schlfferdecker, Brown Group, 9.00, John Mather, Busch, 9.00, Randy Marvel, Busch, 9.20, 18; Tim Cochran, Maritz, 11.93, 11; Hal Stone, Laclede Gas, 11.96, 19; Ed Hinrlchs, Interco, 13.21 21.

STRIKE OUT AVERAGE (Avg, SO's) Mike Taylor, KMOX Radio, 14.00, 14; Jeffrey Stone, KMOX Radio, 13.85, 20; Shawn Cooper, Brown Group, 12.86, 10; Matt Maurice, Laclede Gas, 10.80, 11 Lydell Templeton, Brown Group, 10.29, Jeff Reed, E.E.C.U, 9.8Z 12; Jim Parks, Busch, 9.76, 18; Brad Moore, Ralston, 9.64, 15; Hal Stone, Laclede Gas, 8.81, 14; Don Walsh, Ralston, 7.50, lft Randy Marvel, Busch, 6.65 13; Ed Hinrlchs, Interco, 5.66, 9. SAVES Tim Howard, Ralston, Dave Meers, Busch, 1. Standings Metro Collegians Overall Ralston 6 0 E.E.C.U 3 0' Brown Group 3 1 KMOX Radio 5 2 Busch 4 4 Laclede Gas 2 4 Maritz 0 6 Interco 0 6 HIGH SCHOOL Final Standings Four Rivers League Overall Pacific 7 1 12 7 Sullivan 6 2 16 8 New Haven 5 3 10 6 Union 5 3 9 7 St. Clair 4 4 9 9 Owensvllle 4 4 4 15 Washington 3 5 5 11 Hermann 2 6 7 10 St. James 0 8 1 12 Archdlocesan Athletic League Overall St.

Mary's 10 0 15 4 Kennedy 7 3 9 10 Rosary 5 5 11 11 Aaulnas-Mercy 5 5 9 14 DuBourg 3 7 7 14 Rltter 0 10 1 16 ABC Leogue Overall Lutheran 8 1 17 5 Lutherans 6 3 14 8 Priory 5 5 13 9 Burroughs 4 6 15 9 Prlnclpia 4 6 10 11 Country Day 2 8 4 16 Cahokla League Overall Freeburg 9 1 34 3 Columbia 7 2 20 9 Dupo 7 3 20 6 Waterloo 7 3 20 9 Wesclin 6 3 16 8 Lebanon 5 5 13 10 Carlyle 4 6 16 10 Central 4 6 7 10 New Athens 3 7 8 17 Marlssa 2 8 6 17 Red Bud 0 10 3 17 Gateway Athletic Leogue Overall Howell North 6 1 16 6 Howell 5 2 15 8 St.CharlesW 4 3 11 9 Duchesne 4 3 9 12 St.Charles 3 4 15 7 Wentzvllle 3 4 7 12 Ft.ZumwaltN 2 5 8 11 Ft.Zumwalt 1 6 10 13 Illinois Independents Overall Edwardsvllle 31 6 Mater Del 20 5 Lincoln 12 4 Althoff 22 12 Assumption 11 6 Marquette 23 13 Livingston 7 9 Cahokia 9 17 Glbault 9 IB Bunker Hill 5 15 Metro East 4 13 Loveloy 2 13 Okawvllle 3 19 Jefferson Co. League Overall Festus 6 0 21 4 Windsor 5 1 12 8 From page 4SC red-shirt, at the University of Miss-ouri-St. Louis, Spencer decided it was time for a change. "I enjoyed UMSL. I really did," Spencer said.

"I played with some great guys and I enjoyed myself. But it just didn't work out. I wasn't playing much and I really couldn't see the situation improving. "I looked into Maryville and found it was just what I needed as far as academics. And the baseball worked out as well as I could have hoped for." Spencer batted about .320 as a junior outfielder In his first year with the Saints.

But his senior season was something special. He batted .318 with three home runs and 19 runs batted in as a catcher. "We ran into some problems with our starting catcher after our spring trip and had to dismiss him," said Richards, a St. Charles resident. "I knew Duane had caught some in the past, so I approached him about it." Without hesitation, Spencer moved from right field to catcher.

And he came through with flying colors. "Duane probably gunned down 60 percent of the baserunners we faced and he really did a great job of handling our pitchers," Richards said. "He was probably the best catcher I saw this season." While catching wasn't entirely new to Spencer, it did provide a challenge in his final year of college ball. "I caught when I was young, maybe 10 or 12, but I got away from it because of my size," said Spencer, 22, who is 5 feet 8 and weighs 160 pounds. Teaberry From page 4SC named Ann O'Connor, who came along much the way Teaberry did.

She became an All-American jumper and Teaberry appears to be following the same course. "It has been a source of deja vu for me," Rovelto said. "There is a lot of parallel between what Ann did and what Connie did as freshman. Ann also came from a small school and was a 5-6, 5-7 jumper. She also won the Potthoff From page 4SC Gateway Athletic Conference choice when he compiled a 7-1 record with a 1.43 ERA.

Potthoff also played a major role in Cottleville-Harvester's drive to the 1984 state American Legion baseball title. He received a basketball scholarship to Missouri but after seeing limited playing time in that sport decided to concentrate on baseball. Potthoff said he earned two bache- METRO COLLEGIANS INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE Individual Leaders LEADING HITTERS (10 AB) Name, School AB RBI Ave Faron, Brown Group 12 0 7 2 .583 Stegmann, Ralston 11 8 6 3 .545 Rogers, Ralston 13 3 7 1 .538 Klrt, KMOX Radio 22 9 11 5 .500 Venireman, Brown Group 15 6 7 5 Ml Nelson, Laclede Gas 13 4 6 4 .462 Welsner, KMOX Radio 19 4 8 8 .421 Saunders, Maritz 19 4 8 6 .421 Miller, E.E.C.U 12 7 5 6 .417 Mefford, Ralston 17 3 7 6 .412 Robinson, KMOX Radio 28 8 11 8 .393 Kulpa, Busch 28 7 11 5 .393 Turner, Brown Group .13 5 5 .385 Swlderskl, Ralston 21 4 8 4 .381 Mize. Busch 29 3 11 5 .39 Burnett, Marltl 11 2 4 2 .364 Person, Laclede Gas 25 8 9 3 .360 Gerwltz, KMOX Radio 17 4 6 2 .353 Mueller, Brown Group 17 3 6 7 .353 Cooper, KMOX Radio 20 11 7 11 .350 Mitchell, Ralston 20 7 7 6 .350 Rausch, Laclede Gas 20 4 7 5 .350 Boehlow, Laclede Gas 20 3 7 10 .350 Kress, Interco 20 2 7 2 .350 Radio 24 4 8 5 .333 Richardson, Brown Group 12 2 4 2 .333 Carter, Busch 16 7 5 3 .313 RUNS BATTED IN Gary Cooper, KMOX Radio, 11; Jason Boehlow, Laclede Gas, 10; Curt Welsner, KMOX Radio, I Chris Robinson, KMOX Radio, Roman Bor- met, E.E.C.U., Ed Blerman, E.E.C.U., Tony Mueller, Brown Group, Trov Summerfleld, Busch, Tim Saunders, Maritz, Mike Miller, E.E.C.U., Greg Mefford, Ralston, Don Mitchell, Ralston, Chuckle White, Laclede Gas, Tim Klrt, KMOX Radio, Keith Venne-man, Brown Group, Ron Kulpa, Busch, Greg Turner, Brown Group, Jeff Mize, Busch, Craig Rausch, Laclede Gas, Tim Black-stock, KMOX Radio, Ed Ross, KMOX Radio, Chad Lakln, Busch, Bill Dlel, Busch, Bill Diekman, KMOX Radio, 5. HOME RUNS Jason Boehlow, Laclede Gas, Gary Cooper, KMOX Radio, Chad Lakln, Busch, Rick Shackle, KMOX Radio, Mike Rogers, Ralston, Jeff Nelson, Laclede Gas, Ed Bierman, E.E.C.U., Curt Weisner, KMOX Radio, Chris Robinson, KMOX Radio, Greg Turner, Brown Group, Daniel Burnett, Maritz, Rob Person, Laclede Gas, Tony Mueller, Brown Group, Tim Blackstock, KMOX Radio, Todd Carter, Busch, Roman Bormet, E.E.C.U., Ed Ross, KMOX Radio, Troy Summerfleld, Busch, Bill Dlel, Busch, Steve Siebert, Ralston, Rick Breldenbach, KMOX Radio, Tim Archer, Maritz, Corey Smith, Ralston, Norm Kunz, Interco, Paul Marske, Laclede Gas, 1.

STOLEN BASES Tom Stegmann, Ralston, Steve Kress, Interco, Don Mitchell, Ralston, Steve Siebert, Ralston, Tim irt, KMOX Radio, Greg Mefford, Ralston, Greg Turner, Brown Group, Mike Musgrave, Ralston, Keith Venneman, Brown Group, Mike Miller, E.E.C.U., 1 Jeff Mize, Busch, Rob Person, Laclede Gas, Tim Blackstock, KMOX Radio, Todd Carter, Busch, 36 Darrell Hawkins, Maritz, 1 John Knott, Interco, 2, Corey Smith, Ralston, 2. PITCHING (1 Decision) Randy Marvel, Busch, 1.000, 2-0; Dan Walsh, Ralston, 1.000, 2-0; Brad Moore, Ralston, 1.000, 2-0; Dave Warnecke, Ralston, 1.000, 2-0; Jeff Reed, E.E.C.U., 1.000, 1-0; Scott Murphy, E.E.C.U., 1.000, 1-0; Rob Rlxford, E.E.C.U., 1.000, 1-0; Rick Shackle, KMOX Radio, 1.000, 1-0; Lydell Tern- pleton, Brown Group, 1.000, 1-0; Mike Taylor, KMOX Radio, 1.000, 1-0; Shawn Cooper, Brown Group, 1.000, 1-0; Mark Thompson, Brown Group, 1.000, 1-0; Jeffrey Stone, KMOX Radio, .666, 2-1; Jim Parks, Busch, .666, 2-1; Matt Weis, Laclede Gas, .500, 1-1; Dan Braden, KMOX Ro-dio, .500, 1-1; Matt Maurice, Laclede Gas, .500, 1-1. EARNED RUN AVERAGE Runs) Mark Thompson, Brown Group, 0.00, Shawn Cooper, Brown Group, 0.00, Dave Warnecke, Ralston, 0.75, Mike Taylor, KMOX Radio, 1.00, Matt Maurice, Laclede Gas, 1.80, Dan Braden, KMOX Radio, 2.37, Brad Moore, Ralston, 2.57, Dean Penberthy, I nterco, 2.73, Jim Parks, Busch, 3.25, Lydell Templeton, Brown Group, 3.86, Matt Wels, Laclede Gas, 4.09, Mark Benthall, Maritz, 4.50, Tim Archer, Maritz, 5.14, Rob Rlxford, E.E.C.U., 5.40, Scott Murphy, E.E.C.U., 6.00, Dan Walsh, Ralston, 6.00, Jeffrey Stone, KMOX Radio, 6.23, Jeff Reed, E.E.C.U., 6.55, Rich Miller, Busch, 7.33, Lance Schuermann, E.E.C.U., Legion From page 4SC met. In that game, C-H starter Mike Hemsath was rocked for five runs in the first inning. But Hemsath, the manager's son, was much sharper this time in going the distance.

He limited St. Peters to two hits, striking out six, walking one and hitting a batter. Hemsath, a righthander, displayed an outstanding curveball that forced St. Peters' righthanded hitters to buckle under all game. Hemsath (3-1) was as surprised as anyone he was so effective.

"My arm really felt weak when I was warming up. I couldn't throw hard," he said. "I was just trying to throw strikes and change speeds." He added: "I liked my control. I was getting ahead of the batters. I used my head tonight." Larry Hemsath couldn't have been happier with his son's performance.

"Sometimes when you don't throw hard, you throw better," he said. "You don't try to overpitch." Both Hemsaths were grateful for C-H's hitting support. "It's pretty easy to pitch with our good hitters," said Mike, a recent graduate of Francis Howell North who is headed for Florissant Valley Community College. First baseman Kevin Kendrick led the C-H attack. Despite playing with a sore thumb he injured catching recently, Kendrick belted a three-run homer to left-center field in the first inning and hit a blistering ground-rule double to the opposite field in right-center in the fourth.

"I'm finally starting to turn it around," Kendrick said. Despite hitting .373 for Francis more good kids." Teaberry is hoping that her season will not end with the NCAA meet. In June, she will compete in a Junior Athletic Congress meet in Columbus, Ohio. If she places in the top two, she will make the United States junior track team that will compete in international meets during the summer. "That would be very nice to compete and travel this summmer," Teaberry said.

"If not, I'll be happy to go back home. I still miss home very much. My mother could tell because I was calling every day after school let out." ty pitchers. Potthoff did not reveal his signing bonus but said, "It was better than I thought it would be. The Dodgers are a class organization." 2 Sport Standout land Trail Conference.

In addition, Burton was chosen MVP of the conference in basketball in which he averaged 20 points and nine rebounds a game. Burton will be rejoining his former high school teammate Mike Stephenson, a 6-foot-3 sophomore-to-be at Lindenwood. Big Eight meet and cleared 6-0 a few times during her freshman year. She also qualified for the indoor and outdoor nationals at a meet in Lincoln, just like Connie did. It has been an interesting experience for me because it is rare for a freshman to do this and I've had two." Teaberry also put in a fine effort in the classroom as well.

She managed a 2.7 grade-point average while majoring in pre-medicine. "She is very serious about her schoolwork," Rovelto said. "She helps our program as far as eyes on the university and that helps us recruit lor's degrees at Missouri in marketing and in logistics. He said he was happy to sign with the Dodgers because of that organization's reputation for developing quali Lindenwood Signs Jeff Burton, a two-sport standout from Odin, 111., has signed a letter of intent to compete for Lindenwood College. In baseball, Burton stole 73 bases last season, a total that is believed to be an Illinois state record.

He also stole 56 bases in 42 games this season and was named most valuable player on his team and the MVP of the Mid- SEARS OUTLET WHERE YOU SAVE 20 to 70 Sears Outlets sell first quality overstocked and discontinued merchandise from Sears Retail and Catalog Distribution Systems at savings of 20-70 OFF original catalog and retail prices everyday. Off Original Catalog and Retail Prices Every Day! tion. Schmidt also has been hampered by a hamstring injury. Other players who contributed to C-H's victory were leadoff man and center fielder Donnie Lovelady, who had an RBI single; shortstop Ragan, who had two hits and an RBI; and third baseman Jim Schreiber, who also had two hits and an RBI, In addition, Schreiber made a fine diving stop to his left, robbing Chad Vickrey of a hit in the third inning. Lovelady, incidentally, has signed to play for Flo Valley, Bell said.

St. Peters' first-year manager, Mel Venneman, said his young team has been hampered by inconsistency. "Some games we'll play super ball and some games, we'll be down," he said. Venneman said one of his team's major concerns is defense. St.

Peters made three errors Friday and committed six in a 2-1 District 9 victory over Wentzville on Thursday at C-H Park. The team also has been in a hitting slump. Counting Friday's game, St. Peters collected only 19 hits in its last six games, Venneman said. St.

Peters had just two hits in the Wentzville game but got a strong mound performance from righthander Allen Jones, a senior-to-be at Fort Zumwalt South who has become the ace of the St. Peters staff. Righthander Chuck Shaffer, figured to be one of the top pichers in the league, made his debut Friday, but only as a pinch hitter when he grounded out sharply to second in the fifth inning. Shaffer suffered an ankle injury, playing first base for Fort Zumwalt South earlier this spring. Venneman said Shaffer still was a couple a weeks away from returning to the mound.

Howell North's Gateway Athletic Conference and Class 4A district champion team this spring, Kendrick was not satisfied with his offensive production. "I really didn't hit the ball as well as I should have," he said. Kendrick batted .515 as a junior and was looking forward to a banner season this spring. But he said he had trouble adjusting to opposing pitchers' "junk." Seldom was he challenged with fastballs. Kendrick, who played shortstop and third base for Howell North, said he plans to work on his catching this summer.

He already has signed to play for Flo Valley, and coach Bill Bell told him he likely would use him behind the plate. "Kevin doesn't practice hitting a lot. He just comes out and hits," Larry Hemsath said. "He's a natural." Another hitting star for C-H was second baseman Kerner, who was three for three with two singles, a double and a run batted in. Kerner, also from Howell North, plans to play for Lindenwood College's new baseball program next spring.

"My dad contacted coach (Art) Sie-bels and he came out to watch me in practice one day," Kerner said. "He gave me a pretty good deal. I'm looking forward to playing there." Kerner said he also was looking forward to spending the rest of the summer with C-H. "I think we're going to go a long way," he said. "Everybody is so loose.

We're serious on the field. It's work, work, work, but we're still a loose team." 1 C-H wasn't even at full strength. Left fielder David Waugh and outfielder-designated hitter Sean Schmidt were at Francis Howell's gradua 1ST '1SSW 1 4 SALE BEGINS MONDAY, JUNE 12th NEW MEN'S GOLF APPAREL Assorted knit pullover shirts and coordinating slacks. NOW $14 Items shown are representative of our assortment. BLACK and DECKER FLAMEBUSTER' Limited Edition XD Here's Carrier Quality Engineering You don't have to be an engineer to see what makes the Limited Edition XD a superb central air conditioner.

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