Legion teams get ready to provide summer action

Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Perryville carry high hopes into the season.

By David Wilson

and Mark Unterreiner ~ Southeast Missourian

The Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team had a strong showing last summer, posting a 29-16 record, winning district and zone titles, and finishing third in the state tournament.

First-year head coach Michael Minner, an assistant last year, thinks his team this season will be just as good.

"I don't know if we have as much talent as everyone else," said Minner, whose squad opened the season Monday with an 11-7 loss to Festus. "But this group loves the game of baseball. I think this team will be as good or better than last year as far as being a solid baseball team."

According to Minner, the highlight of the squad could be the pitching staff.

Wayne Essner, a Notre Dame High School graduate who recently completed his redshirt freshman year on Jefferson College's baseball team, is back after a strong season, and also returning are Lee Essner (Notre Dame), Blake Urhahn (Notre Dame), Jake Welch (Central) and Michael Taylor (Shawnee, Ill.).

Minner said he also counts on Cory Huskey (Central), Mark Johnston (Scott City), Kendal Deason (Kelly) and Jason Umfleet (Central) on the mound.

"We have anywhere from six to 10 kids who are going to be able to give us quality innings," Minner said. "You put a good defense behind these guys and they can go far."

Patrick Slattery (Central) hit nine home runs last summer. Sean Bard (Central) and Luke McClellan (Scott City) also return to the lineup.

"Patrick had a huge year for Central; he's going to drive in some runs for us," Minner said. "We've got some pop this year, and we've got some guys who will do the little things like moving runners up and laying down bunts. I think we're going to be solid up and down, one through nine."

Filling out the roster are Tony Leuckel, Zac Hudson and Scott Brueckner from Central; Jason Schenimann from Scott City; Kelly's Kent Deason and Chaffee's Zac Horman, who recently completed his freshman season at Central Methodist College.

"What we've got coming in is a lot of guys who are really going to help us," Minner said. "We're going to play a lot of kids in a lot of different positions.

"We lost some key players from last year, but overall it's going to be a great group to work with. We have a lot of kids who are going to scrap and play hard and a lot of kids who are just warriors -- they're going to get after it. If you get 18 kids that can get along on a field, you're in good shape."

Veteran coach Bill Bohnert returns to assist Minner. Rounding out the staff are newcomers Mike Conrad and Lee Barnhill.

Jackson

Mark Lewis is 2-for-2 when it comes to winning seasons in Jackson, and he thinks he can continue that streak this summer.

Lewis, a third-year coach for the Jackson Remax Achievers, compiled a 21-18 record two years ago and finished 28-19 last summer.

Jason Meystedt (Jackson) is the only returning starting pitcher for the squad. Meystedt, who started last summer after his sophomore year, will join A.J. Seiler (Leopold), Austin Morrison (Oak Ridge), Josh Snell (Jackson) and Brandon Stearns (Jackson) as the probable starting rotation.

"We lost some good pitchers from last year's club who threw some good innings," said Lewis, a former Southeast Missouri State University assistant coach. "Jason is the only one we know of for sure, but we've got some young kids on the team that didn't get to throw much last summer. They'll get a chance this summer."

Lewis said Meystedt, Brandon Gendron (Jackson) and Trevor Thompson (Jackson) will be counted on as the key offensive threats in the middle of the lineup .

"I would say that I'm excited," Lewis said. "I'm excited about the kids we've got coming in. We have 10 coming back that I feel good about. With the athletes we've got, I think we'll move around the field pretty well. But the key will be what we do on the mound, which is the same for all the teams."

Lewis added, however, that finishing atop District 14 -- which is down to just four teams, including Cape, Sikeston and Dunklin County -- certainly isn't anything to be overlooked.

"There's no cupcakes in this district," he said. "You go out to play, that's for sure. It's pretty much loaded; the other three teams will be very strong."

Returning team members include Meystedt, Thompson, Gendron, Snell, Brandon Stearns, Tim Stearns, Jason Owen, Jake Carter and Tyler Profilet -- all from Jackson -- and Notre Dame's Tony Longman.

Aside from Seiler and Morrison, newcomers include Trey Busch, Chad Minson, Aaron Green and Zach Brazier -- all from Jackson -- as well as Woodland's Josh Foster and Central's Brandon Cooper.

Bob Friese and Kyle Long will assist Lewis. The team opens 5 p.m. today with a home doubleheader against Cape.

Perryville

The Perryville American Legion baseball has a fresh face in the dugout and a new look on the field.

Don O'Keith took over the reins of the program after Irv Armbruster, who coached the team to a 2-23 record last year, stepped aside to become the program's general manager.

"The kids are expected to play as hard as they can," O'Keith said. "This is their chance to play one of the top brands of baseball in America."

O'Keith and Armbruster have given the team a bit of a make-over, providing new uniforms and equipment. O'Keith also reached an agreement for 10 of the team's games to be broadcast locally on radio, and he is working on reaching a television deal with a public access channel controlled by one of the high schools.

Three of the major offensive contributors return this year: Garrett Winkler, Chad Stelling and Kyle Palmer. All three hit .300 or above last year.

"We're hoping to combine them with the young program," O'Keith said.

It won't be a problem introducing himself to the new talent, since O'Keith coached the Perryville Legion's junior team the past two years. That squad finished with a 23-10 record last year. Alex Armbruster, Shaun Roth and Brian Buchheit, along with two or three more standouts, will be expected to contribute right away.