Riverdogs program fills a gap for area amateur players

The Charleston Riverdogs were swept in a doubleheader by the visiting Fairview Heights (Ill.) Redbirds Saturday.

While Charleston coach Paul Sander was disappointed with the 11-9 and 10-4 losses, he continues to be encouraged by the bigger picture of his first-year baseball team.

Sander and Michael Minner wanted to give area college-age players another option for competing in the summer.

Mission accomplished.

The Riverdogs have joined the tradition-rich Plaza Tire Capahas on the summer baseball circuit.

"Coach Minner and I, we felt like there was a need for a second collegiate-level summer team," Sander said prior to Saturday's twin bill at Saxony Lutheran High School. "To give another 18 or 20 college level players a place to play in the summer.

"With the Capahas, and the tradition they have ... they can only take so many players. Other than them, there was not a place for college level kids to play. Now we have that and I think we'll continue to grow this program."

The Riverdogs, who have split their home games between Hillhouse Park in Charleston and Saxony Lutheran High School, have experienced their share of growing pains with a 7-15 record.

Spencer Sander heads for home on a double by Seth Childers during the Riverdogs’ doubleheader against Fairview Heights on Saturday at Saxony Lutheran. (Fred Lynch)

Sander didn't expect anything different. But he emphasises that the Riverdogs have been competitive virtually every time out.

"Our first goal was to start a team and our second goal was to be competitive," said Sander, the baseball coach at Saxony Lutheran High School and a longtime summer-level coach as well. "We've accomplished both goals. Our first 20 games, there were only four of them where we haven't been in the game until the very end."

Sander's squad is actually the re-creation of a former area collegiate-level summer team also known as the Riverdogs.

The original Riverdogs, founded by Robin Minner and Ray Craft in 1999, were also formed as an alternative for post-high school players who didn't compete for the Capahas.

Those Riverdogs, originally based in Cape Girardeau before moving to Charleston for their final four years, folded following the 2009 season after an 11-year run.

Sander said with a laugh that there is at least one connection between the two teams -- which is also part of the reason the current Riverdogs carry the Charleston tag.

"We kind of kept it because we had two sets of uniforms from the old team that said 'Charleseton Riverdogs' and were brand new. They had only been used one year," Sander said. "So we had free uniforms. Plus, our home base is Charleston. We play about half our home games here [at Saxony] and about half in Charleston. It's worked out real well."

While Michael Minner -- Robin's son who is the Charleston High School baseball coach and the Charleston Fighting Squirrels Senior Babe Ruth summer coach -- does not coach the Riverdogs, Sander emphasized that he had a major hand in helping start the team.

"He's a big part of this," Sander said.

The Riverdogs primarily feature players who graduated from area high schools over the past few years. Sander said 11 of the 19 roster members compete for either junior colleges or small four-year colleges.

A variety of area high schools provide the players, including Notre Dame, Central, Jackson, Saxony Lutheran, Chaffee, Advance and Oran.

"We've got a real good mix of guys, and the guys have had a good time," Sander said.

Jess Bolen, in his 47th season managing the Capahas, said Sander and Minner are to be commended for putting the Riverdogs together.

"I think it's great there's a second place for local kids that age to play ball in the summer," Bolen said.

The Capahas went 6-0 against the Riverdogs this year but three of the games could have gone either way.

"They really played us tough. I think they've got a good young ballclub," Bolen said.

Spencer Sander, the coach's son, said he was relieved when his father and Minner put together the Riverdogs.

"I was going to have to go to St. Louis or something to play," said Sander, a Saxony Lutheran graduate who played last year at Concordia in Nebraska and will play this coming season at Fontbonne University in St. Louis. "This made it a lot easier and it's been really fun."

Jackson graduate Dylan Koehler credits playing for the Riverdogs with helping him get a chance to compete for the renowned Maple Woods Community College program in Kansas City, Mo., that produced Albert Pujols.

Koehler played last season at Lindenwood-Belleville in Illinois but was not going to return. His strong summer with the Riverdogs led to him being invited to try and make the Maple Woods roster this coming season.

"I'm grateful. If it weren't for this team, I don't know where I'd be playing," Koehler said.

Saturday's doubleheader fit the pattern of many Charleston games this year, according to Sander.

The Riverdogs hang in until the very end but usually come up short.

"We're always competitive," said Sander, whose squad has several more games remaining this season. "We just have had a hard time getting over the hump against more established, older teams."

Charleston never led in the 11-9 opener but rallied several times. The Riverdogs scored two runs in the seventh inning and had the tying run on base when the game ended.

The nightcap saw the Riverdogs lead 4-3 until Fairview Heights scored six sixth-inning runs -- only two earned -- to go ahead for good.

"We always compete," Koehler said.

Charleston had 11 hits in each game while the Redbirds had a total of 27 hits.

Sander went 3 for 4 with two doubles and three runs scored in the opener. Koehler added two hits and two RBIs.

Seth Childers, a Cooter graduate who plays at Ouachita Baptist in Arkansas, went 3 for 3 with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored.

Central graduate Greg Craft added two hits.

Notre Dame graduate Alex Beussink was the losing pitcher.

Koehler, Childers and Craft each had two more hits in the nightcap, as did Chaffee graduate Alex Davie.

Advance graduate Ryan Moses, who competes for Shawnee (Ill.) Community College, suffered the loss in relief.