South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Lindbergh baseball team starts 2003 season with a 3-0 record

By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

While many of their classmates were stuck back in St. Louis with lousy weather over spring break, the Lindbergh High School baseball team was enjoying the tropical weather of Cocoa Beach, Fla.

The Flyers took full advantage of the warm weather as they amassed a 3-0 record.

“I can’t complain about a 3-0 start,” Lindbergh Head Coach Darren Scott told the Call. “I’m very pleased with our play right now.”

The Flyers opened the 2003 season on Monday of last week with a 5-4 win over Landon (Md.). Lindbergh took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning and regained the lead 3-2 in the top of the sixth.

The Flyers scored two more runs in the top of the seventh, but had to fight off a two-run assault in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win.

“I thought it was a very good game for us to start off with,” Scott said. “We showed that we can play defensively to stay in the ball game and keep coming back. The guys came up with the right plays at the right time.”

Senior pitcher Tom Kammerer threw four scoreless innings for the Flyers.

Although Kammerer did not receive the win, Scott was quite impressed with his performance on the mound.

“Tom threw really well,” Scott said. “He reached his pitch count and that was the only reason why I took him out.”

Junior catcher Andrew Spitzfaden had a strong day at the plate as he went 3-4. Scott believes that the second year veteran on the varsity squad will begin to get some recognition as being one of the area’s top catching prospects.

“This should be the year that Andrew steps up and becomes the player that everyone will begin to notice,” Scott said. “He’s one of our team leaders and really likes that role.”

The following afternoon, the Flyers disposed of St. Francis (Minn.) 4-2 as junior pitcher Dan Gabris threw five scoreless innings. Gabris was smoking batters left and right as he recorded nine strikeouts in the winning effort.

“Dan’s got a good mentality when it comes to pitching,” Scott said. “He wants to step up and be our No. 1 starting pitcher. He’s the kind of guy who always wants the ball.”

Also having a nice game at the plate for Lindbergh was senior first baseman Scott Hicks, who hammered out a two-out double in the top of the fourth inning which drove in two runs and gave the Flyers the lead and eventual win.

“Scott goes out there and works hard and does what he has to do,” Scott said. “We look for him to do a lot of things on the mound and at first base for us this season.”

Lindbergh finished its trip to Florida with a 10-3 bombing of Elk River (Minn.). The Flyers were led by the strong pitching performance of junior Mark Spinner who threw four innings and yielded just two runs.

“Mark’s really picked up some velocity on his pitches this season,” Scott said. “He can be very successful if he can just keep the ball down where he actually has some good movement.”

The Flyers will start Suburban West Conference play Monday afternoon when they play host to Parkway West. The Longhorns took runner-up honors last season in the conference standings and Scott knows that Monday’s game will be a good measuring stick as to where Lindbergh rates among the Suburban West’s elite.

“It will be a good test for us right off the bat in terms of the conference,” Scott said. “I think were really looking forward to this year’s team. This group is really focused on having a successful season.”

The Parkway West contest is scheduled for a 4:15 p.m. start.

More to Discover