By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Keanu Spenser walked into the Burlington Bees’ dugout before Thursday’s game against Illinois Valley and started getting his bats ready.
Unlike many of the college players in the Prospect League, playing with wood bats is something Spenser doesn’t need to adjust to this summer.
Spenser, who plays at Scottsdale (Arizona) Community College, plays in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, which is one of the few junior college conferences where wood bats are used.
“So I really didn’t have to change anything coming here,” Spenser said. “My conference is all wood-bat. If anything, if I swung a metal bat right now, I’d have to adjust.”
Spenser hit .301 with 12 doubles and three home runs this season at Scottsdale. He has played first base in the Bees’ first five games, hitting .222 with two doubles and four runs batted in.
Spenser, who grew up in Scottsdale, was planning on playing this summer in a league in Palm Springs, California when he found out the Bees were looking for a first baseman.
“I got a call, they offered me a spot (with the Bees), and I said, ‘Yeah,’” Spenser said. “There was no doubt about not coming here.
“I was coming out here experiencing everything new, not knowing a single person. For me, I love that. It’s nothing but opportunity.”
Not that it’s easy to get to Burlington from Arizona.
“Flew in on the little 8-seater plane,” Spenser said, laughing. “We were walking out on the tarmac and I was like, ‘Oh, all right. I see what we’re flying in.’”
Spenser’s biggest adjustment in baseball was learning how to play first base.
“All the way up to my senior year of high school, I was a catcher,” he said. “Two weeks before the season, I was told I had arthritis in my knee. So basically I needed to stop catching.
“It was a big change, but I was willing to do anything to play baseball.”
What Spenser is hoping for the summer with the Bees — he is planning on playing the full season — is catching the attention of four-year colleges as he gets ready for his sophomore season at Scottsdale.
“It’s just more exposure,” he said. “Maybe some coaches haven’t seen me. Because I’m still trying to find somewhere to go, and hopefully this gets me more exposure.”
Spenser is adjusting to the Midwest summer — “This isn’t much different than Arizona,” he said. “Maybe more bugs and it’s a little more humid.” — but he’s willing to look at any future college opportunity.
“I would love to play in warm weather,” Spenser said. “But I’ll play anywhere if I can keep playing baseball and keep getting better.”
A DEEPER ROSTER
The Bees’ roster will grow as teams are eliminated from postseason tournaments.
Kooper Schulte joined the team for Sunday’s game at Quincy. Schulte, an infielder from New London who plays at Central Arizona College, was in Oklahoma watching the Southeastern Community College team coached by his father, Justin, play in the NJCAA Division II World Series.
Three players from that tournament — pitchers Drew Martin and Jake Jakubowski from champion Heartland Community College, and infielder Caleb Wulf from runner-up Southeastern Community College — also are expected to join the Bees this week.
Iowa outfielder Coy Sarsfield is available after the Hawkeyes were eliminated from the NCAA tournament on Sunday night. Sarsfield scored the go-ahead run in Iowa’s 6-5 win over North Carolina in an elimination game. Outfielder Will Mulflur, another Hawkeye, is expected to join the team the second half of the season.
BEES BY THE NUMBERS
Tanner Holland opened the season with three two-hit games as part of a four-game hitting streak. Holland is hitting .389 with seven hits and five runs. … Mason Schwalbach has eight runs batted in through the first five games. Schwalbach is hitting .313. … Ian Wolski is batting .375 and Cedric Dunnwald is hitting .357.
AROUND THE PROSPECT LEAGUE
Chris Hall of the Cape Catfish is one of the hottest hitters in the league after the first week. Hall is batting .667 with 10 runs scored, 11 RBIs, and five stolen bases. Teammate Justin Carinci is hitting .556. … The Catfish were the only undefeated team after the first week, going 4-0. … Normal and Lafayette lead their respective divisions with 4-1 records. … Clinton leads the Great River Division with a 3-2 record.
Top photo: Keanu Spenser looks to make the play at first base for the Burlington Bees in last Wednesday’s season opener. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)
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