Metro Player Spotlight - June 2011

Kyle Stanton; “Regional Player of the Year”
by Alex Rich

Our Metro Collegiate spotlight for this edition is Kyle Stanton.  Kyle attends Southwestern Illinois College and just finished up a stellar sophomore season.  Kyle is a 6'2 first basemen and attended O'Fallon High School.  This year Stanton played in 49 games for SWIC and had 148 AB's.  Stanton led the team in all hitting categories with 67 hits, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 8 HR's, 50 RBI’s and 38 runs scored.  He had an On Base Percentage of .534 with 22 walks, 6 HBP's, and 2 sacs.  He was 4-5 in stolen bases this year and finished the season with an outstanding .453 batting average.  Kyle ended up finishing the season winning multiple team awards including team MVP, Leading Hitter, and Most Clutch Hitter.  These team awards are voted on by teammates and coaches at the end of the season.  Other awards that Stanton received this season were; Great Rivers Athletic Conference, First Team All Conference, Conference Player of the Year, First Team All Region, (Region 24) and Region 24 Player of the Year.

Kyle explained, "My Junior year of high school was when I started to become what I am now."  Freshman year of high school, Kyle broke his collar bone in a JV game and had to sit out the rest of the year.  "My Sophomore year, I struggled a lot at the plate for Varsity" Stanton said.  After that season, Kyle spent that whole summer working with high school coaches getting better.  The next season, he came out his Junior year hitting .475.  "Ever since then, I have felt comfortable at the plate."

Kyle was coached by Neil Fiala at SWIC for the last two seasons.  Mr. Fiala is a Director of the St. Louis Metro Collegiate League and a former Major League infielder.   Fiala says:  "Kyle is one of the best players that has ever played for me”.   “He was our 4 hole hitter for the last two years and did a great job driving in runs and getting the bats going."  Coach Fiala went on to say that "Kyle played great defense as well as being a great hitter.  He was a great team player and was considered to be one of the big leaders on the team.  We had a great group of guys these last two seasons and with someone like Kyle on the team that can hit like he does, it really gets the players around him playing harder and the boys can always count on Kyle to do his job."  Not only do others consider Stanton to be a leader, but Kyle himself said "I try to be a leader just by being a good role model for other people and young kids especially.  I do a lot of camps for my high school and kids like to do things that the older kids do, so I usually try to set an example for that.  On the field I try to do whatever it is I can to make the team win."  SWIC finished the season with a 32-21 overall record and a 20-12 conference record finishing in 3rd place.  Kyle is playing in the Metro Collegiate League for the Alton Indians this summer and will be coached by Scott Turmail.

In Stanton's free time, he likes to hang out with friends and play xbox.  He said, "We usually sit at someone's house and play Madden or Baseball games."  Kyle has also found quite a bit of time lately to pick up the new hobby of fishing because his friends are attracting him to it.

Kyle has gained much attention from some prominent Division 1 baseball programs and although he’s currently undecided about next year, he’s strongly considering becoming a Redbird at Illinois State University and also the University of Cincinnati to continue his baseball career.

Metro Player Spotlight - July 2010

Pitching to Contact with Cody Blount
by Michael Frederick

Cody Blount has been with the St. Louis Metro-Collegiate Baseball League for four years. As one of the leaders of the Bridgeton Knights team Cody understands the importance of pitching to contact. 

His pitching repertoire includes a four-seam fastball, two-seamer, changeup, and a devastating curveball that can baffle hitters. On Tuesday June 22 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Baseball field Cody pitched five innings and induced several ground balls and strikeouts with his sweeping, southpaw delivery against Coach Ric Lessmann’s University City Lions. 
 
“With wooden bats, pitching to contact makes things a lot easier for the pitcher” Cody said.  In 2010 for the Westminster College Blue Jays, Cody led the pitching staff in wins with five and had the second lowest earned run average on the staff at 4.99. In 2008, Cody recorded the fifth best ERA in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 3.29 and only allowed nine extra-base hits.  He also had the most wins on the staff with four and walked a miniscule 21 hitters in 41 innings pitched. 
 
With the wooden bats of the St. Louis Metro-Collegiate League and pinpoint off-speed pitches Cody has reduced his earned run average to a more than respectable 3.19 along with three wins and over thirty strikeouts. 

He has also admitted, with a trademark ear to ear grin, how much fun he has with the league. “It’s nice to play with wood bats, to hear the crack, and not have to worry too much about making the absolute perfect pitch,” Cody said. 

Most pitcher’s also pride themselves in keeping the ball in the park. Cody is a prime example of that. In 39.2 innings pitched last season with the Westminster College Blue Jays he only allowed one homerun. So far this season with the Bridgeton Knights he has yet to allow a long ball in four games. 

Cody Blount’s Bridgeton coach and former St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Ken Ritz, said.“he works really hard and when he’s on with a good defense behind him it can be fun to watch.” 

One thing that Cody often does not discuss is a heroic event which occurred last summer. The Fulton Sun reported that when Cody and his mother were coming home from a family vacation and noticed a car in over five feet of water with a girl in it.  In heroic fashion Cody pulled the young woman from the car and certain death. “I just did what I had to do,” Cody said. “I think anyone would have done the same.” (Article: http://www.fultonsun.com/articles/2009/07/02/news/209news02.txt)To this day Cody sees the incident as not a big deal.  Whether it’s pitching to contact or doing the right thing, no matter what the situation Cody Blount seems to excel. The St. Louis Metro-Collegiate Baseball League wishes Cody the best in all of his future endeavors.

Metro Player Spotlight - June 2010

Stuart Beath
by Michael Frederick

Most college baseball players would be elated with a .312 batting average, 48 runs batted in, and five homeruns.  But Stuart Beath saw those numbers as a down year.

“It was an okay season,” the Wildwood and former Wooster outfielder said.
“He's one of those kids that works really hard and we are so proud of him,” his father, Stuart Beath, Sr., said.

As a Communications Major at Wooster College in Wooster, Ohio, Stuart, Jr. spent most of his senior year developing his senior thesis and focusing on his senior baseball season.

“With a communications major he had to write a paper and defend his thesis in front of the Communications department, and he passed with flying colors,” his father said.  According to his son, though, he would have liked to have the same numbers as the 2009 season.

During the 2009 season, Beath hit .389, with 4 homeruns, 23 doubles, and 57 runs batted in. He also hit in the 3-hole for the Fighting Scots while leading them to national runner-up in the NCAA Division III World Series.

“I wish I would've had a better year, but I am getting noticed by the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox,” Beath said.  This summer Beath has a tryout with the Twins in New Haven, Connecticut.  He said if the Twins do not pick him out of the tryout he would be willing to play for independent league teams.  “The Atlantic League would also give me some good experience,” he said.

For Coach Gus Lombardo's Wildwood squad, Beath has started every game in leftfield, hitting .333 and stealing five bases for one of the top teams in the league.  “Coach Lombardo has taught me quite a bit about the game of baseball and fine tuning my swing,” Beath said.

The bead baseball coach at Wooster College, Tim Petronini, also had quite a bit to say about his standout left fielder.  “He was a four year letter winner, three time all conference, all tournament in 2009, and was just a really great kid and teammate,” Coach Petronini said.  “I wish him the best.”

The baseball future for Stuart Beath seems limitless.  He is, statistically, one of the more consistent bats for Coach Lombardo's Wildwood team.  In August when the Minnesota Twins see him at their tryout in New Haven, Connecticut they will surely be impressed.