Local talent abundant for Pueblo's Spradley Collegians summer baseball team

Buoyed by local talent, the Pueblo Spradley Collegians baseball team has high hopes for the 2022 summer season.

Led by head coach Tony Pechek, who enters his seventh season as the skipper, the collegians are loaded with talent from throughout the region.

"The purpose is to give the local and Southern Colorado kids a chance to play summer college baseball," Pechek said. "It's always fun getting to see these kids from the time they are young at Runyon to where they are now. I love being a part of that."

The local players include infielders Kyle Jamison, Brandon Martin, Trevor Thomas, outfielders Jayden Cordova, Ryan Downs, Brock Rodrigues, and Jeremiah Sanchez, catcher Justin Borden, pitchers AJ Cordova, Austin Martindale, Nick Parisi, and Zach Thomas, and utility player Louis Martinez.

In addition to the local players, a handful of Colorado State University Pueblo players are on the roster. They include Jamison, Rodrigues and Sanchez, Christian Castadena, and Zach Hannenberg.

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"This group is going to have the ability to play defense well and use their speed on the bases to create some electric innings to score some runs," Pechek said. "Pitching is the thinnest we've ever had. We do have some quality arms and hopefully, they can eat up innings so we can have a successful summer.

Spradley's entire schedule, at this point, will be played at the Runyon Sports Complex in the Mile High Collegiate Baseball League. As the season unfolds, road games will be added depending on the availability of pitchers.

"It's cheaper for our opponents to come down here than to pay for umpires and facilities up north," Pechek said. "That's why we have all home games at this point.

"But we'll have some road games as the season goes on. It will all depend on our pitching staff, how many arms we have, and their ability to cover the innings we need."

Regardless, Pechek is excited to be able to coach many of the players he's coached in the past and inject the out-of-town players into the mix.

"We're semi-veteran heavy so we have players who know what to expect," Pechek said. "I've coached a lot of these kids before, so the personality and chemistry should be there for us."

The Pueblo club opens its season on Thursday with a 3 p.m. doubleheader against the NoCo Roughnecks on Hobbs Field. The highlight of the home schedule will be the annual Dollar Beer Night on June 15 which helps kick off the 42nd annual Tony Andenucio Memorial Baseball Tournament at Runyon.

Spradley Collegians schedule

June 2–NoCo Roughnecks (2), 3 p.m.; June 5–Colorado Rogue Baseball (2), 10 a.m.; June 12–Boulder Collegians (2), 10 a.m.; June 15–Colorado Lumberjacks (2), 5 p.m.; July 2–Broomfield Barn Owls (2), 10 a.m.; July 3–Greeley Grays (2), 10 a.m.; July 5–Prospect Waves (2), 3 p.m.; July 13–Colorado Baseball Academy (2), 3 p.m.; July 16–Fort Collins Force (2), 2 p.m.; July 19–Colorado Springs Cutthroats (2), 3 p.m.;  July 23–Batters Box (2), 10 a.m.; July 26–Denver Generals (2), 3 p.m.  

Spradley Collegians roster

NAME                       Year  Pos.  B/T    Ht.  Wt.   Hometown     School

Ty Addington               Jr.  RHP   L/R   6-1   215   La Junta           Adams State   

Michael Allsup            So. RHP   R/R   6-5   195   Denver             Trinidad  State

Cole Bloomer             Jr.   RHP   R/R   6-5   260   Parker              uncommitted

Justin Bordon             So.    C     R/R   5-10  195   Pueblo            McPherson

Christian Castaneda   So.  OF    R/R   6-0    210   El Paso           CSU Pueblo

AJ Cordova                 Fr.  RHP   R/R  6-0    165   Pueblo             College Southwest

Jayden Cordova          Fr.   OF    R/R   5-9   160   Pueblo West  Metro State

Kane Daniluk               So. C/IF   R/R  5-9    193   Colo. Springs  uncommitted

Ryan Downs               Jr.    OF    R/R   5-11  155  Pueblo             Adams State

Zach Hannenberg      Jr.     OF    R/R  5-10  170  Canon City      CSU Pueblo

Zach Herrick              Fr.    RHP  R/R  5-10  175   Cherry Creek  Webster

Kyle Jamison             Jr.     INF   R/R   5-9   180   Pueblo West   Garden City CC

Cole Knightley           Jr.     RHP  R/R  6-0    195  California         CSU Pueblo

Brandon Martin          Fr.    INF   R/R   5-8   160   Pueblo             uncommitted

Austin Martindale      Jr.     RHP  R/R  5-11  185   Pueblo             CSU Pueblo

Louis Martinez          Fr.     UTL  R/R   5-8   180   Pueblo             Presentation     

Noah McCandles      So.    RHP  R/R  5-10  190   Arvada            Mount Marty

Chance Oquist         Fr      INF    R/R  6-2    205   La Junta          uncommitted

Nick Parisi                So..  RHP   R/R  6-0    185   Pueblo            CSU Pueblo

Jayson Peterson      Jr.    RHP    L/L    6-3   180   Arvada            Adams State

Brock Rodrigues      Jr.    UTL     R/R   5-8    155  Pueblo            CSU Pueblo

Jeremiah Sanchez   Fr.    OF      L/L    5-7    185  Pueblo West   CSU Pueblo

Trevor Thomas         Fr     1B      R/R   6-0    225  Pueblo            Otero JC

Zach Thomas           Jr.    LHP     L/L   5-10   175  Pueblo West    Adams State

Alfredo Villa II          Sr.   RHP     R/R   6-0    225  Tucson            Adams State

Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Spradley Collegians filled with local talent for summer baseball