18-U Kings feature six Spoofhounds

DAILY FORUM FILE PHOTO
Cameron’s dugout can only watch as Maryville first baseman Tyler Houchin makes a sliding catch on a pop fly well outside the first baseline last season.

The Andrew County Kings baseball program has a rich history of developing some of the top players in the area, and this summer six Spoofhounds played on its 18-and-under team.

Tyler Houchin, Quentin Ternus, Zach Patton, Creid Stoecklein, Peyton Schieffer and Adam Becker played for the Kings.

“I’ve been coaching for the Kings for four years and I like to go after those Maryville kids, because with the experiences I’ve had with those guys, they work really hard … You can’t go wrong with that,” Kings coach Ricky Ideus said.

Houchin and Patton proved to be key parts of the Kings’ batting order, but from very different spots.

Houchin was a regular near the top of the order for Ideus and the Kings. He finished batting .333 with 11 runs and 10 RBI.

“Being able to take the ball the other way was a good thing for him,” Ideus said. “I was impressed.”

While Houchin was leading the top of the order, Patton provided the team with tremendous balance by batting .333 with a .455 on-base-percentage — second on the team — from the lower-third of the lineup. Patton finished with 10 runs and seven RBI.

“Zach sparked the bottom of the order a little bit with his ability to get on base,” Ideus said. “That spot for Zach was a good spot, because you like to have guys in the bottom of the order that can get on base and that way the top of the order can come up and make things happen.”

The strong production from Patton and Houchin helped stabilize the Kings after a 1-6 start to the season and Andrew County recovered to finish the year at 12-12 and on a five-game winning streak — including winning their final four games at a tournament in Maryville.

“We got off to a rough start,” Ideus said. “We weren’t getting blown out, but we had trouble holding leads. Mentally, we weren’t prepared. Towards the middle of the summer, we kicked it into a higher gear.”

In addition to Houchin and Patton, Ternus and Stoecklein played major roles, splitting the catching duties for the 18-and-under team. Stoecklein also found himself near the top of the order for both the Kings’ 16-and-under — coached by former Missouri Western and St. Joseph Mustang standout Orencio Fisher — and the 18-and-under teams.

“Creid was a spark for that younger team,” Ideus said.

For Ternus, catching was a step outside his comfort zone, but Ideus was happy with how he embraced it.

“It isn’t his primary position, but he was one of our harder workers,” Ideus said.

Despite struggling with a .179 batting average, Ternus displayed his tremendous eye at the plate with a .396 on-base-percentage.

Although Becker was young for the age group and came in as primarily a pitcher, he was able to open eyes with his bat. Becker batted .278 and had one of the team’s eight triples on the year.

“When I put him into the game, he tended to do the job for me,” Ideus said.

Schieffer spent most of the year with the younger team, but when he got his chance with the older group, he hit .286 with a .375 on-base-percentage.