Bound for Prairie Baseball Academy this fall, Parker Spence didn’t want to lose a step this summer as he prepares for his freshman season in the Canadian College Baseball Conference.
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So, he and his younger brother Jake joined the Zone 7 Sun Devils, a northwest regional 18U AAA team in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League.
Parker Spence, 18, had previously played all of his minor baseball out of his native Lloydminster, but the loss of the local Prairie Pirates AAA program the past off-season had him looking for other options for this summer.
He didn’t take long to accept an invitation from Sun Devils coach Regan Beck, the president of Meadow Lake minor baseball and the architect of a far-reaching 18U AAA club with players from across the northwest region.
“Regan reached out to us, and he said we’d get an opportunity to play, and we just took it right away,” Spence said. “I’ve enjoyed playing here.”
Not to mention playing with 15-year-old brother Jake, who is two-and-a-half years younger than Parker.
The Spence boys played relatively close to home as the Sun Devils hosted a weekend series of games at Silver Lake Regional Park. That’s just down the road from Maidstone, which is the hometown of three other Sun Devils and one of the assistant coaches.
“I’ve actually never played here before,” Spence said Saturday after catching back-to-back wins over the Southeast Twins, 7-2 and 4-1. “This is my first time playing here. I really like the diamond, so far.”
The Spences and many of their teammates camped at the park Saturday night, before resuming play Sunday against the Parkland Expos. The Lloyd boys’ fans included their parents, along with both sets of grandparents and even some of their friends and neighbours.
Featuring players from 10 communities —Maidstone, Meadow Lake, Lloydminster, Edam, Macklin, Battleford, Unity, Rosetown, Wilkie and Saskatoon — the Sun Devils generally practise in Battleford and rotate the sites of their 16 home games.
“We practise all over, but mostly in Battleford,” Spence said. “It’s only an hour-and-a-half drive for me and my brother, so it’s pretty easy.”
BROTHER ACT
Beck said both Spence brothers, despite their age gap, bring a diverse range of talent to the Sun Devils – and the NSRBL’s Oil City Ducks.
“We’ve been really fortunate to have both those boys come join us,” he said.
“Parker has been huge for us. He’s caught a lot of innings this season. Our (pitchers) aren’t always the easiest to catch. They throw pretty hard, some of them, and we needed a guy like that to contain them. That’s a big difference-maker.
“Jake is more in a first-year role, a younger guy, but has lots of potential. He’s a big, strong kid and has thrown some really good innings for us as well. As is normally the case for Grade 10 guys, they’re fighting to get on the diamond.”
Jake is just going into Grade 10 at Lloydminster Comprehensive High School, from which Parker graduated two weeks ago. Jake also plays football, transitioning from the junior Barons to the senior team this year.
On Sunday, he stepped onto the mound for mid-inning relief as the Sun Devils tried to mount a comeback against Parkland, which won 14-8.
Big brother Parker was the scheduled starting pitcher for Sunday’s second game versus the Expos, but it was postponed because of rain.
Although he’s primarily a catcher this summer, Spence said he’s played “everywhere” as a utility player for most of his life and that Prairie Baseball Academy (PBA) has recruited him to catch and pitch.
OFF TO LETHBRIDGE
As he readies for the move to the Lethbridge, Alta., campus in late August, Spence has spoken with fellow Lloydminster native Cody Graf, a big right-hander making the jump to the University of Arkansas at Monticello after three years at PBA.
“Cody has been helping me figure out what I’m going to do and everything,” said Spence, who throws his first PBA bullpen on Sept. 1.
He made his college commitment last fall, after multiple chats with PBA coach Todd Hubka.
“We were texting back and forth, had a few phone calls, and I just really liked the program, so it was an easy decision to go there,” said the five-foot-11, 155-pound Spence, whose goals for the coming season include becoming physically stronger.
“I’m a little bit of a smaller guy. I would like to get some more size on me. I think that would help me put more power on the ball, and just my ability to move behind the dish.”
As a catcher, he has embraced all elements of the all-consuming position, on and off the field. “It’s just the aspect that I’m in every play,” Spence said.
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