Local talent abundant for Pueblo's Spradley Collegians summer baseball team
BY JEFF LETOFSKY | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 1, 2022
B
uoyed 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.
Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at
