A pitcher and catcher who are on the same page can sometimes make the difference in a game.
“We think alike so I mean I’ll kind of have that pitch ready and he just throws it down,” said Logan Wiley, former Kickapoo and Missouri State pitcher. “So we get on a roll and have some fun.”
Courtney Spitz knew that relationship with pitcher Logan Wiley was possible after scouting him at Grip N’ Rip League tryouts.
“Right off the bat you can see he has the talent to put our team in a position to be successful,” said Courtney Spitz, the manager to the Nixa Suckers, a team in the Grip’N’Rip League. “High IQ guy as far as baseball, great playing career, a local guy.”
It’s no surprise this duo found a connection. After all, their baseball roots were both formed by the same program.
“The priorities and the principles that [Kickapoo Head Baseball Coach Jason Howser] instilled in us, I know that Logan has those same attitudes and the same work ethics,” Spitz said.
Spitz and Wiley both played at Kickapoo for coach Jason Howser, but never crossed paths in high school.
Spitz went on to play for Drury, and now coaches Springfield Catholic.
Wiley pitched for Missouri State, making 41 starts across four years with the Bears.
“Right when I was done I immediately picked up just giving pitching lessons,” Wiley said.
But both guys needed more more baseball in their lives.
“With this league it extends that period and still get to go out and play,” Spitz said. “That is what every guy is so appreciative of is just another chance to play the sport we all love.”
And these two come into every game wanting to give their all like the glory days.
“I’m going out there trying to make you swing and miss,” Wiley said. “So I am going hard every inning, every pitch and I don’t want them to hit.”
