Baseball:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

Don’t let his baby face fool you.

Arcadia senior Casey Spencer pitches like a grown man.

With two weeks to go in the regular season, Arcadia is 15-3 overall, and 8-0 in Pacific League games.

The Apaches currently hold a one-game lead over second-place Crescenta Valley, and they’ll meet up twice next week to decide the league championship.

During this highly successful run in 2021, Arcadia has gotten tremendous contributions from its entire lineup and pitching staff.

And Spencer has done his share and then some.

He’s 8-0 on the mound with a 1.60 ERA.

The La Salle transfer has surrendered just nine earned runs in 40 innings.

Spencer has a nearly 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (18 walks & 64 strikeouts) and his control continues to get better each week.

The most important stat of all is that Arcadia has won all eight games that Spencer has started.

His personal record could be 9-0, but in the season opener, Spencer was pulled early once the Apaches took a 6-0 lead after two innings in the Cal High game.

He got four of his six outs via strikeout before leaving the mound.

Why did he leave La Salle and what made Arcadia an attractive destination?

During the COVID-19 shutdown,  Casey’s mom (Kristine), who works in visual effects for TV shows, saw her hours decrease.

Spencer wanted to do his part in making sure the family persevered through the pandemic and decided the tuition they were paying at La Salle could be spent meeting the family’s needs, so he transferred to Arcadia High School.

It was an easy fit, because he went to elementary and middle school in Arcadia and almost everyone on the Apaches’ roster was his friend or a teammate at some point in the past.

Mikey Easter, a three-year star and current senior for Arcadia was the first person to make Apaches coach Nick Lemas aware of who Casey Spencer was.

“I hadn’t seen him play before,” Lemas said. “I hadn’t heard of him aside from Mikey talking about him when he was considering the transfer. We lost all of our pitching last year. We were loaded with legit senior arms. So when I heard he could pitch and was a Division 1 commit, I obviously was excited and assumed he’d step into the role of our ace. I was able to see him throw for the first time this summer on social media, so once I saw that, I realized my initial thoughts were likely going to be a reality.

He’s been a stud for us. Unfortunately, he’s had some minor injuries that have held him back a little. He would be one of our top hitters, but he messed up his shoulder in one of our first games, so he hasn’t been able to hit. We’re hoping that day will come soon and he’ll be back in our lineup. But his ability to take the ball each week for a start has set the tone for our team and our guys have tons of confidence when he’s on the mound.”

Why is he having this much success?

There are a lot of reasons for that, but it starts with having a high baseball IQ, a solid work ethic and three pitches (fastball, curve and change) that he can throw in any situation.

“At the beginning of the year, my curve was my out pitch,” Spencer said. “But I started going with my changeup  and I get a lot of my strikeouts with that pitch. I’ve been happy with my velocity and the control I usually have with those three pitches, and I think that’s also helped me limit the number of walks as the season has gone along.”

Spencer might strike a lot of guys out, but he’s not obsessed with it.

Just like almost every elite pitcher, Spencer lets his defense make plays behind him, and he has all the confidence in the world in the eight other guys on the field with him at Arcadia.

What makes Arcadia’s and Spencer’s current seven-game win streak so impressive is the fact that they had to take two weeks off in early April when one of the Apaches players tested positive for COVID-19.

“It felt like baseball was being ripped away from us like it did during the shutdown in 2020,” he said. “But to everyone’s credit, we continued working individually on our bodies and staying sharp so that when we came back, we were able to pick up right where we left off.”

AHS is 9-1 since returning to the field and they outscored their opponents over that stretch by a combined margin of 109-13.

Like all good teammates, Spencer wanted to point out that he’s just one guy doing his job, and that every member of the Arcadia baseball program has done their part.

Mikey Easter (.474 average, 27 hits, 23 runs, 17 RBIs & two doubles), Jack Esguerra (.550, 11 hits, eight runs, 10 RBIs), Alex Dolan (.415, 22 hits, 18 runs, eight RBIs, three doubles), Daniel Chavez (.372, 16 hits, 12 runs, 14 RBIs, three doubles), Julian Eskridge (.444, 12 hits, 15 runs, nine RBIs, four doubles and a homer), Brandon Nguyen (.362, 17 hits, 15 runs, 18 RBIs, one double, triple and three home runs) and Zach Huerta (.292, 14 hits, 13 runs, 13 RBIs, one double) pace the Apaches offense.

Along with Spencer, Daniel Chavez (3-1, 2.00 ERA), Gabriel Lopez (2-1, 3.25 ERA), Julian Eskridge (2-1, 0.43 ERA) and Harrison Meyers (1-0, 0.46 ERA) make up one of the SGV’s best pitching staffs.

Eskridge has really sparked the Apaches since becoming eligible after the wait period for transfers ended, and it’s with his arm and bat.

But back to Spencer.

During his junior year, Spencer committed to play in the spring of 2022 for San Jose State and he’s really excited about his future.

For now, though, Casey’s focused on his 3.5 GPA and doing anything he can to help Arcadia win a Pacific League championship and make a deep run in the CIF-SS playoffs.

Along with all of his good traits, Spencer is also funny and has a good sense of humor.

When this reporter jokingly said, “for a dude who doesn’t have to shave yet, you sure pitch like a grown man.”

And Casey’s response was perfect.

“Yeah, I can throw 90 (miles per hour), but can’t grow facial hair. I guess I’ll take that.”

Lastly, we asked Spencer to comment on the role his parents have played in his life and baseball career, the welcome he got at Arcadia and why he thinks they’re playing so well.

Said Casey Spencer: “My parents (Casey and Kristine Spencer) have made every sacrifice in the world for me and that’s why I wanted to transfer to Arcadia. They provide a great education and we would save money that could be used for other things. And I went to school with all these guys when I was growing up, so it was going to be a pretty easy transition. My dad does everything he can to help me improve in baseball. He’s my biggest fan, but he’s also not afraid to tell me what’s on his mind if I’m not doing well. He could work all day and still finds a way to get to the games or take me where I need to go. My mom is a calming influence in my life because she’s always willing to listen and does her best to help me come up with the solution to a problem. She just always finds a way to make things better in my life. They’ve always stressed to me the importance of school and being a good and humble person.

The guys welcomed me with open arms and I get along well with the coaching staff. The chemistry is through the roof and that’s important to have everyone pulling in the same direction. Every player and coach on this team has a tremendous work ethic and we don’t want to let each other down. I am so thankful to all of them, as well as coaches Eddie McKiernan and Mike Guzman, who taught me so much at La Salle.”

Quotable:

Arcadia coach, Nick Lemas: “His fastball is mid to high 80s, he controls his changeup better than any pitcher we’ve had in our program and he’s got a good breaking ball. Three plus pitches at the high school level is rare and usually leads to success like this. We’ve taken his strengths and added some our our pitching philosophies to help him grow as a pitcher. He’s been very receptive to our staff and continues to get better. We’ve been very successful the past few years and he’s stepped right in to continue to raise our bar. We have younger guys that can look up to him and see what it’s going to take to get to that level individually and how it can impact and carry our team’s success. He’s a pretty quiet and level-headed kid for the most part, which I’m sure helps him a ton pitching. He grew up with a lot of our guys, so it’s not like he came into a foreign environment, but still, transferring to a new school is difficult. But he’s fit right in and the other guys have been very welcoming. He’s done well in the classroom and is excited to continue his success next year at San Jose State.”

Arcadia senior, Mikey Easter: “It’s great being his teammate. Casey comes to practice everyday with high energy and doesn’t fail to make you laugh any minute too. He’s been successful this year when he gets ahead in the count, making him very hard to hit. We have a great defense behind him, which makes it even easier to pitch for him.”

Arcadia sophomore, Devon Eskridge: “Although this is my first year with him, I’ve noticed he never stops working hard and he just loves the game. Over quarantine, we all use to long toss to get our arms stronger, and he would almost always be there. As a teammate, he always stays positive, is supportive of everyone, and carries himself well. Also, the reason he is so hard to beat when he’s on the mound, is because of his three good pitches in his arsenal, his control, and the fact that he has a great team to support him.”

Arcadia senior, Julian Eskridge: “Casey is one of the hardest workers that I know. Ever since the start of high school, he has worked tirelessly in the weight room and on the field, to get to where he’s at. His success comes at no surprise, because he’s been dominating since sophomore year. Back then, he was more of a finesse pitcher, with a fastball and a dominant change. After continuing to work his butt off the last two years, his fastball is now a power pitch and he’s added a curveball in his mix as well. With three dominant pitches, great control, a good presence on the mound, and an awesome team behind him, Casey has shown why he is one of the best pitchers in the area.”

Casey Spencer’s 2021 Outings:
3/19: 2IP, OR, 1H, 1BB, 4K’s in 8-0 victory over Cal High
3/22: 6IP. 4R. 4H, 3BB, 6K’s in 5-4 victory over Chino Hills
3/29: 5IP, 1R, 2H, 2BB, 8K’s in 7-2 victory over Cypress
4/7: 4IP, 0R, 2H, 3BB, 7K’s in 11-5 victory over Charter Oak
4/13: 5IP, 2R, 1ER, 3H, 0BB, 9K’s in 9-2 victory over Burroughs
4/27: 3IP, 0R, 1H, 3BB, 6K’s in 6-0 victory over Hoover
5/4: 5IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 8K’s in 9-0 victory over Pasadena
5/8: 5IP, 2R, 4H, 0BB, 11 K’s in 12-2 victory over Burbank
5/19: 5IP, 4H, 2R (one earned), 6BB’s, 5K’s in 9-2 victory over Burroughs

Casey Spencer’s Career Stats:
2021 at Arcadia: 8-0, 1.60 ERA, 40 IP, nine earned runs, 18 walks, 64 strikeouts.
opponents batting average is .140.
2020 at La Salle: 2-1, 2.33 ERA, 12 IP, four runs, 3 walks, 14 strikeouts
2019 at La Salle: 5-1, 1.86 ERA, 41 1/3 innings, 11 ER, 16 walks, 35 strikeouts
Career: 15-2, 1.93 ERA, 37 walks & 113 strikeouts

Getting to know Casey Spencer:
Favorite MLB team: Dodgers
Favorite player: Jackie Robinson
Favorite restaurant: Kabuki Japanese Restaurant
Favorite movie: Sandlot
Favorite musical artist: Bob Marley
Someone famous (alive or dead) he’d most want to talk to:  Jesus Christ