Missouri State coach Keith Guttin has a vivid memory of the first time he saw Spencer Johnson take batting practice.
It was at a tryout camp that was held in conjunction with the annual Legion tournament around the Fourth of July holiday. He saw the ball jump off Johnson’s bat and asked someone about the tall, skinny kid in the cage.
They told him Johnson was a freshman.
Guttin said he thought, “Oh, a freshman in college.”
No, he soon realized, he was watching a freshman at Parkview High School.
Some seven years later, Johnson is playing in front of his hometown fans for the final time this weekend, as the Bears host Illinois State at Hammons Field.