Former Jaguar has big hand in big upset

The end result of a doubleheader against legendary manager Bob Steinkamp’s Beatrice (Neb.) Bruins didn’t concern Kevin Seitzer.
What did concern the former Kansas City Royals All-Star third baseman – who is in his first season as manager of the MINK (Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas) League Mac-n-Seitz A’s – was his youthful team’s approach to the two games Tuesday afternoon at Blue Springs South High School.
Steinkamp’s team was 15-2 heading into the doubleheader and boasted 12 legitimate Division I players on the roster.
Steinkamp had managed major leaguers like Kansas City Royals third baseman Alex Gordon and New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, and when a Division I coach wants his top player to get the finest summer instruction, he sends him to the 39-year coaching veteran.
The Bruins had downed the A’s 8-7 and 19-3 last week in Nebraska, and Seitzer spotted a bit of that deer-in-the-headlights look from some of his players.
That look disappeared Tuesday when former Blue Springs South right-hander Chris Sundvold pitched seven brilliant innings of two-run ball and the A’s claimed a 3-2  win as former Examiner Player of the Year Preston Land of Lee’s Summit scored 2008 Examiner All-Area standout Jeff Lusardi with an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“That was a big, big win for this team,” said Seitzer, whose A’s dropped the second game 12-4. “I told the guys before the game that I don’t care how big, how bad or how good a team is, we have to get after them. I don’t care if we lose by 20, but if we go into the game with the right approach, then I’ll be happy – no matter what the final score is.”
Sundvold, who pitched the last two years at St. Louis County Meramac Community College, made a big impression on both managers.
“Chris was stellar – stellar!” Seitzer said. “He’s so big he looks like he’s going to go up there and throw it 95 mph, but he’s deceptive. He can bring it, but he can make a 78-mph change look like a 90-mph fastball. He had them off balance the entire game.”
Added Steinkamp: “There are some games you deserve to win and some you deserve to lose. We’ve had a great season and I have a lot of respect for that young team because they deserved to win that first game. We didn’t get many good swings and they found a way to win. My hat’s off to them.”
Sundvold took the appearance in stride.
“I look at their first batter and think, “I watched him play on ESPN last week,’” Sundvold said, grinning. “You can’t let them intimidate you – even though you know of them from watching college ball on TV.
“I’m proud to be a part of this win. It was huge.”
Seitzer made an interesting comparison between the two teams, which showed what kind of upset it was for the A’s to prevail.
“They have a legitimate Big 12 team over there. Coach Steinkamp gets all the Division I top players. The coaches want him to work their kids in the summer,” Seitzer said. “We have five high school graduates, some redshirt freshman and a lot of kids who are just getting used to college ball. In three years, I’d like to see our team be where the Bruins are.”
Land, an A’s veteran who will be a senior at the University of Kansas, believes that can happen.
“I told the guys before the game that that’s going to be the best team we face this summer, and we found a way to win,” said Land, a former Lee’s Summit High School standout. “It was just fun to watch the guys’ reaction when we won – that’s what makes this league so much fun. The game is still a game.”