District Baseball Playoffs Begin This Weekend, U. City Seeded No. 5 In Class 4 District 5

The state high school baseball playoffs will kick up to full throttle this weekend, with games at locales all over the state.

Some districts began play on Thursday, while some others will start up beginning Friday afternoon.

For the youthful squad at , the action will begin on Saturday, with a matchup against Ritenour High of the Suburban North Conference.

Both clubs have a similar makeup, with a lineup featuring a standout senior, surrounded by a number of younger players and underclassmen.

Many believe the U. City at Ritenour showdown Saturday morning, could be the most intriguing matchup of the day, with the always dangerous Lions taking on the injury-striken Huskies.

And that's despite neither club being picked to win a district that features 15-9 top seed Saint Louis University High and 17-7 No. 2 seed Ladue.

Regardless of how it turns out, it should be quite a tournament, with the championship game set for Tuesday, May 15, at Ritenour, with the state sectionals and quarterfinals set for next week.

But before anyone can even begin to think about how deep they can go in these playoffs, they've first got to survive this weekend.

And with that in mind, we've prepared a quick little district playoff preview for Class 4 District 5, with info on every team, including season records, where the teams finished in their respective conferences, and a quick hit on some of the best players in this year's district tournament.

SLUH Jr. Billikens

• 2012 Record: 15-9, 5th place in Metro Catholic Conference
• Coach: Steve Nicollerat
• Top Hitters: Willie Floros, Sr., 3B -- .510 batting average, 1 HR, 23 RBIs; Paul Simon, Sr., CF -- .509 BA, 27 RBIs.
• Top Pitchers: Brian Howard, Jr., RHP -- 6-1 record, 2.65 ERA; Andrew Clark, Sr., RHP -- 5-0 record, 2.55 ERA.
• 1st round matchup: May 10, defeated Sumner 10-0.
• Will now play: U. City-Ritenour winner on Monday, May 14, at SLUH, at 4:15 p.m.

Ladue Rams

• 2012 Record: 17-7, Suburban East Conference champions
• Coach: Rob Garrett
• Top Hitters: Lex Kaplan, Jr., CF -- .493 BA, 8 HRs, 38 RBIs; Turner Miller, Jr., C -- .456 BA, 2 HRs, 35 RBIs.
• Top Pitchers: Jason Sandler, Sr., LHP -- 5-1 record, 1.40 ERA; Greg Cannon, Sr., RHP -- 4-1 record, 5.32 ERA.
• 1st round matchup: Saturday, May 12, vs. Normandy at noon.
• With win, will play: Gateway Tech-Chaminade winner on Monday, May 14, at Ladue HS.

Chaminade Red Devils

• 2012 Record: 13-10, 4th place in Metro Catholic Conference
• Coach: Chris Chirubis
• Top Hitters: Nolan Sponsler, Sr., SS -- .514 BA, 4 HRs, 28 RBIs; Austin Allen, Sr., OF -- .483 BA, 4 HRs, 23 RBIs.
• Top Pitchers: Michael Drury, Jr., P -- 3-1 record, 3.36 ERA; Jake Goessling, Sr., RHP -- 2-2 record, 1.53 ERA.
• 1st round matchup: Friday, May 11, vs. Gateway Tech at 4:15 p.m.
• With win, will play: Normandy-Ladue winner on Monday, May 14, at either Ladue HS or Chaminade HS.

Ritenour Huskies

• 2012 Record: 10-12, 5th place in Suburban North Conference.
• Coach: Tom Anderson
• Top Hitters: Carson Coffey, Sr., -- .431 BA, 14 RBIs; Alex Williams, Sr., -- .414 BA, 11 RBIs; David Williams, Jr., -- .237 BA, 22 RBIs.
• Top Pitchers: Chris Doyle, Sr, -- 2-2 record, 4.20 ERA; David Williams, Jr., -- 2-3 record, 4.41 ERA.
• 1st round matchup: Saturday, May, 12, vs. U. City, at Ritenour HS, 10 a.m.
• With win, will play: Monday, May 14, at SLUH, at 4:15 p.m.

University City Lions

• 2012 Record: 4-19, 8th place in Suburban South Conference.
• Coach: Rick Seim.
• Top Hitters: Kevin Phillips, Sr., 1B -- .509 BA, 2 HRs, 13 RBIs; Matt Looby, Jr., IF -- .318 BA, 18 RBIs, Brennon Baldwin, Jr., OF -- .338 BA, 8 RBIs.
• Top Pitchers: Matt Looby, Jr., P -- 1-7 record, 5.21 ERA; George Brown, Jr., RHP -- 1-8, 7.67 ERA.
• 1st round matchup: Saturday, May, 12, at Ritenour HS, at 10 a.m.
• With win, will play: Monday, May 14, at SLUH, at 4:15 p.m.

Gateway Tech Jaguars

• 2012 Record: 9-12, second place in Public High League.
• Coach: Kyle Baker.
• Top Hitters: Lance Smith, Jr., 1B, Curtis Turner, Sr., SS.
• Top Pitcher: Charles Benson, Fr., RHP.
• 1st round matchup: Friday, May 11, at Chaminade HS at 4:15 p.m.
• With win, will play: Normandy-Ladue winner on Monday, May 14, at either Ladue HS or Fairgrounds Park in St. Louis.

Normandy Vikings

• 2012 Record: 3-12, 5th place in Suburban East Conference.
• Coach: Kevin Parrish.
• Top Hitter: Nicolas Bailey, Jr., OF; Moses Larkin, Sr., SS.
• Top Pitcher: Moses Larkin, Sr., RHP.
• 1st round matchup: Saturday, May 12, at Ladue, at noon.
• With win, will play: Gateway Tech-Chaminade winner on Monday, May 14, at Chaminade HS or at Fairgrounds Park in St. Louis.

Sumner Bulldogs

• 2012 Record: 2-17.
• Sumner has already been eliminated from the MSHSAA playoffs, after losing to SLUH 10-0 on Thursday.