Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991                   TAG: 9104120347
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV14   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD                                LENGTH: Medium

FLOYD COUNTY'S SENIOR PITCHER STEPS INTO STAFF ACE'S SHOES

"Here's the ball."

That's essentially what Buffaloes coach Wes Starkey said before the season, thus unexpectedly conferring the title of staff ace on the senior left-hander.

Unexpected by Yntema, unexpected by Starkey, unexpected by each and every Buff.

The reason? Dale Marshall, strong of body, stout of arm, and a three-year starter on the mound, had stunned the Buffaloes' baseball world by announcing shortly before the season began that he was going to exercise his option to take his senior season off.

Yntema didn't take long to compose himself. "I was kind of looking forward to playing with Dale - he's a great player - but I think I can handle the pressure of being the staff ace," he said.

The pressure is on. Early indications are that Yntema is holding up, despite losing three of his first four decisions.

"Brady has pitched very wellat times, but we've committed errors behind him and not hit in key situation with men on base that would have helped him out," Starkey said.

Not that Yntema hasn't been helping himself. So far, he's been batting close to .400, which, along with catcher Johnny Quesenberry, puts him up with the team leaders.

Yntema didn't have long to prepare mentally for his new role, but he did so. "I figured I have to learn to be a leader because I'd be considered to be an influential player," he said.

Because, for one thing, he's a senior on a senior-shy team.

"These guys respect Brady," Starkey said. "They play hard behind him. He's shown some very good leadership qualities."

An example of that came when he was on the junior varsity team two years ago. Joel Pratt, the coach, told of a game in which Yntema was pitching and had to cover a play at the plate in which a player of well above average size was barreling home.

Yntema is not large, by any standard, but he hung right in there for a massive collision. With blood flowing, Yntema would not leave the game and in fact, got the next batter out. "That shows you something right there," Pratt said.

Yntema played American Legion baseball last summer and said the high level of competition there taught him some useful lessons. That was helpful, because he missed a large part of the 1990 high school season with a broken thumb.

"At the beginning of the year, I was real nervous about being the ace," he said. "But I'm getting used to it."