Bubba’s back: Oral Roberts standout returns for second summer in the Valley with a new role

PALMER — During the 2017 Alaska Baseball League season, Spencer Henson, one of the top starting pitchers in the league, helped the Mat-Su Miners capture their second straight league title. Henson, an Oral Roberts University sophomore, is back for another summer with the Valley club.

But Henson has a new role for the Miners.

The 6-foot-2 two-way standout, known in the clubhouse as “Bubba,” is hitting in the middle of the order for the Miners, and playing first base. And Henson is off to a tremendous start during his second straight summer in Alaska.

In his first eight games of the summer since arriving on June 12, Henson is batting .408 with 13 hits, four doubles, a triple, three runs and five RBI. Henson’s start to his summer comes on the heels of a stellar sophomore year at Oral Roberts that included a transition from the mound to the right corner of the infield. After making the switch to first base, Henson won the Summit League triple crown, leading his conference with a .373 batting average, nine home runs and 50 RBI. He was named first-team all-conference and helped the Golden Eagles advance to the NCAA Regional.

“The switch has been pretty smooth coming into this last year,” Henson said. “It’s still the same prep, just a different position.”

As a freshman at Oral Roberts, Henson made 19 appearances on the mound. He pitched only once during his sophomore season. But his at-bats ballooned from 17 as a freshman to 209 as a sophomore, and he hit in 54 games. Henson said his production and playing time at first base during the 2018 college season exceeded his expectations.

“The position started to change a little bit and I just started getting prepped as a first baseman,” Henson said. “It took off very fast.”

Henson said it doesn’t matter where he plays, just as long as he contributes.

“I just wanted to be productive, help anyway I can,” Henson said. “I want to do whatever I need to do to help us win.”

Henson said he has the same mindset with the Miners, and will have that focus when he returns for his junior season at Oral Roberts.

“If it’s hitting, it’s hitting. If it’s coming in the game to pitch, it’s coming in the game to pitch. I don’t really have a preference,” Henson said. “Whatever helps us win.”

And that’s exactly what Henson did during a 6-1 extra-innings victory over the Anchorage Bucs June 16. Henson made his first appearance on the mound since March, and earned the win after pitching four scoreless innings.

“I felt like I got back to where I was last summer,” Henson, who posted a 0.61 earned run average in six ABL starts in 2017, said. “I had confidence, felt good with my pitches.”

Henson was also 3 for 6 with two RBI during the win.

Henson said if the Miners need him back on the mound this summer, he will be ready.

“I can flip a switch, just like that,” Henson said.

Henson said he will carry the same mindset into his junior season at Oral Roberts.

“Whatever I need to do,” Henson said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.