THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, August 1, 2014

With an uncle who is an electric engineer and a father who travels the country as a project manager for an elevator and escalator company, naturally Prairie Cardinals outfielder/pitcher Blake Wrotenbery wants to follow his uncle, Jeff King, into the electrical engineering business.

WROTENBERY HEARD tales growing up of his uncle, who has been an electrical engineer and now works for Extreme Engineering Solutions in Middleton, Wis., as an electrical engineer. King is the brother of Scot Wrotenbery, Blake's father.

"He (my uncle) didn't necessarily push me to do it, but he just kept telling me how awesome his job was and I'm pretty good with electrical stuff - so maybe I should pursue the field," Wrotenbery said.

Wrotenbery, born in Coeur d'Alene and raised in Rathdrum, has hooked up his own sound system and has passed a college calculus course as part of a dual credit curriculum at North Idaho College. Plus, the left-handed throwing, left-handed hitting Wrotenbery took a physics class at Lakeland High, where he recently graduated, earning a 3.47 grade-point average.

"Apparently he worked with some NASA guys where they were building a space elevator," Wrotenbery said of his uncle. "He was involved with that but he said all his jobs he's gone through electrical engineering were fantastic."

King was working on his master's degree at the University of Idaho back in the 2007-08 academic year. King is currently working on a central processing system that has to do with small arms fire or targeting systems as part of a Joint Strike Fighter program for militaries for U.S. and allied forces.

"I worked on a project where there's an elevator the science departments have been talking about for years," King said.

"It's about taking an elevator to space (to work within a spaceship). It's far out there, but we're close to the technology to make it possible. I worked on a project that involved competing for the space elevator. It was purely a research project. They have a space elevator competition to design an elevator cable that is completely powered off of photons."

IN THE sixth grade, Wrotenbery built a bridge along with his father, as part of a science project while attending Garwood Elementary.

They built an Aztec bridge that was 3 feet long, 6 inches wide and somewhere between 14 and 20 feet tall.

"It was a role bridge," Scot Wrotenbery said. "One of the things you have to do here in the Lakeland School District is they study the Aztecs and the Mayans and one of the things that you do is you build this bridge and he and I built a bridge. We tried to be as accurate to how they did it back then, stake holes and drill the ropes across the bridge and do the whole thing without having any nails or any mechanic fasteners. It was heavy enough where I could walk across it."

King said his nephew has the goods to become an engineer.

"Blake's always been a sharp kid," King said. "He's always been really into bringing art and science together. The bridge that he made was one of the mechanical bridges you build when you test how much weight it can hold. It was phenomenal. There were a lot of things, he's a quick thinker, it was great he could show it. It was natural he wanted to go into the engineering sector. He's smarter than I am."

SCOT WAS the one who got Blake involved in baseball, and he played T-ball as a 6-year-old in McKinney, Texas, where the Wrotenberys lived for three years.

Blake was a senior pitcher and outfielder on a Lakeland High baseball team that was runner-up to Twin Falls at the state 4A baseball tournament. Wrotenbery was named 4A Inland Empire League MVP.

The 18-year-old was also a wide receiver on a Hawks team that reached the state 4A playoffs, before losing 34-23 to Skyview of Nampa in the first round.

Wrotenbery plans to attend Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Ore., and room across the street from the college with Lakeland/Prairie teammate and friend, pitcher/shortstop Kris Jackson, who earned a partial scholarship to play for Chemeketa. Wrotenbery said he wants to walk on to the baseball team.

During the pair's senior year, Wrotenbery and Jackson dressed up on Thursdays in suits and ties, the whole nine yards.

"We dressed formally in fancy clothes," Wrotenbery said. "When we started our junior year, everyone was like, 'What are you thinking?' After our junior year going into our senior year, everyone got the hang of it. Some were joining us. We're like brothers, pretty much."

Prairie first-year coach Ron Mackie said Wrotenbery has a good chance to make the Chemeketa squad.

"I think when their coach sees his speed, there could be a good chance of him making the team," Mackie said.

WROTENBERY, WHO normally bats fifth in the lineup, helped Prairie win its first league title in 20 years and eventually reach state, before going two and out and bowing out Thursday in Lewiston.

During the Class AA Area A American Legion baseball tournament, Wrotenbery made at least four diving catches in three games, including one in a big 10-8 win over Coeur d'Alene in which he scored two runs, including one in a key six-run seventh inning.

"Blake's been huge," Mackie said. "He's one of our fastest outfielders. Blake always does the best job as far as reading balls in the outfield. The plays he's made in center field have basically saved games for us. His presence and leadership on our team, he's come in to pitch (relief) for us, he's done a nice job there. He's been hitting for average all season, so there's games where he's had a hot bat, driving the ball real well and he doesn't get frustrated, even on the bad days."

Mackie has noticed Wrotenbery and Jackson's playful sides.

"When they're off the field, they have a lot of fun," Wrotenbery said. "He's a kid that keeps the team light off the field, win or lose, he doesn't take things too seriously or take things too hard. He keeps guys from not getting frustrated."

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013 or via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com