INA, Ill. (April 9, 2024) — The welcome mat will be out Saturday evening, April 20, at 5:30 on the Ina campus for the 23rd Class of the Rend Lake College Sports Hall of Fame, with well-deserved recognition to be centered on three individuals and one team. The 2024 inductees feature . . .

A youthful, first-time head coach who would enjoy success with the Warriors which helped kick-start a 34-year career mentoring up-and-coming pitching prospects for the Chicago White Sox organization.

The longest-serving coach in Warrior history in a single sport, whose players and teams consistently brought national (as well as international) acclaim to the program.

The youngster of the bunch, who played like a veteran from Day One for the Lady Warriors, smashing home runs at a record pace while making friends along the way and raking in a prestigious National Junior College Athletic Association Marucci Elite Hitter Award.

A talent-rich baseball squad which came within one win of achieving a first-ever appearance in the NJCAA World Series before saying goodbye to a lineup which boasted three professional prospects who played a total of 16 seasons for pay and 14 others who continued their college careers at the four-year level.

Meet, in order . . .

• Men’s Golf Coach Dave Smith (1989-2011 / 2013-19)
• Baseball Coach Kirk Champion (1981-85)
• Softball standout Breya Cooper (2015-17)
• The 1996-97 Baseball team coached by Rich Campbell, with spring-only 39-19 credentials, capped by Section Tournament and Region XXIV Tournament titles prior to opening the Great Lakes District with a win over host Triton in the Chicago suburbs before dropping a 2-1 and 8-4 decisions to powerhouse Indian Hills (IA), when a win in either one would have propelled them to the World Series.

Campbell entered the Hall as an individual in 2017, eight years after Warrior standout Dan DeMent, who spent the past two summers as the Assistant Hitting Coach for the MLB Toronto Blue Jays.

Their inclusion grows membership ranks to 60 individuals and 14 teams, in addition to four track and field relay quartets, since charter members were inducted in 2000.

Reservations to join the honored guests are required by April 12 at a cost of $25 per person for the catered event. To do so, contact the Athletic Department at (618) 437-5677, Ext. 1250, or by email to oxford@rlc.edu or wills@rlc.edu.

The purpose of the RLC Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize those individuals and/or teams who, through leadership, character and accomplishments, have made exceptional contributions to the honor and prestige of Rend Lake College, as well as Mt. Vernon Community College, in the field of athletics and who have continued to demonstrate the values learned through participation in intercollegiate athletics in their daily lives.

Coach Dave Smith | Men’s Golf | (1989-2011 / 2013-19)

RLC Men’s Golf and Coach Dave Smith are synonymous. What more needs to be said? Save for a 2 1/2- year hiatus after 2010-11, the Welding Technology Professor-turned-Golf Guru oversaw Warrior action from tee-to-green between 1989-90 and Spring 2019, when the fairways of sunny Florida and retirement lured “Coach” and wife Wendy – former RLC Business Office Controller/Accountant – away.

Golf is an individual sport, and the protégés he recruited are all the proof he needs for his inevitable in- duction into the Sports Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility . . .

• Matt Armstrong (HOF Class of Spring 2003), First-Team All-America after finishing fourth individually and leading the upstart Warriors to a second-place finish behind defending champion Tyler (TX) Jr. College in the school’s first-ever appearance in any National Junior College Athletic Association finals. That team was inducted into the RLC Hall at the same time, the first team to be so recognized.

• Jace Bugg (HOF Class of Fall 2003), First-Team All-America after finishing third overall as a sophomore. The year before, he won the Long Drive contest and placed 22nd as an individual at Nationals. A month after his Juco career ended, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Championships, where he was beaten by a foe who was eliminated the prior year by Tiger Woods. Tragically, he was a month or so away from qualifying for his PGA Tour card after winning tournaments on the Canadian Tour and the Buy.com Tour when sidelined by leukemia. He died 13 months later, less than two months after his father accepted his Hall plaque on his behalf.

• LeRoy David Griffin (HOF Class of 2016), First-Team All-America who remains the one and only . . . NJCAA Division II Individual Medalist (2009); NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-America (3.96 GPA); Ping All-American; RLC 2008-09 Male Scholar-Athlete; Callaway Arnold Palmer Award; Golf Coaches Assn. of America Second-Team All-America.

• JR Conkle (HOF Class of 2023), Second-Team All-America who Smith credits for convincing Armstrong to transfer to Rend Lake College for his sophomore season and would go on to finish runner-up in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament as a Murray State University senior.

According to Conkle, “I played at Murray without their coach even seeing me hit a ball. Every bit of that I have Dave to thank for; I’d never even had a lesson before coming to RLC. I owe everything golf-wise to Dave.

"Dave was my coach,” he added, but much more than that said the longtime school administrator who got his degree from MSU in Physical Education and Health Administration at the advice of Smith. “Dave has always talked to me about the importance of other ‘life’ things like that. To me, he is a lot more than just a Golf Coach.”

Golfer-turned-Attorney-turned-Board Member Bryan Drew, one of the mainstays on the ’95 National runner-up HOF team, echoes those sentiments. “He was a good coach, but far more than that really. He was more than a coach to a lot of guys.”

Smith’s inclusion as one of 50 Influencers in the special RLC publication, Celebrating the Past, Shaping the Future - 1967-2017, noted: “One of those storied coaches to build a tradition of success both on an off the competitive field . . . Dave established one of the most prolific RLC sports dynasties and continues to be a staple in many Warrior lives.”

Half of his teams advanced to the NJCAA D-II Tournament, with all but one of those qualifiers finishing in the Top Ten, including eight in succession from 1995 to 2002. The 2004-05 contingent matched Armstrong & Friends, taking runner-up to Dalton (GA) College.

The spring after losing only to Tyler, Smith’s gang trailed Tyler and second-place Lansing (MI) C.C., which edged the Warriors by two strokes. Other impressive showings came in Spring ’97 and 2000 (fifth); ’98 and ’99 (sixth); ’19 (seventh); ’10 (ninth), and ’01, ’02, ’06 and ’18 (10th). Rend Lakers were 15th in ’08.

Eight Warrior teams headed by Smith captured Region XXIVTournament championships – 1994-95; ’95- 96 (as well as six of eight other fall tournaments); ’96-97 (plus seven of eight others); ’97-98; ’98-99 (plus five of six others); ’99-2000 (plus six of nine others); ’00-01 (plus five others); ’05-06 (plus seven of eight others). He was cited as Region XXIV “Coach of the Year” each season. Eight other teams were Region XXIV runner-up.

Two other Warriors were First-Team All-America following their NJCAA showings – Jared Harp, third in ’10, and Matt Walton, fifth in ’11.

Second-Team All-America was bestowed on Jack Pring (sixth in ’19); Brian Kolmer (seventh, ’99) and John Singleton (seventh, ’05); Andy Teslow (eighth, ’01); Jeremy Reidelberger (ninth, ’99); Jeremy May (12th, ’96) and Conkle (13th, ’96).

Dave Bornack (11th, ’98) and Chad Cooper (12th, ’03) rated Third-Team All-America status.

Matt Greenfield (’15) was named Golf Coaches Association Ping D-II All-America.

Nine of his scholar-athletes earned NJCAA Academic All-America status, headed by Distinguished Academic recognition for Griffin and Ryan Keller (3.92 GPA in ’09). Others were Second- or Third-Team honorees – Dawson Brown (3.91 in ’19); Kyler Spencer (3.90 in ’17); Sean Scott (3.89 in ’17 and 3.85 in ’18); Harp (3.71 in ’10); Travis Waninger (3.69 in ’14), and Pring (3.64 in ’18).

NJCAA Academic All-America honors likewise were bestowed on two teams – in 2013-14, thanks to a composite 3.19 GPA, and in ’15-16 (3.03 GPA).

Smith also witnessed other outstanding individual performances by his players in the NJCAA D-II Finals. Mike Carr was the First Round leader in ’97 after posting a round of one-under 71. Chad Penman was named All-Tournament thanks to the Third Round low of 71 he recorded in ’98, en route to a 17th-place finish overall. Brandon Auld was credited with a hole-in-one during Second Round play in ’96; the year before, when Armstrong led the way to the initial runner-up showing, Auld placed 17th and May was 20th.

International impression? In 2014, former Warrior John Singleton (’05) qualified for a berth in the prestigious 143rd British Open played in his native United Kingdom, missing the cut by two strokes at Royal Liverpool Golf Course in Hoylake, England. His Juco mentor was there to cherish every memory.

Former players known to have continued their careers at the four-year level also include Craig Zinzilieta (’91), Southeast Missouri State; Armstrong (Mississippi and professionally); Brian Drew (’95), St. Louis University; Scott Johnson (’95), Jacksonville (FL); May, Western Illinois; John Raski III (’96), Southern Illinois-Carbondale; Brandon Bullard (’99), SIUC; Kolmer (2000), SIUC; Chad Cooper (’03), SIUC; Griffin, South Florida; Harp, SIUC; Matt Walton (’11), U. of Cumberlands (KY); Josh Harp (’12), Illinois-Springfield, and Zach Holland (’12), Eastern Illinois.

Holland carded seven birdies, including five in a row, to set the Warrior record-low round with his 65 in the Benedictine Invite en route to winning the two-day Spring 2011 event; his score was one stroke under the previous best shared by Armstrong and Bugg.

Smith was a leader off the course as well. In 2000, he was elected to a two-year term as Vice-President for the NJCAA Coaches Association - Division II Golf, followed by two years as that organization’s President. He served as Chair for the Region XXIV Golf Committee from 1997-2006.

Coach Kirk Champion | Baseball | (1981-85)

The right man. At the right time. At the right place.

His induction into the RLC Sports Hall of Fame is further proof Rend Lake College and first-year Athletic Director Mitch Haskins made a wise choice when they took a chance on a 23-year-old, Kirk Champion, to be the Warriors Baseball Head Coach.

“Champ” was hired just five days before the start of the Fall 1981 campaign, following the unexpected departure of beloved 10-year veteran Mike McClure (RLC Sports HOF Charter Member), who stepped down so he would no longer have to recruit following a serious automobile accident on one such trip.

His coaching tenure on the Ina campus was much too brief – four years – but he certainly left his mark before departing for the top assistant role to esteemed Southern Illinois University Coach Itchy Jones, followed by a 34-year career mentoring professional prospects for the Chicago White Sox organization.

The Warriors were entering into a new era, preparing to join a new, expanded Great Rivers Athletic Conference and offering athletic scholarships for the first time.

Champion inherited a freshman-dominated squad which dropped its first four games before completing the fall campaign with eight wins in 14 games. Five four-year transfers strengthened the squad prior to Spring ’82, but immediate improvement was not evident until the Warriors captured a SectionVIII Tournament crown with hard-earned victories over WabashValley (3-2), John A. Logan (4-2), Kaskaskia (6-5) and Kaskaskia again (3-1) to advance to a first-ever Region IV (State) Tournament appearance.

His next three squads – bolstered by recruiting – produced wins at a .675 clip (38-24, 47-16 and 52-26). Overall, RLC was 164-114 during his tenure.

Champ & Co. were runner-up in Year One of the GRAC, won the league with a 13-3 slate in Fall ’83 and were second again in his final try.

In Warrior annals, despite the losing mark in his inaugural season, his .590 winning percentage ranks No. 4 overall, and he is No. 5 in wins among 11 mentors after 57 seasons.

Among his Assistant Coaches were his successor, Paul Evans, the last two years; brother Keith Champion (Fall ’82), who is an Advance Scout for the MLB Giants organization, and Keith Guttin (Spring ’82), who would succeed Rowe as Head Coach at Missouri State in Fall ’83. Guttin enters the 2024 season, his last before retiring, with 1,373 victories, second-most among active NCAA head coaches and 12th overall. He took the Bears to the 2003 D-I College World Series and was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

A highlight of his four-year stay was one of the most successful fund-raisers in Rend Lake College history . . . “A Night to Remember,” the big-time hit on January 24, 1985 which attracted 600 area baseball fans to share time with featured guest Tommy Lasorda, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinal legend Stan “The Man” Musial and Champion buddies George Vukovich of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cub centerfielder Bob Dernier.

Six of his players signed professional contracts – Pitcher Bill Clossen (’84), a Third Round draft pick by the Braves who later played in theYankees organization; Infielder/Outfielder Todd Herrenbruck (’84), 19th Round by the Phillies, and free agent signees Pitcher Jeff Barton (’83) with the Phillies/Cardinals, Outfielder Tommy White (’83) with the Tigers, Infielder Rick Daily (’84) with the Tigers and Catcher Ron Hoerner (’85) with the Cards after playing for Missouri-St. Louis.

Clossen led the nation in Spring ’84 with 2.02 strikeouts per inning, according to final NJCAA statistics.

RLC players between 1982 and 1986 who played for Champion before moving on to four-year programs – Class of ’82 - P Kevin Keister (SW Missouri St.), OF Mike McQuality (Missouri Southern St.) and Inf/OF Paul Huckaby (Missouri Western St.); Class of ’83 - P Tom Fulkerson (SW Missouri St.), 1B Pete Serrano (Missouri-St. Louis / Career Batting Average record-setter at .430 and UMSL HOF 2010 inductee), SS Jim McGuire (Cumberland), P Paul Saikia (SIUC), P Bub Anderson (Indiana), P Stacy Sims (Austin Peay St.), 2B Todd Miller (SIU-Edwardsville), OF Bryon Garland (Indiana St.-Evansville) and C Bill Slavens (Cumberland).

Also, Class of ’84 – OF Bill Goedde (SW Missouri St.), 3B Steve Bluemner (SIUE), P Matt Smith (SIUE), P Cody Ashton (Southeast Missouri St.), Joe Radetic (SEMO), OF Mark Simmons (SEMO) and C Jason Brown (Southwestern Oklahoma St.); Class of ’85 – Inf Doug Wilson (SIUC), Inf Tom Doyle (Indiana St.), P Kevin Stalker (Eastern Washington), P Leon Ambrose (Old Dominion) and Inf Tommy Wood (MacMurray); Class of ’86 – 2B Rick Gaebe (SIUC); P/1B Cliff McIntosh (SIUC), Inf Tim Dressler (Missouri), P Bobby Beard (Quincy), OF Joe Humeston (Cumberland) and P Doug Ridner (Cumberland).

Coaching at the college level was merely the beginning for a career baseball guy.

“Champ” was hired in 1989 by the Chicago White Sox organization to be the Pitching Coach for the Class A South Bend White Sox. Promotions thereafter took him to Class A-Advanced Sarasota in ’92, the Class AA Birmingham Barons from ’93-96 and the Triple-A Nashville Sounds in ’96, when he shared the dugout (and area golf courses) with “retired” NBA great and baseball rookie Michael Jordan. He remained with the AAA club when it became the Calgary Cannons in ’98 and the Charlotte Knights (’99-2002).

Meanwhile, he found time to be the World Team Pitching Coach for the 2000 All-Star Futures Game as well as for the International League Team at the Triple-A All-Star Game.

From 2003-2011, the former Warrior boss served as the White Sox Minor League Pitching Coordinator; White Sox Minor League Field Coordinator, ’12-16; Director of Minor League Instruction, 2017, and Chicago’s Director of Minor League Pitching Instruction from 2018 until his retirement.

There is more. He was the U.S. National Pitching Coach for the 2001, ’09 and ’11 Baseball World Cups, the ’08 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the ’11 Pan American Games and the Pitching Coach for the U.S. Team in the 2016 All-Star Futures Game. In his “spare time,” he coached pitchers in the Venezuelan Winter League three of the four seasons between 1990-93.

A three-sport letter winner for Granite City South High School, he walked on at SIU and played three seasons for the Salukis before completing his degree at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield while serving as an Assistant Coach under Rowe.

Hall-of-Fame status moves Kirk into familiar territory to his father, “Babe” Champion, a three-time HOF inductee as a baseball coach, highly regarded sports official for 37 years and scout for the Philadelphia Phillies. His mother worked for the Granite City Parks and Recreation Dept. Older brother Brett worked in athletic departments for SIUC and Wichita State.

Breya Cooper | Softball | (2015-17)

Lady Warrior Softball Coach Dave Ellingsworth guided his charges to 949 wins in 27 seasons, the latter cut short by COVID in 2020 after just 10 games. Prior to Cooper, seven of his players have garnered admission to the RLC Sports Hall of Fame, not to mention the 1995-96 team which claimed Section and Region XXIV titles to earn a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association National Fast-Pitch Championships, finishing ninth out of 16 qualifiers, 46-21 overall and was welcomed into the HOF in 2009.

I.e., he is a pretty fair judge of talent and character, to say the least. And here is his assessment of the 2020 honoree, a native of Henderson, KY who played her last two prep campaigns and was an All-American for the Hamilton County Lady Foxes under Ellingsworth’s former Assistant Coach, Dennis Johnson . . .

“What a great young lady! A great teammate; all of her teammates loved her. She was a participant both years in our Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a straight-A student. Just a really good person.”

If possible, statistical credentials for the powerful left-handed slugging outfielder make an even stronger case for the Class of ’24 Hall-of-Famer.

Cooper bashed a career record 36 home runs, split between seasons which led to team marks of 37-17-1 and 37-21. She was recipient of the NJCAA Marucci Elite Hitter Award for Region XXIV after hitting .494 as a freshman, 12th-best among all Juco Division I players. She was 84-for-170 at the plate as a newcomer, with 72 runs scored, 66 runs batted in, 13 doubles, three triples and 17 home runs. Add to that 25 walks, a .557 on-base percentage and .906 slugging percentage. Opponents managed to strike her out just 12 times in 201 total plate appearances.

The standout refused to let a knee injury slow her down much the following spring, when she posted a .404 batting average (74-183), .498 OBP and .787 SLG. That included 61 runs scored, 78 RBI, 13 doubles, 19 home runs and 28 bases on balls to go along with six steals in seven attempts.

The two-time All-Great Rivers Athletic Conference and All-Region XXIV honoree averaged .448 during her career. The Lady Warriors were third in 10-team GRAC standings with a 21-11 record in ’15-16, fourth at 21-12 in ’16-17.

She also played basketball her first year on campus.

Her effort in the classroom was recognized with NJCAA Academic All-America Second Team status as a sophomore thanks to a 3.91 grade-point average.

Cooper played her last two collegiate seasons for Eastern Illinois University.

Team & Coach Rich Campbell | Baseball | 1996-97

The 1996-97 Baseball Team followed the blueprint established by Warrior predecessors in 1985-86 to find a way for admission into the RLC Sports Hall of Fame. Unfortunately. Surely no one convinced Coach Rich “Soup” Campbell & Friends they needed to have a successful regular season, capture Section and Region XXIV Tournament championships and come within just one more win in the Great Lakes District Tournament to reach the NJCAA Division I World Series for the first time.

Yet that is exactly what happened – again! – and now they are joining the 2006 inductees as the third diamond dandies to gain HOF entry. In-between the near-identical twins, the 1973-74 nine entered in 2016 thanks to a Southern Illinois College Conference title which led to No. 2 state and No. 20 national rankings.

Welcoming the Gang of ’96-97 with open arms will be HOF Spring Class of 2009 Inductee Dan DeMent and HOF Class of 2017 Inductee Coach Campbell.

A freshman-laden squad started its Spring ’97 campaign 7-0 and put together an eight-game winning streak to up the record to 16-3. But a win in the regular-season finale was needed to snap a five-game losing skid and leave the Rend Lakers with 32-16 credentials entering post-season play.

Then the real fun began. A loss to Southeastern Illinois, 8-6, in the Sectional opener? No sweat. The offensive-minded Warriors scored six runs in the first and crushed host Wabash Valley, 11-1, behind a 10-hit assault led by First Baseman Chris Hargett, who was 3-3 with a home run and three RBI; Second Baseman DeMent, 2-4, 3 runs scored; Outfielder Jeff Houston, HR and 2 RBI, and Infielder Jacob Wallace, triple and 3 RBI. Eric Asbury improved his record to 10-1 with a six-inning complete game; two singles in the fourth were the only hits he allowed.

RLC got revenge in Game 3 versus SIC with another 11-1 verdict, this one in five innings thanks to a 13-hit attack and a complete game four-hitter (all singles) from Ryan Spille. Third Sacker Corey Cinnamon was 3-3 with two doubles, Shortstop Dan Firlit was 3-4 and three-run homers were provided by Hargett and Wallace.

The Sectional trophy came with a 16-8 thumping of Wabash Valley, but not before the WVC Warriors closed to within 9-8. And a season-high 20 hits led by DeMent, 4-5, 3 RBI; Hargett, 4-5; Outfielder Chris Beggs, 3-5, 5 RBI, and Houston, 3 RBI. Round-trippers came from DeMent in the eighth, Beggs in the ninth and Houston. Greg Sprehn hurled the first five innings for the win, with Adam Biggs allowing one hit over three innings for the save.

Rend Lake College swept through the top two teams in the GRAC to claim Region XXIV honors on enemy territory in Carterville. Second-place John A. Logan fell 7-6 in 11 innings in Game One, followed by 9-5 and 25-9! thumpings of regular-season champ Belleville Area.

Campbell and Assistant Coach Todd Venters watched their charges drop 18 hits on rival John A., then a mere 11 and a season-best 28 to eliminate BAC. In the finale, the Warriors accepted 10 bases on balls to go along with those 28 hits and scored in every inning save for the ninth.

Logan took a 6-4 lead with four runs in the eighth of their opener, only to have RLC rally to tie it in the ninth on hits by DeMent, Houston, Cinnamon and Outfielder Beau Parton and win it in the 11th on a lead-off homer by Hargett. Beggs went 4-for-6 with 3 RBI, Hargett 3-5 with 3 RS.

In the first of two Ws over Belleville Area, the Good Guys led 5-3 before scoring four more runs in the seventh. Biggs was credited with the complete-game mound win, with Catcher Mike Thompson and Cinnamon contributing three hits each.

The victors garnered the Region spoils thanks in large part to a nine-run third inning and six more in the sixth. Some impressive credentials: Thompson, 5-8, HR, 6 RBI; Wallace, 4-6, 4 RS; DeMent 4-6, 3 RS; Firlit, 4-7, 4 RS; Cinnamon, 3-6, and Parton 3-7, just to name a few.

The 38-17 Warriors were headed to the Chicago suburbs – River Grove – and another attempt at a Great Lakes District title. Oh, yes, and that first-ever World Series pass.

Sophomore Biggs guaranteed his spot in the Record Book with a 1.99 Career ERA and improved to 8-3 with a complete-game, 8-2 triumph over host Triton. The downstate reps led 2-0 before scoring 5 runs in the sixth, capped by a bases-loaded double from Firlit. Only one of Triton’s runs were earned. Firlit, Houston and Wallace contributed two hits each, with a total of 4 RBIs from Firlit. So far, so good.

The heart-breaker this time was Game Two against national powerhouse Indian Hills (IA), a 2-1 decision. The Warriors were limited to four hits but finally broke through with two out in the top of the ninth thanks to an RBI double from Cinnamon, before leaving the tying run on third and the potential go-ahead run at first. Spille was the hard-luck loser, going the distance and facing just five players over the minimum; only one of the runs against him was earned and he whiffed eight. Southpaw mound foe Josh Kalinowski struck out 13.

Needing a win the next day to force a second game and advance, the Warriors got a two-run HR from Hargett in the first, a lead-off homer by Parton in the fourth and a one-out blast in the fifth by DeMent to forge a 4-0 lead. Indian Hills, held to one hit through five innings, broke through in the sixth (no) thanks to six unearned runs. DeMent’s 3-for-5 swansong was not enough to prevent the Iowa Warriors from advancing. Indian Hills would finish fifth in the nation with a 43-15 record.

DeMent (Devil Rays / Nationals), Firlit (Cardinals) and Spille (Blue Jays) signed pro contracts. DeMent played eight seasons professionally, reaching the AAA level twice including 56 games when he batted .313 for the Nats New Orleans affiliate before turning to coaching. He was a Minor League Hitting Coach 11 years and Hitting Coordinator two more serving as an Assistant Hitting Coach for the MLB Tampa Bay Rays the past two summers. Biggs is in the RLC Record Book along with DeMent, who is No. 1 all-time with 16 triples in ’96-97 and 29 overall.

Firlit would spend five seasons in the minors, incuding the better part of one season with the AA El Paso Chihuahuas. Spille’s last of three seasons was pitching for the AA Tennessee Smokies.

Seventeen players went on to play at the four-year level. Class of ’97 – Biggs (Southern Illinois-Carbondale); Spille (Southeast Missouri St.); P Jason Kern (SEMO); Hargett (Union College); Beggs (Union); Thompson (Arkansas-Little Rock). Class of ’98 – DeMent (Alabama-Birmingham); Houston (SIUC); Firlit (Southwest Missouri St.); Hargett (Louisville); P Chris Gray (Murray St.); P Brad Turner (Ball State); P Chris Bernard (Southwest Baptist); Cinnamon (Union); Asbury (Kentucky State); Inf Kris Ferrell (Indiana U.-Southeast) and Parton (Tiffin).

The ’96-97 Warriors averaged .319 thanks largely to DeMent at .408; Beggs, .368; Cinnamon, .361; Hargett, .336; Houston, .321; Wallace, .320; SS Matt Click, .316, and Firlit, .310. Other leaders . . . RBIs – Hargett 57, DeMent and Houston 56, Cinnamon 46, Parton and Thompson 35; HRs – Houston 12, Hargett 10; Runs Scored – DeMent 73, Hargett 55, Houston 53, Cinnamon 50, Firlit 47, Parton 44, OF Jaimie Kitson 41; SB – Beggs 17; BB – Hargett 50. Pitching Leaders – Asbury, 10-1, 2.22 ERA, 9 CG; Biggs, 8-3, 1.73 ERA, 7 CG, 108 Ks, 109.1 IP; Sprehn, 8-4; Spille, 7-5, 7 CG, 101 Ks, 103.2 IP.

Other contributors to the Spring success were RP Tim Gaddis and C Jay Pursell.

Campbell was recognized as Region XXIV “Coach of the Year” following his team’s 39-19 run.

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