SCOREBOARD 1987 AIC BASEBALL TEAM RESUL'IS Southern Arkansas Univ ...... 25-1 Arkansas Tech University .. . 17-11 Henderson State Univ. . .. ... 17-11 Harding University .. . ..... 15-13 University of Central Ark . ... 15-13 Ouachita Baptist University .. .8-20 College of the Ozarks .... .... 7-19 Univ . of Ark. at Monticello .. .. 6-22 The final year. Coach Dick Johnson reviews a baseball roster before practice. Since Johnston oos planning to retire after this season, Steve Smith, of the Math and Computers Department, took over as head baseball coach. - photo by Bill Tripp. 124 Athletics Baseball ' he 1987 Harding Bisons played a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde season, stumbling through the first half of the season compiling a 3-8 record. But Coach Dick Johnson found the right formula and finished the season 12-6. Their strong finish tied them for fourth in the conference and a coin toss sent them to the district playoffs. Unfortunately, the Bisons opened district play against top-ranked Southern Arkansas. SAU dropped Harding to the loser's bracket in a close game. The Bisons went on to hammer Henderson State behind the strength of a solo home run by freshman David Kreis , 13-12 .. In the loser's bracket finals , the..tired arms of the Bison pitchers couldn't stop the Arkansas Tech offense as the Wonder Boys ended the Bison's season, 7-5. Looking back over the season one couldn't help but be opt~istic about the team's future. The season ended with seven Bison rookies in the lineup. It was unusual for such a young team that had never played together to win consistently at the college level. Harding replaced only two regulars from the 'g-/ squad. Unfortunately they were Barry Jones and James Mayes, probably the team's two best players. Jones, a senior from Bono, AR, was the Bison's MVP and a member of the All-AIC and All-District squads. The big first baseman led the team with 22 RBis and hit for a .348 average. Mayes, a pitcher from Searcy, ended the year with a 6-4 record. He totaled 22 career victories over his four-year career, a record in recent Harding history. Jones reflected on the year saying, "I thought we would be one of the league's weaker teams since we lost so many key players from the '86 team which won the district tournament . But some things went our way and we found ourselves at district again." Anchoring the Bison infield were second baseman Daron London and third baseman Perry Parr. Both brought their solid gloves back for the '88 season. Parr also featured a powerful bat, hammering four homers and knocking in fifteen RBis in ''if!. ''Although we have a young ball club, we fared well against some experienced teams;' said Parr. "I feel we have the full potential to win the AIC in the next coming years." Harding was well represented in the AIC AllStar game in Little Rock. Participating Bisons were Jones, Mayes, London, pitcher Marty Spears, outfielder Dennis Mitchell, and Parr, who banged a single off the center field wall . - Tom Hull Baseball team. Front row: Barnes, Ellsworth, B. Harrell, Edwards, Hull, D. Harrell , Byrd, Organ, Kinser. Second row: Rose, DePew, Cooper, Hicks, Martin, Passemore, Kodat, London, Cheshire. Back row: Jones - assistant coach, Mays - assistant coach, McGaha, Parr, Bossing, Parsons, Spears, Labus, Mitchell, Johnson - coach . - photo by Ken Bissell.
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