Grayson College - Saga Yearbook (Denison, TX)

Page 156 text:

Oulfielders for GCC in- cluded fop row, lL-Rl: Terry Midkiff, Jeff Camp, and Mike Benefield. ln The middle of +he boffom row is 'rhe ofher Viking ou'r- fielder Waller Kenny. Shown wifh Kenny are re- serve inlielders Lee Smifh and Scoff Cook, Nor shown, due 'ro injury, was Frank Sfone. The Vikings scrimmaged Aushn College several fumes during pre season Here Third sacker Rack Barber prepared fo pu? a 'rag on A C runner 4 Rick l lor'ron.

Page 155 text:

451' M sifarnf f, T uv rf ififltf is Coach Charlie Ward's very sTrong piTching sTaTT consisTed of Hopl, IL-Rl: Les SuTTon, Jerry Shaclcleford, Paul Holliday, and STeve PresTridge On The bo Tom row are David Greene, Alan WhiTTield, Larry NuTT, and John Nervberg. Ward Praised SpiriT BuT Worried AbouT DepTh WiTh The largesT schedule ever aT GCC, Coach Charlie Ward and his 20 member squad seT Their sighTs on a successTul spring season. Ward was Taced wiTh many dishearTening problems during The OTT-season buT was enlighTened by The spiriT The Team showed in early going. WiTh no depTh excepT aT piTching, Ward was noT Too opTimisTic abouT his Team's chances againsT Tough conference oppo- nenTs such as Panola and Paris. As The SAGA deadline approached. Ward sTaT- ed ThaT if The squad wenT injury-Tree dur- ing The spring Then There would be a chance Tor a decenT winning record. As Rick Barber awaiTed The piTch, STeve PresTridge Tired a TasTball To caTcher Jim Lucas. This acTion occurred during a pre-season inTra- squad scrimmage.

Page 157 text:

s aHresulT oT Taking Too big of a lead off TirsT base, Viking Alan WhiTTield had To biTe The 1sT in order To avoid a pick-oTT Trom AusTin College's TirsT baseman. WhiTTield was illed saTe on The play as GCC baTTed across eighT runs in The TirsT inning oT This scrim- age. PiTchers Were To Be CounTed On Heavily Being fhe only brighT spoT ThaT Coach Ward could Tind, The piTching sTaTT Tor The Vikings would have To be The back- bone oT The Team. This was a compleTe reversal Trom The year beTore as Ward had a sTrong hiTTing line-up. T-lowever, if The hiTTing should come around, and The piTching sTaTT holds opponenTs, and The deTense holds up, Then The Team could very easily resemble The Dodgers oT The early I96O's when They dominaTed The baseball world wiTh The same TreaTmenT. The Vikings did however have some Tal- enTed hiTTers Tor The spring season. Gary RichTer and Jim Lucas were big STicks Tor The Vikings during The Fall Season. Rick Barber, Bill Clay, WalTer Kenny, and Alan WhiTTield all were hiTTing well when The season-opener was creeping up. , N. Rick Barber and Gary RichTer Trap an AusTin College runner beTween Third and second base. LaTer in The clay RichTer, The Tall season's leading hiTTer, sprained his ankle and would be ouT of The line-up unTil almosT The Time Tor The Vikings' season-opener on February 26. 155