Two teams and six individuals, including four Major League Baseball players, will be inducted into the Lewis-Clark State College Athletic Hall of Fame this spring, LCSC athletic director Gary Picone has announced.
The 1987 baseball and 2000-01 women's basketball teams will be the newest members of the Warrior Hall of Fame in the team category. Many regard the 1987 club as one of, if not the most, dominant team in the baseball program's illustrious history, while the 2000-01 women's basketball team had arguably the best season of any basketball squad at LC State.
"It's a bit overwhelming to think that this quality of class could enter a hall of fame all at the same time," Picone said. "It speaks to the amazing history of LCSC athletics and its success, and it also sets a high standard for future induction classes."
Individual inductees include women's basketball standout Julie Stringer, former LCSC president and men's basketball coach Lee Vickers, and former Warrior Major Leaguers Marvin Benard, Steve Decker, Keith Foulke, and Steve Reed.
"Trying to select individuals from a program that has won 16 national championships is a huge challenge," Picone said about the 2015 baseball inductees. "These four not only distinguish themselves in their LC playing careers, but also went on to have long and outstanding professional baseball careers."
The 2015 class will be honored at the Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony, presented by the Warrior Athletic Association, on April 25. Ticket information and event details will be released at a later date.
The inductees will join legendary baseball coach Ed Cheff, inducted in 2011 at the inaugural event, and 2013 honorees Rosie Howell (Albert), Richard Hannan, Chad Miltenberger, Jim O'Dell, 1984 baseball, and Denny Grubb, in LCSC's Hall of Fame. More information on previous inductees can be found at www.lcwarriors.com/hof.
"With this being only the third induction for the LC Hall of Fame, it is obvious that there are still many, many deserving nominees to come," Picone said. "And so I think the future of the Hall of Fame is exciting and bright."
The 2015 Hall of Fame inductees were selected by the WAA Hall of Fame Council. The Council is composed of members representing LCSC's former coaches, present coaches, former student-athletes, present student-athletes, faculty or staff outside of athletics, athletic staff, the media, and the WAA.
1987 Baseball
Sixteen Warrior baseball teams have won a national championship, but it is hard to argue any team did it in a more dominant fashion than Ed Cheff's 1987 crew. The Warriors went 6-0 during the NAIA World Series, defeating their opponents by an average score of 18-6 to claim the program's third title overall and first of six straight championships.
The 1987 roster set a number of tournament team records, including game highs for runs scored (25 vs. Grand Canyon), hits (24 vs. Southern Arkansas), and RBIs (22 vs. Southern Arkansas). That Warrior team also set tournament marks for most runs (105), hits (102), doubles (26), RBIs (91), total bases (172), walks (58), and highest batting average (.418).
Among the individual records set by members of the 1987 team are single game records for hits (six, Pat Mackey) and at-bats (eight, Duane Church), and tournaments records for runs (21, Rusty Harris), hits (20, Pat Mackey), and highest batting average (.741, Pat Mackey).
On the year, the team went 55-10 and set single season program records in home runs (143) and slugging percentage (.669). The team hit .391 (second highest ever), with six players holding batting averages of .390 or more and eight players with nine or more home runs.
"They did so much," said Picone, "that even with the amazingly high standard of the LCSC baseball program, they were still able to separate themselves from many other great teams in program history."
2000-01 Women's Basketball
With more than 10 season program records to its credit, it's safe to say the 2000-01 women's basketball team was a cut above in a lot of ways. Of all of its accomplishments, though, the team's run in the postseason is what places it above all other basketball squads — men's and women's — at Lewis-Clark State.
After winning the Frontier Conference tournament, the Warriors opened the NAIA National Championship in Jackson, Tenn., as the No. 5 seed and went on to win three games to advance to the quarterfinals — the furthest in program history — where they fell to top-ranked, and eventual national champion, Oklahoma City. LCSC ended the year 33-4 (.892), the most wins in program history.
Program season records set by the Mike Divilbiss-led team include most rebounds (1,510), field goals made (1,062), free throws made (661), 3-pointers made (721), points (3,074), and highest 3-point percentage (40 percent). Brianne Jolley, who led in points and rebounds, earned first team All-American honors, while Alyssa Erickson, Brianne Kottwitz, and Shannon Russel were honorable mentions.
"That women's basketball team clearly set itself apart from other very successful teams," Picone said, "not only by its final four finish, but by their individual achievements."
Julie Stringer
A quick look at the program record book is all it takes to realize that Julie Stringer was one of the best basketball players to don a Warrior uniform. A native of Bundaberg, Australia, Stringer played four seasons at Lewis-Clark State from 1989-93, and many of the program records she set still stand more than 20 years later.
The 5-foot-11 wing holds the record for most points in a season with 794, which is 175 points more than the next-highest total, and the season mark for field goals made with 308, which is 78 more than any other LCSC player. She is the only player in program history to score 40 points or more in a game — and she did it three times, reaching a program best 44 points against Seattle University to crack the 2,000-career-points plateau on Feb. 6, 1993.
In career numbers, she ranks first in field goals made (842), second in points (2,229), third in field goal percentage (.547), third in steals (314), third in 3-point percentage (42 percent), fifth in free throws made (385), sixth in assists (404), sixth in 3-pointers (160), sixth in blocks (61), and eighth in rebounds (657).
Stringer also holds single-game records for field goals (19) and free throws (16), and season records for field goals (308) and field goal percentage (62 percent).
As a senior, she earned first team NAIA All-American honors after ranking second in the nation with 27.4 points per game. Stringer scored more than 10 points in all 29 of the team's games that year and recorded 12 double-doubles. She was an honorable mention All-American as a junior and sophomore.
Lee Vickers
In his 23 years at LCSC, Lee Vickers served as men's basketball coach, an academic dean, and vice president, however, his 16 years as president are what left an indelible mark on the institution and helped lay a solid foundation from which success has grown.
During his administration from 1978-94, Vickers' many accomplishments included the building of the Library in the early 1990s and hosting, and keeping, the NAIA World Series in Lewiston. Perhaps most importantly, he took a school that closed in the '50s and gradually lifted it, with some opposition, to such status that it made the idea of Idaho without Lewis-Clark State unthinkable.
During his tenure, the athletic department saw unprecedented growth in the number of varsity sports, the number of student-athletes, and the number of titles won. Along with baseball, with Vickers' backing, student-athletes in men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball, and tennis all began to find success both on the playing field and in the classroom.
And although he wasn't around to see the Activity Center completed in 2005, Vickers is also credited with laying the groundwork to secure the funding to build the new multipurpose gymnasium.
"Over my 25 years here, Lee Vickers has had as important an impact on LCSC as anybody," said Picone, who served many years under Vickers as both a coach and athletic director. "Vickers allowed for us to create a model for athletics that is pretty unique at small schools. And this model has permitted us to have the kind of success that we have had — not only on the playing field but also in the classroom. If you told me to name the two most influential people in the history of LCSC, I'd say Ed Cheff and Lee Vickers."
Marvin Benard
After two standout seasons at LCSC, Marvin Benard went on to forge what could be argued was the most successful Major League Baseball career of any Warrior position player. During his nine years in the big leagues, all with the San Francisco Giants, the left-handed outfielder played in 891 games, hitting .271 in his career with 105 stolen bases, 714 hits, 54 home runs, 138 doubles, 21 triples, 441 runs scored, and 260 runs batted in.
The product of Mina Rosita, Nicaragua, was selected by the Giants in the 50th round of the 1992 draft and made his Major League debut on Sept. 5, 1995. One of his best seasons came in 1999, when he earned the Giants' Willie McCovey Award after batting .290 with 16 homers and 27 stolen bases. That year, Benard, who usually hit from the leadoff spot, ranked 18th in the National League in stolen bases, 19th in triples (5), and 21st in doubles (36). He was added to the Giants' Wall of Fame in 2011.
To date, there have been 596 50th-round picks in the history of the MLB Draft, and only seven, including Benard, have appeared in an MLB game.
Benard came to the Warriors from Los Angeles Harbor College and helped lead the program to two national championships, including its record sixth straight title in 1992. As a senior that year, he scored 88 runs and stole 24 bases, which ranks eighth and 10th, respectively, in program history.
Steve Decker
Steve Decker holds the unique claim as the only Warrior alum to have established a successful career as both a player and coach in professional baseball. In all, he has spent more than two decades in pro ball and is considered by many to have a good chance of managing in the big leagues one day. He is currently in his third season as the San Francisco Giants' Coordinator of Minor League Instruction and Hitting.
A hardworking catcher, Decker was drafted in the 21st round of the 1988 draft by the Giants and rose quickly through the Minors to make his big league debut on Sept. 18, 1990. The native of River Grove, Ill., ended up playing seven seasons in the Majors over the course of nine years as a member of the Giants, Marlins, Rockies, and Angels. In 263 games and 688 big league at-bats, he hit .231 with 13 homers, 21 doubles, and 72 RBIs.
Decker's coaching career began as a hitting coach for the Giants in 2001-04 before being named the manager of the Short-Season A club in Salem-Keizer in 2005. He spent three seasons there, earning Northwest League Manager of the Year each season and winning titles in 2006 and 2007.
Decker was then promoted and led the Class A Advanced San Jose Giants to an 88-55 mark in 2008, the best record in the California League, before taking the Connecticut Defenders to the Class AA Eastern League finals in 2009. After this, Decker was named manager of the Fresno Grizzlies, the Giants' Triple-A affiliate at the time and now an affiliate of the Houston Astros, and led them to a 140-148 record over two years.
Decker, a 1987 transfer from Triton Junior College, played two seasons with the Warriors and won two national titles in the process, recording the final out with Major League pitcher Steve Reed both times. He hit .383 with nine homers as a junior, and then .397 with 13 home runs to earn NAIA All-American honors as a senior.
Keith Foulke
As the only Warrior to be named an MLB All-Star, and the only one to have won a World Series title, Keith Foulke's career stands out among the 16 big leaguers in Lewis-Clark State's history.
Drafted in the ninth round of the 1994 draft by the San Francisco Giants, the right-handed closer's Major League career spanned 11 seasons. It culminated with an All-star season with Oakland in 2003, and a World Series Championship with Boston in 2004. Foulke was on the mound when the final out of 2004 World Series was made as he induced Edgar Renteria of the St. Louis Cardinals to hit a come-backer to the mound, which he flipped to first to clinch the Red Sox' first title since 1918.
For his career, Foulke pitched 619 games and 786 innings, tallying 227 saves, 718 strikeouts to 194 walks, an ERA of .333, a WHIP of 1.08, and a record of 41-37. He led the American League with 43 saves in 2003, and ranked in the season top 25 in major statistical categories 15 other times.
Foulke, who transferred to LCSC from Galveston College, played one year for the Warriors in 1994, and his name is listed more than once in the program record books. For single-season marks, he is tied for sixth in innings pitched (111), tied for ninth in strikeouts (94), and tied for 19th in wins as he went 10-3.
Steve Reed
With two NAIA championships to his name and 14 years in the big leagues, Steve Reed's baseball resume is, without question, one of the best in the hallowed history of the Lewis-Clark State College program.
A submarine-style relief pitcher, Reed went undrafted after his two years at LCSC, but signed a free agent contract with the Giants in 1988. Four years later, he made his Major League debut on August 30, 1992, and wound up playing in the big leagues until 2005. In what was the longest MLB career of any Warrior, the Los Angeles, Calif., native appeared in 833 games and 870 innings. He notched 630 strikeouts and 63 saves, while establishing an ERA of 3.63 and a WHIP of 1.26.
While playing for nine different teams, Reed was a workhorse out of the bullpen, topping 60 appearances in a season 11 times in his career. He led the National League with 61 appearances for Colorado in 1994. Two of his best seasons came in 1995 with Colorado when he had a 2.14 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 71 games with the Rockies, and in 2002 when he had a 2.01 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 64 appearances with the Padres and Mets.
A transfer from Moorpark Junior College, Reed played for the Warriors in 1987 and 1988, compiling a career record of 13-4 and helping lead the team to two NAIA World Series titles. He is believed to be the only pitcher in NAIA history to have been on the mound for the final out of two title games, and he did it with the same catcher — fellow LCSC Hall of Fame inductee — Steve Decker.