Clarinda A's Baseball

In 1990 the A's had a up and down season, but a strong second half saw them finish 44-22 by winning 31 of their last 37 games, including three of four over Liberal BeeJays (the overall league champions) and a four game sweep of Amarillo. Clarinda won nine of their final eleven Jayhawk League contests to move into the middle of the standings after falling near the bottom early in the year. Injuries and family problems cut into the roster, going through three shortstops, two second basemen and losing two of the team's top hurlers just before the national tourney with Chuck Craver and Paul Allen going down with bad elbows. Leading the offense for the summer was a trio of returnees, Mark Saugstad of Cal State Riverside and a pair of St Mary's College players, James Mouton and Chris Koeper. Saugstad batted .355 for the season and led the team in RBI (67), doubles (15) and homeruns (16). Mouton finished at .351 and led the team in hits (78), triples (7) and in stolen bases (55). Koeper hit .356, highest of any regular, was second in triples (6) and homeruns (9). Craver was the top pitcher with an 8-3 record showing a fine 2.10 ERA. Mike Copple, primarily a relife pitcher who had 6 saves and a 3-0 mark, compiled a sparkling 1.71 ERA. In 31.6 innings of work, he walked only seven batters. Ted Hebert, also a relief pitcher a relief pitcher who reported late due to surgery put up a fine 1.94 ERA. Eric Stonecipher had the best won-loss record at 8-2, led the team in innings pitched and recorded 76 SO in those 77 innings. He finished with a good 3.27 ERA.
1991 A's got an A rating from their manager for getting the most out of what they were dealt through the season. Eberly credited his coaching staff, Rick Eberly, Matt Laiolo, Curt Lantz, Ryan Eberly and Paul Homrig, for their dogged effort that pushed the team to perform after they were down, especially after their first round tournament loss. 91 saw the team miss the NBC World Series as the Jayhawk League chose to hold a league tournament in Amarillo, TX. In regular season, the team finished 5th, just eight games out, but claimed the league tournament title. Gary Herrman, the team's leading hitter (.417), went down in mid July with a broken wrist which was a blow to the team. Others hitting over .300 for the team were Ken Kaveny, .335; Rick Royer, .308 and Keith Johnson .304. Kaveny led in doubles with 21, followed by Johnson, Herrmann,,, and Adam Melhuse with 15 each. He also led in RBI with 57, followed by Herrmann with 42, Tonka Maynor, 40 and Melhuse and Johnson with 32 each. Johnson and Derek Vineyard had 35 and 33 stolen bases respectively. The pitching staff played a big part in the team's success. Relief pitchers Jay Chadwick and lefty Eric Breitstein were call3ed on and did a great job, especially in the second half after ace Joe Brownholtz signed with the Rangers.. Armando Plascencia worked the most innings and ended with a 3.24 ERA.

In 1992 the A's finished with a 30-24 record, but posted only 20-23 in league play during a season that saw the weatherman be a force in the schedule, with six home dates rained out as well as part of Baseball Day. Leading the offense for the team was Tonyt Moeder with .357 and tops in RBI (45), followed by Chip Sell at .300 and 26 RBI. Two left handers, Bob Scafa and Eric Moony led the pitching staff, Scafa used both in relief and as a starter while compiling a 1.00 ERA and a 5-1 record and Mooney finished 5-2 with a 1.62 ERA.

1993 saw the team go back to the wood bat, but a season that was not very successful, finishing below .500 with a 3-031 mark. Of the original players expected at the first of the season, four didn't report due to injury, four more left because of injury, one went with Team USA and three more were lost to the June draft. At the end of the season eight players voted not to go to the National tournament, but the team filled their commitment to that event with a team made up of what was left of the roster and former A's players Von Hayes, Jeff Nichols, Noel Bogdanski and Rick Eberly who came out of retirement. Boby Brown led the offense with a .325 average; AB, 197; runs scored, 39; hits 64 and was second in RBI with 35. Michael Reyes was the RBI leader with 41; doubles, 13 and triples, 7. Johnny Isom led in walks with 28, Reyes following with 27. Pitching leaders were Alan Mahaffey and Jim Rathford.

Returning veterans played a big part in getting the A's program turned around in 1994. Taking a leave of absence from the Jayhawk League, the team went back to its independent status, playing most of the league teams at least once and filling in with a strong non-league schedule to finish 47-12 which included winning the NBC Central USA Regional titles and making a strong showing at the NBC World Series. After two seasons of the team batting average being below .270, the A's came back at .343 led by Matt Braughler at .459; Johnny Isom, . 407; Jered Fowler, .432; Joe Kieffer, .428; Jim Hill .360; Jamey Carroll, .345; Brady Clark, .326; B.J. Windhorst, .319; Ric Johnson, .308 and Ryan Eberly, .304. RBI leaders were Braughler (67), Kieffer (63) and Windhorst (44). On the mound Adam Benes led with a 7-0 record, followed by Casey Cunningham, 6-0; Alan Mahaffey, 8-2 and Colin Mattiace, 4-1. ERA leaders were Cunningham (1.79), Mattiace (1.96) and reliever Tim Bickers (2.10). Matt Braughler was Named the All American catcher at the NBC World Series and also was the leading hitter in the tournament.

Clarinda posted a 52-12 record in 1995 and for the second straight year claimed the NBC Central USA Regional championship. Fifteen players hit over the .300 mark, led by Bryan Seymore's .440 who was second to Matt Braughler's 54 RBI, with 52. Rookies Rod Eberly and Jeremy Jackson following in RBI with 49 and 44. Braughler was the second leading hitter at .385. Seymour and rookie Griffin Moore led in homers with six each. Braughler also led the team in doubles with 23, followed by Jackson (15) and Eberly and Ryan Fry each with 14. Newcomer Jay Bell led the team with an 8-1 record and an ERA of 2.17, his only loss coming the National Tournament against Team USA. Danny Snyder, who joined the team after summer school, pitched where he was needed and finished 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA, while posing the two A's wins in Wichita with strong relief performances. Tim Carlson followed Bell in wins, 7-0, while recording a 2.75 ERA. Casey Castrop was second in ERA at 2.47 and was dependable all summer long, especially in tough situations.

Returning vets led Clarinda to a 45-12 record and the championship of the newly formed MINK League in 1996 while it was newcomers who led the staff on the mound. Leading hitting was Griffin Moore at .356, followed closely by B.J. Windhosrt (.355) and Ryan Fry (.350). Windhorst and Rod Eberly tied in RBI with 51, followed by Fry (36). Top three in hits were Windhorst, 70, Eberly and Moore, 62. Runs scored were Windhorst 44, Eberly 24 and Moore 41. Fry and Eberly tied with 14 doubles followed by Seth Taylor with nine. Windhorst led in triples with 10, just one short of the team record. Total bases was led by Windhorst with 109, Fry's 99 and Eberly's 89. In walks, Eberly led with 34, followed by 26 for Kory DeHaan and 22 by Fry. Nate Frese led the pitching with a 9-0 record, followed by W.G. Smith at 7-2. Smith led in innings pitched at 67.2, followed by Frese with 6y0 and Brian Mazone with 48. Eric Massey had the lowest ERA at 2.25 followed by Frese at 2.55 and Travis Wessell at 2.68. Stikeout leaders were Smith with 75, Wessell's 53 and Frese's 52. Casey Castrop appeared in 16b games, Benji Miller 15 and Eric Turner 14. Byron Embry was the save leader with 6, followed by Castrop's 5 and Miller's 1. Eberly, Castrop, Frese, Windhorst, Moore and Fry were all named to the post season MINK League All Star team.

After a nightmarish first half 1997 season, the A's were able to turn it around and finish 31-29. Calvin Tanton led the hitting at .375 followed by Griffon Moore (.359) Britt Harper (.323) Rodney Eberly (.306), Kevin Perkins (.304) and Alva Thompson (.301) Eberly led in RBI with 60, Tanton followed at 42, Moore, 37 and B.J. Windhorst, 36. Moore and Eberly had 26 and 23 doubles, respectively and the "big three" Tanton,, Eberly and Moore also led in walks with 38,36 and 31, showing that patience at the plate pays off. Pitching was led by Danny Hughes with a 6-3 record and a team leading ERA of 3.06. He was followed by Travis Wessell 3.20 (2-2) and Terrance Hills 3.31 (3-3). The team finished second in the regionals and were 2-2 at the nationals.

Noel Bogdanski took over the reins of the A's in 1998 when Merl Eberly retired from the field after serving in the position since 1961. He and coach Ryan Eberly led the team to a 37-27 overall finish and a fourth place finish in the NBC World Series, their best showing in the past 10 years. Leading the team in hitting were Philip Ghutzmann at .365; Sean Argento, .358; Gavin Wright, .352; Kevin Perkins, .337 and Jamie Bubela, .329. RBI leaders were Bubela (33), Rob Eberly (32), Perkins (29) and Ghutzmann, Wright and Britt Harper each with 26. On the mound the team was led by Rich Fimbres at 8-1, Brian Downing, 5-2 and Mike Terry 4-1. Terry joined the team late, following knee surgery and led in ERA with .66, followed by Dowings 1.48 and Cory Clinefelter at 2.37. Terry was named to the NBC All American team, as well as being named the leading pitcher in the tournament.

1999 was not a stellar season for the A's, finishing 30-31 overall. The young team was not able to put together a consistent full season and found the league to be very balanced. Injuries were a factor, but not an excuse for the showing. Manager Bogdanski cited Will Smith as the most consistent player, having great attitude and hustle and Doug Bernier continued to improve his play at shortstop as the season went on. Smith led the team in hitting at .367 and in stolen bases with 43-48. Other leading hitters included Hunter Brown (.342), Ryan Stowasser (.333), Jackson Engels (.326), Doug Bernier (.311) and Bud Blair (.302). Brown led in RBI with 38, followed by Blair's 27, Bernier's 26 and Stowaser's 23. On the mound Jason Walker had the best ERA at 2.89. Ian Ferguson and James Carroll both finished at 2.98.