PASSION, MEET DISCIPLINE You have grit. Determination. And athletic ability. We have 24 NCAA Division II teams and over 35 intramural and club sports. And we have a philosophy that all work and Building no play makes for a very dull Strong Communities student experience. Together we can make FCI is the proud design-builder of the extraordinary things happen. Lincoln Park Stadium improvement Future.ColoradoMesa.edu. project that includes Stocker Stadium and Suplizio Field — home of JUCO. New seating, dugouts, press box, concessions and restrooms, locker rooms, ADA upgrades, improved visibility, and overall enhancements for fans’ and players’ stadium experience. Lincoln Park / Suplizio Field Building strong communities through trust, hard work, honesty, and professionalism, FCI is a regional FCI Constructors Inc. leader in commercial construction 3070 I-70 Business Loop,Bldg A Grand Junction,CO 81504 with offices in Colorado, Arizona, 970.434.9093 New Mexico, Wyoming, and fciol.com North Dakota. PASSION, MEET DISCIPLINE You have grit. Determination. And athletic ability. We have 24 NCAA Division II teams and over 35 intramural and club sports. And we have a philosophy that all work and Building no play makes for a very dull Strong Communities student experience. Together we can make extraordinary things happen. Future.ColoradoMesa.edu. Lincoln Park / Suplizio Field trust, hard work, honesty, and professionalism 2016 ALPINE BANK JUCO WORLD SERIES [ www.jucogj.org ] 3 “FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS” Today, your focus is on winning a national championship. It doesn’t get much better than that! I wish for you a day without any distractions so you can focus completely on your goals. After the competition is over, where will your focus lead you? Those endless demands you experience as a student‐athlete can also create endless opportunities. The ability to focus, and stay focused, will help you succeed today and tomorrow. It will help you achieve whatever goal you choose for yourself. Congratulations on your success and best of luck in maintaining that focus throughout the competition. Mary Ellen Leicht Executive Director Prepare. Achieve. Compete. Succeed 4 [ www.jucogj.org ] 2016 ALPINE BANK JUCO WORLD SERIES DOWN THE LINE Hall of Fame..................................07 Home Run Alley.............................11 2015 Tournament Results............17 World Series Bound......................22 It “seams” a little fl at................26 JUCO Bracket................................28 Team Rosters.................................32 Score Cards...................................42 Alpine Bank Scholarships...........51 JUCO Records................................52 JUCO Sponsors...............................53 Where’s Mr. JUCO? Mr. JUCO is hiding throughout the program. Please help us fi nd him so he can enjoy the tournament. See how many you can fi nd and good luck! 2016 ALPINE BANK JUCO WORLD SERIES [ www.jucogj.org ] 5 Suplizio Field Facts: Opened: 1949 Surface: Natural Grass Stadium Renovated: 2012 Seating Capacity: approximately 10,000 Field Dimensions: Left Field Line: 302 ft. Left Field: 365 ft. Left Center: 410 ft. Center Field: 400 ft. Right Center: 365 ft. Right Field: 350 ft. Right Field Line: 330 ft. Jumpstart our Celebration!!! Welcome to Grand Junction, Colorado and the home of the NJCAA Junior College World Series. e original tournament was held in Miami, OK and was a little di erent than we see today. In 1958, the tournament had 8 teams with 3 teams having participated in some type of qualifying tournament. e remaining 5 teams were invited to participate in the tournament. For the next 19 years, 8 district champions came to Grand Junction to play in the tournament. Beginning in 1977, the national regions and the bracket expanded and 10 District Champions from around the country met in Grand Junction to crown a National Champion. is double-elimination tournament has the baseball stars of tomorrow playing in front of JUCO fans today. Over the years, we have had some memorable moments during the tournament. Did you know that we have had one (1) big league Hall of Fame player walk onto our eld? Maybe you watched Kirby Puckett play in 1982. Or maybe you watched the only no hitter of the tournament in 1959. Bet you can’t name the pitcher without looking at the tournament records! While we are enjoying baseball during this 59th annual tournament, we are already looking forward to celebrating our 60th birthday next year. To help us plan our celebration, we would like to know, “What was your most memorable moment or event from the Junior College World Series?” Whether this is your rst visit to JUCO or if you saw the rst tournament back in 1958 in Oklahoma, we would like to hear from you. Over the next year, we are asking you to send us your most exciting memories of the tournament. Using your wonderful experiences, we will be able to jumpstart our planning for the 60th birthday celebration. We look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you in 2017! th Please send your comments to: [email protected] 60 Anniversary 6 [ www.jucogj.org ] 2016 ALPINE BANK JUCO WORLD SERIES e NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association has announced its 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame class. e 2016 NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductees are: former St. Louis (Mo.) player and current Southwestern Illinois head coach Neil Fiala, former coaches Barry Davis from Rowan Gloucester (N.J.) and Steve Burleson of Kansas City Kansas, along with current Potomac State (W. Va.) coach Doug Little. Neil Fiala Player/Coach – St. Louis (MO) / Southwestern Illinois Few individuals in the history of the NJCAA have proven to be as big a winner both as a player and coach as Neil Fiala. From being named MVP of the 1975 NJCAA Baseball World Series to assembling an 817-445 record as a head coach, Fiala has solidified his place in the annals of two-year college athletics. Named a high school All-American and St. Louis High School Player of the Year in 1974, Fiala was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals but opted not to sign and joined defending NJCAA champion Meramec which has since merged with several institutions into St. Louis. The local product quickly established himself as a team leader and was named MVP of the 1975 NJCAA World Series after spurring the Magic on to a runner-up finish. Following a successful NCAA DI playing career at Southern Illinois where he was named MVP of the 1977 NCAA Midwest Regional, Fiala was once again drafted by the Cardinals in the 32nd round of the MLB Draft. He’d spend six seasons in the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds’ systems, making appearances in five major league games. After his playing career concluded, Fiala began his coaching career as an assistant at Vianney High School from 1983-86 before returning to Meramec as an assistant in 1987. His last two stops as an assistant included stints with the New York Yankees organization and the Illinois Fighting Illini before he landed his first head coaching job at Southwestern Illinois in 1993. Now in his 23rd season with the Blue Storm, Fiala’s accomplishments at Southwestern Illinois are numerous. His teams have combined for five NJCAA Region 24 championships with 11 players earning NJCAA All-America honors. Fiala’s former student-athletes have established a valuable reputation with 44 signing professional contracts and 188 playing baseball at the four-year collegiate level. Fiala’s achievements have been recognized by a number of groups with his induction into the Southwest Kiwanis of St. Louis Hall of Fame in 1991, the Vianney High School Hall of Fame in 1997, the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 and the St. Louis Mon-Clair Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. exclusive marketing and print solutions Publishers of the JUCO World Series Program and Trading Cards Printing in Grand Junction for 68 years www.cpcsolutions.com formerly Colorado Printing Company 2016 ALPINE BANK JUCO WORLD SERIES [ www.jucogj.org ] 7 Barry Davis Coach – Rowan Gloucester (NJ) Claiming four national championships in an 11-year span at Rowan Gloucester – formerly Gloucester County – few coaches have experienced as great of success in such a short span as former Roadrunners head coach Barry Davis. Departing from the NJCAA after the 2000 season, Davis put together a 434-109 record at the two-year college level. With his arrival in Sewell, New Jersey, in 1990, the Rowan Gloucester program immediately began to experience success. By the time the NJCAA established the DIII level of baseball in 1992, Davis already had the Roadrunners on track to win the program’s first national title. Rowan Gloucester won the inaugural NJCAA DIII Baseball World Series that year and came back to win its second consecutive championship in 1993. Davis’ Roadrunners would win back-to-back national championships again in 1999 and 2000. Applying his coaching abilities beyond the Garden State, Davis led the NJCAA national team as an assistant in 1997 and head coach in 1999 when the squad defeated Team Canada. Following his fourth national championship campaign at Rowan Gloucester, Davis moved on to coach then NAIA program Georgia Southwestern State. He compiled a 137-87 record in four seasons with the Canes, claiming the Georgia-Alabama-Carolinas Conference regular season crown and ranking fifth in the final NAIA poll in 2002. In 2005, Davis made the step up to the NCAA DI level to take over the reins at Rider. Now in his 12th season with the Broncs, Davis has accumulated 291 wins – including a program-best 36 victories during the 2011 campaign. Rider won Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season titles in 2013 and 2015 and claimed postseason tournament crowns in 2008 and 2010 for berths in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.