1975 Baseball Team
Undefeated Skyway Conference Champions, first WCC baseball title
Placed 2nd in the Region when there was only one division
Fourth in school history in pitching and fifth in defense
Simply stated, the 1975 Baseball team helped put Waubonsee on the athletic map. Coach Bill Prince’s squad was the first Chiefs’ team in any sport to bring notoriety to the college beyond the immediate area. They accomplished this in the era before there were scholarships, before there were separate divisions, and before the specialization which is commonplace today. And they did it with only local players.
Prince says “he never had a team quite like this squad. The determination that was demonstrated throughout the most important games of the season can only be defined as GRIT.”
The 1975 Chiefs overcame numerous injuries and advanced all the way to the NJCAA Region IV Tournament Championship game, back when all 45 schools in Illinois participated in one division. Along the way they won Waubonsee’s first Skyway Conference title in baseball, going undefeated in league play. They went on to win a Region IV Sectional crown before finishing as the Region IV State Runner-up. They had a school-record 10-game winning streak, which stood until 2010. The pitching staff had a team earned-run-average (ERA) of 3.48, the fourth best in school-history, and three pitchers who are still in the top-15 for strikeouts per game. They also posted a team fielding average of .942, still the fifth best mark in Chiefs’ history.
Pitchers Steve Smart and Rick Hollarbush provided a one-two punch, both earning All-Region honors. Smart led the team with eight wins, and his 110 strikeouts are the third most in Waubonsee’s record book, while Hollarbush compiled a 2.95 ERA with six wins. Smart also led a quartet of Chiefs that were named to the All-Skyway Conference team. Joining him was first baseman Steve Conner who paced the team with a .330 batting average. Conner made only two errors all season, and was the team’s clutch performer with five game-winning hits. Another All-Skyway selection, Pete Buschbacher, handled all the catching chores on his way to eventually establishing a Waubonsee record for career putouts with 540. The speedy Robin Reder completed the foursome, swiping a team-leading 27 bases, while John Bahl recorded 22 thefts of his own. Shortstop Scott Anderson registered a .950 fielding percentage, third highest in Chiefs’ history at that position. John Knapp covered rightfield, Dan Grandgeorge filled in everywhere it seemed, third baseman Jeff Marcley, centerfielder Mike Thomas, and Tim Michels, Paul Evans, Jim VanHam, batgirl Julie Allen and Waubonsee sports writer Dave Lidecka all added to the success of a team that achieved more than anyone ever thought possible.