The Morningsider

Spring/Summer 2005

Special Web Site Supplement for the M-Club Messenger:

More on Morningside College Baseball

By Sharon Ocker

THE COACHES

  Two coaches led the way for Morningside baseball. The longest career was by the legendary Don "Pro" Protexter, who took over the program in 1956 and stayed with it until his untimely death in 1983. Protexter had been a catcher for the team while he attended Morningside, as the program was revived in 1947 and 1948. Other notables on those teams included Bill Enockson and Les Davis . Protexter's all-time record in his 28 seasons was 350 wins, 340 losses, and one tie.

  The other "long-timer" is current coach Jim Scholten, who has a 475-471-3 record in 22 seasons as the Mustangs' head coach.

  Since the total record for Morningside over the years is 959-926-4, those two skippers have been in charge for 87 percent of the games. Astounding! Of course, many more games are played now than there used to be, but the fact remains - these two have been "the" coaches in baseball. It is almost impossible to list all of the coaches that Morningside has had for the diamond sport. Articles in past yearbooks and issues of the Collegian Reporter did not always tell who the coach was. Past coaches who are mentioned include Clark Wilson, Griffith, John Hollister, Harry Ewing, Jason Saunderson, Les Davis, Joe Broome, Dick Weikert, Les Brosamle, and Duane Zimmer.

THE "GAP"

  We were startled to find that apparently Morningside did not have a baseball team of record for the 22 years between 1925 and 1947. A comment was made in an annual that the North Central Conference had dropped baseball as a conference sport and that Morningside had followed the lead and concentrated more effort towards track & field. Les Davis was the coach for 1947 and 1948, and there has been baseball ever since.

THE CHAMPS OF 1923

  The team of 1923 was Morningside's first conference champion. Their record was 7-1 and included four wins against the University of South Dakota as well as victories against Western Union, Des Moines University , and North Dakota State . The one loss was to Des Moines University .

  The star pitcher was Orville Ballantine and other team members included first baseman Maurice Stucker , catcher Gail Stucker, second baseman Merle Hanson, shortstop Honie Rogers, third baseman Orval Croston, centerfielder Dwight Hauff, rightfielder Hersch Harris, leftfielder Wayne Miller, pitcher Les Davis, and outfielder Kenneth Funkhouser. The coach was the legendary Jason Saunderson . The most interesting comment in The Sioux was that Ballantine twice pitched both games of a doubleheader.

SEASON DEDICATION

   Eric Johnson was a top pitcher for Morningside from 1994-97, earning All-North Central Conference honors in 1996. Last Christmas Day, he was tragically killed in an auto accident while driving to his parents' home in Jackson , Minn. The Mustangs dedicated the 2005 season to him and held a gathering on April 16 for all former players who played with him. The Mustangs also named their annual Most Valuable Pitcher award in his honor.

THE MONTANA CONNECTION

  Current Mustang shortstop Chris Losett set Morningside single-season records with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs during the 2004 season. He broke his own record this past season when he belted 12 home runs. The senior from Helena, Mont. , is one of six Mustang players who have transferred to Morningside from Dawson Community College in Glendive, Mont.

THE PROTEXTER LEGACY

  The name Protexter has been synonymous with Morningside baseball for many, many years. As mentioned already, Don Protexter was a longtime head coach, and his son Bob Protexter played at Morningside and is now in his eighth season as an assistant coach. Besides working with Mustang infielders, he also coordinates all of Morningside's scouting.

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