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Eugene Church · 06-25-2009, 05:36 PM

The Islandian Times

March 12, 2004

Stoner Stars Outlook Dim In RU West
The Stoner Stars did surprisingly well in 2002, compiling a 79-75 record, which was good for fourth place in the RU West, 10 games behind the regular season champion, the Forest City Lumberjacks. But skipper Willie Dickens' pitching went bad and so did the Stars fortunes as they dipped to a 74-80 mark and sixth place in the standings, 14 games away from first place Volusia.

Stoner suffers from a severe lack of talent with pitcher Dwight Ruckman and catcher Benny Stern its only bonafide stars. Dickens' team doesn't do much of anything well. The Stars are picked for the bottom of the barrel in the division by the BNN baseball poll. Rocky Rapids and Fort Benton are in the same boat as Stoner and will only compete for the sixth spot in the standings. The division "have nots" have no chance even for fifth place as the other five clubs are much superior to them.

Dickens has populated his roster with some new acquisitions, two pitchers and two infielders. 27-year-old rookie righthander Norman Canfield has made the best impression on Dickens and will be in the starting rotation. 34-year-old 2B Tom Preston will be a regular and improve the defense over last season, but he doesn't offer much offensively, which is a dire need of the Stars. Stoner needs an influx of quality ballplayers to compete in the IPA, but it won't be this year.

Best Pitchers: Dwight Ruckman (14-17 3.63) and Georgie West (13-11 4.06)

Best Batters: C Benny Stern (.286 BA/20 HR/86 RBI), LF Jalen Nolte (.275 BA/25 HR/75 RBI) and CF Rob Preiss (.264 BA/21 HR/79 RBI/80 R/23 SB)

06-25-2009, 05:36 PM	#1051
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,695 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times March 12, 2004 Stoner Stars Outlook Dim In RU West The Stoner Stars did surprisingly well in 2002, compiling a 79-75 record, which was good for fourth place in the RU West, 10 games behind the regular season champion, the Forest City Lumberjacks. But skipper Willie Dickens' pitching went bad and so did the Stars fortunes as they dipped to a 74-80 mark and sixth place in the standings, 14 games away from first place Volusia. Stoner suffers from a severe lack of talent with pitcher Dwight Ruckman and catcher Benny Stern its only bonafide stars. Dickens' team doesn't do much of anything well. The Stars are picked for the bottom of the barrel in the division by the BNN baseball poll. Rocky Rapids and Fort Benton are in the same boat as Stoner and will only compete for the sixth spot in the standings. The division "have nots" have no chance even for fifth place as the other five clubs are much superior to them. Dickens has populated his roster with some new acquisitions, two pitchers and two infielders. 27-year-old rookie righthander Norman Canfield has made the best impression on Dickens and will be in the starting rotation. 34-year-old 2B Tom Preston will be a regular and improve the defense over last season, but he doesn't offer much offensively, which is a dire need of the Stars. Stoner needs an influx of quality ballplayers to compete in the IPA, but it won't be this year. Best Pitchers: Dwight Ruckman (14-17 3.63) and Georgie West (13-11 4.06) Best Batters: C Benny Stern (.286 BA/20 HR/86 RBI), LF Jalen Nolte (.275 BA/25 HR/75 RBI) and CF Rob Preiss (.264 BA/21 HR/79 RBI/80 R/23 SB)