Dubois County Dragons

• Location: Huntingburg, IN
• League: Heartland League 1996-1998; Frontier League 1999-2002
• Affiliation: Independent
• Ballpark: League Stadium

Team History

An independent league team for seven years, the Dubois County Dragons played in Huntingburg, IN. They were 27-33 in the 1996 Heartland League, finishing in last place under manager R.C. Lichtenstein, though they had a larger attendance than the three other teams combined (33,203). All-Stars were OF Vincent Griffin (.355), DH Juan Price (.258, a league-leading 13 homers) and reliever Craig Shoobridge (4-2, 11 Sv, 3.60). Johnny Oestreich (8-2, 3.18, 96 K in 76 IP) led the league in strikeouts and wins and won the Most Valuable Pitcher award.

In 1997, the Dragons were 16-18 in the first half and had the league's worst second-half record at 10-26. Jeff Pinney managed the team, which was second in the 8-team league in attendance with 43,481 fans. Chad Overton hit .349.

The Dubois County club improved to 32-36 in the Heartland League's final season and again were second in attendance (31,762). Jay Walker was the manager, while the lone All-Star was OF Chris Chiprez (.324, .448 SLG). Overton hit .333, second in the league. They also had three of the top 4 in ERA with #2 Brian Piddington (7-3, 2.22), #3 Todd Hollowell (5-3, 2.40) and #4 Keith Hedrick (2-5, 2.70).

In 1999, the Dragons joined the Frontier League and went 42-42, one game out of first in a highly competitive western division. Joe Pass managed the team, which was last in attendance (35,690) in the larger league. All-Stars were 2B Pass (.328) and Oestreich (1-2, 20 Sv, 3.69, 69 K in 39 IP), who made the league All-Star team.

The 2000 Dubois County entry finished last at 35-47 under managers Tim Wallace and Fran Riordan. Attendance was second-worst (31,270) of 10 Frontier League teams. Jamal Gaines (7-6, 3.01) was fifth in ERA while OF Scott Marple (.343) was second in thel eague in batting average. Marple and first baseman Riordan (.314, .444 SLG) were All-Stars.

In 2001, the club jumped to first (48-36) in the west under manager of the year Greg Tagert but fell 2 games to 1 to the Richmond Roosters in the playoffs. Attendance fell to last (23,302). Closer Brian Partenheimer (4-2, 17 Sv, 8 BB in 43 IP, 1.45) made the All-Star team.

The team was 52-32 in 2002 under Tagert and again won the western title, but fell in the playoffs 2-1 once again to Richmond. They were 10th of 12 teams in attendance (35,592) that year. Gaines (8-2, 3.06) was sixth in the league in ERA while All-Star OF Adam Olow (.345, 22 SB, .530 slugging) was fifth in average. It was the club's final season as the club moved to Kenosha, WI after the season.

Sources: 1997-2003 Baseball Almanacs

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1996	27-33	4th	R.C. Lichtenstein
1997	26-44		R.C. Lichtenstein
1998	32-36		Jay Walker
1999	42-42	5th	Joe Pass
2000	35-47	10th	Tim Wallace (22-28) / Fran Riordan (13-19)
2001	48-36	3rd	Greg Tagert	Lost in 1st round
2002	52-32	3rd	Greg Tagert	Lost in 1st round