Missouri State

DAVE DICKENSHEET
Baseball, 1979-82
Inducted February 24, 1996

Dave Dickensheet was one of the top pitchers in Missouri State baseball history as he lettered four years in a row from 1979 to 1982 for the Bears of Coach Bill Rowe. A product of Springfield Glendale High School, Dickensheet was primarily a reliever as a freshman as he recorded four saves and got the victory in the game in which MSU clinched the 1979 MIAA title. The stylish righthander worked in a variety of roles as a sophomore, winning six games to gain MIAA all-conference honorable mention. He led MSU and the league in appearances (16), strikeouts (74), earned run average (2.33), and saves (5) to repeat his all-MIAA honorable mention selection. His sophomore year included saving the Division II Bears' first-ever win over the Big Ten Conference Iowa Hawkeyes. Dickensheet was primarily a starter his last two years, posting a 7-1 record as a junior and winning five times against conference foes as MSU became the first MIAA team ever to go through its regular season conference schedule undefeated. He gained all-MIAA first team honors and was on the all-region third team. As a senior in 1982, Dickensheet was the Bears' mound ace with an 8-4 record, gaining all-region first team selection and ranking sixth in Division II in strikeouts per nine innings pitched. After helping MSU to NCAA regional tournament appearances in 1979 and 1980, Dickensheet was the back bone of the pitching staff which propelled the Bears to a regional title and an appearance in the NCAA World Series in Riverside, Calif., in the final MSU year in the Division II ranks and the final season of Rowe's 19-season SMS coaching career. Dickensheet gained regional all-tourney honors as he fanned nine to beat host SIU-Edwardsville in the first round and spark the Bears toward the '82 regional crown. Dickensheet wound up with a 23-11 career mark for the Bears and set MSU records for pitching appearances (54), strikeouts (226), and saves (9) and wound up in the Bears' all-time top five in career starts (31), innings (221.1), victories (23), and shutouts (3). Dickensheet stayed with the program as pitching coach under new Bears' head coach Keith Guttin in 1983 and 1984 as MSU moved into Division I play. Dickensheet died of cancer in 1991 and the following year the Dave Dickensheet Pitcher of the Year Award was established in his honor to recognize the top MSU hurler each season.