STEVE ANDERSON
Baseball, 1978-81
Inducted February 22, 1997

Steve Anderson was a standout pitcher for the baseball Bears through four seasons as an SMS diamond letterman from 1978 through 1981, and was a key ingredient in an era of sustained success for the baseball program near the end of the SMS days as an NCAA Division II member.  A native of Humansville, the hard-throwing lefthander was a mound workhorse, pitching primarily as a starter, as SMS won an NCAA Division II regional championship and advanced to the NCAA World Series during his freshman season of 1978.  He helped pitch the Bears to a Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1979, and guided the Bears into the MIAA League Championship Series as both a junior and senior.  SMS also made NCAA regional tournament appearances in 1979 and 1980 when Anderson was a sophomore and junior.  The Bears broke the team record for wins in a season when Anderson was a freshman, broke it again his junior year, and tied that mark his senior season.  Coach Bill Rowe’s ballclubs had an overall mark of 119-53 in the four seasons Anderson was a Bear.  Anderson was named to the MIAA all-conference first team as a junior when he led the mound staff in innings pitched and victories.  He was also selected to the NCAA regional all-tournament team in 1980.  The 1980 season was Anderson’s top mound year with the Bears when he logged a 9-1 record and had five complete games in 53 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched.  Anderson finished his SMS mound career with a record of 20-6 as he became only the third SMS pitcher ever to log 20 career victories.  He finished his playing days among the SMS all-time top 10 hurlers in total pitching appearances (48), games started (30), innings pitched (209.1), strikeouts (163) and winning percentage (.769).