Kleckner Now Relaxed at Plate, Too

Rich Kleckner of Saddleback College loves the role a catcher plays in directing a team. He always has.

It pains him to see the job done incorrectly. So much so that once, when he was playing center field, Kleckner asked for time, called the catcher out and explained what he was doing wrong behind the plate.

Kleckner was 8 and playing Little League in Missoula, Mont., when the incident took place.

“That’s something I’ll always remember,” Kleckner said. “I take catching very seriously.”

Kleckner’s love of catching has grown and now he is the starter for Saddleback. Kleckner is having a strong season defensively and offensively. He is hitting .346 with four doubles, a home run and has driven in 13 runs. He also has thrown out 33 of 67 runners attempting to steal, including 14 of 22 in Orange Empire Conference games.

There never has been much question about Kleckner’s defensive abilities since he arrived at Saddleback in the fall of 1991. At best, he figured to be the Gauchos’ third catcher, so he and Coach Jack Hodges decided he would be a redshirt.

“You could tell he was very sound behind the plate and could handle pitchers,” Hodges said. “He just needed to get a little bigger and stronger.”

Although the experience was rewarding considering how much he learned, Kleckner also found it to be a trying time.

“I had never sat before,” he said. “It was really frustrating. Sometimes I would go home and say to myself, ‘What am I doing here? I should go someplace where I can step right in and play.’ But by the end of the season I was happy that I had stayed with it.”

Kleckner had figured to be a reserve last season as a freshman. But injuries relegated returning starter Nathan Malagon to designated hitter much of the time. Kleckner started 32 of 45 games.

He was solid defensively but struggled on offense more than at any time in his career. He didn’t raise his average above .200 until the final two weeks and finished at .210. He was an all-conference selection mostly because of his defensive skills.

“Rich never really settled into the job,” Hodges said. “He was kind of pressing at times. This year he is a lot more relaxed.”

There are two basic reasons Kleckner has improved his hitting so much this season: hard work and confidence. Starting last summer, he began to take extra hitting practice and has worked long hours in the batting cage and off a tee as well. Kleckner also lost about 15 pounds to get down to 190, which he says makes him quicker.

He also has regained the confidence he had when he led his American Legion team in hitting in the summer of 1991 in Montana.

“This year I really got a push from everyone,” Kleckner said. “It helps when others have confidence in you . . . Last year I was afraid to go down in the count, 0-2. This year I’m not.”

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Basketball assistants: Bryan Humphrey and Pat O’Hern have been selected as assistants by Cypress Coach Paul Bottiaux, who starts his first season next fall. Both will work in walk-on roles.

Humphrey comes to Cypress from Sonora High School, where he has been a basketball assistant and a track and field coach the last 10 seasons. Humphrey’s son, Grayle, played at Cypress (1988-90) before getting a scholarship to Boise State.

It will be the second tour as an assistant for O’Hern, who also was at Cypress for the 1992-93 season. O’Hern, a special education teacher at Kennedy High School, has worked as a boys’ basketball assistant at Kennedy and Western high schools.

Community College Notes

Dee Dee Miranda, the first baseman for the Fullerton softball team, is having an outstanding season in the field. She started the week having made only four errors in 251 chances for a .984 fielding percentage. . . . Cypress (24-8) and Riverside (23-6) are tied for the lead in the baseball race with 10-3 records. Saddleback (18-9-1, 9-6) is third and Rancho Santiago (24-8, 7-6) is fourth. The Dons, the four-time defending conference champions, have lost six of their last 10 conference games. Fullerton (15-13-1, 6-8) is fifth, Golden West (11-14, 5-8) sixth and Orange Coast (6-21, 1-14).