Announcing the MaxPreps San Antonio High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank

Click 'Next' to see all the winners.{PAGEBREAK}
O'Connor (Helotes) baseball coach Dave Collenback had a special feeling this would be a special season for his Panthers.

"There were a lot of returners from last year," he told Fox29 News last week. "They had a taste in their mouth of what they wanted to do this year."

They've tasted something completely new this season – a journey past the third round of the Texas 5A playoffs — and now they'll be playing for a 5A regional championship Friday against Eagle Pass.

The Panthers reached the finals with a tight 2-1 win over United (Laredo) Saturday thanks to a nifty five-hitter spun by Justin Garcia, who struck out five and walked one.

O'Connor added 10 hits, all singles, including run-scoring clips from Daniel Cruz in the fourth to tie the game at 1 and the eventual game-winning single from Kent Corso.

Garcia (11-1, 1.14 ERA) filled in for ace and MLB prospect Mark Ecker (7-2, 1.19), who was experiencing arm trouble according to the San Antonio Express-News. Garcia was superb, according to Collenback, and the Panthers were solid behind him. They made just one error under soggy conditions.



"We didn't do anything fancy," Collenback told Express-News reporter Pat Turner. "We just played baseball the way it should be played."

For doing just that all season — the Panthers are 30-7-2 — and for reaching new heights in the program's 14-year history, Collenback has been picked as the San Antonio High Yield Coach of the Year presented by Capital One Bank.

Though O'Connor was solid on Saturday, Collenback said the Panthers, with 12 seniors on the roster, draw big crowds with their flash, bats and speed.

They're hitting a whopping .354 as a team and have blasted a whopping 36 home runs, led by junior outfielder Zachary Galm (12 homers, 41 RBIs, .377 average).

On top of his pitching prowess, the 6-1, 191-pound Ecker has seven home runs with team-bests of 48 RBIs and a .435 average.

Other strong hitters have been Zachary Davenport (.375, team-best 46 runs), Jose Rodriguez (.356, 12 doubles), Garcia (.413, 11 doubles, 36 RBIs) and Corso (.398, seven home runs, 42 RBIs).



The team has also stolen 52 bases in 69 attempts, led by 17 from Davenport. Add to that a team ERA of 2.69 and it's easy to understand why the Panthers have enjoyed an historic season.

It hasn't hurt that most of the seniors have played together since they were in Little League, which has translated to superb team chemistry. It also doesn't hurt to have a coach of the quality of Collenback, who has won 162 games in seven seasons.

"I think the team is exciting to watch," Collenback said. "I've had several people call or text me and tell me they enjoyed how we play ball."{PAGEBREAK}
Get beat 16-1 and there's not much to say.

Alamo Heights (San Antonio) baseball manager Glynn Tschirhart simply told his team to blow it off.

The Mules (26-10-1) weren't stubborn, adhered to their coach's advice and rolled to a 5-0 win over Tivy just a few hours after the beat-down to advance to the Region IV-4A semifinal against Calallen on Friday night.

Sophomore James Nittoli fired a six-hitter to help Alamo Heights win the best-of-three series, 2-1.



For keeping his kids composed, Tschirhart was selected the San Antonio High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank.

"I told them to get something to eat and drink and kind of forget about it for a few minutes," Tschirhart told the San Antonio Express-News. "Just kind of take a breath. We knew we're a better baseball team than what we showed in the first game. It was just a matter of getting our feet under us."

According to the newspaper, Jacob Malloy scored the only run the Mules would need on a sacrifice fly from Cameron Mineo. Colin Vazquez added an RBI single in the second, making it 2-0.

Cole Bailey drove in Vasquez with a run-scoring single and Nittoli did the rest.

Nittoli told the Express-News that Tivy used up all its hits in the opener when it lashed 16 of them and took advantage of four Alamo Heights errors.

"I just knew that we could play with them," Nittoli said. "They got all their hits out of the way, but we didn't get ours yet."



This is the fourth 20-plus win season in five years for Tschirhart, who went 27-7 in his first campaign with the Mules in 2009.

He's also guided the team to records of 25-7-1 and 23-13. He has 353 career wins.{PAGEBREAK}
O'Connor (Helotes) baseball coach David Collenback didn't just need an alarm clock. He needed a drum set to wake up his team last week in the Class 5A area playoffs against Reagan.

The Panthers, who averaged nearly 10 runs per game, had scored just two runs in their previous three games before exploding for 21 in a doubleheader sweep at Blossom Athletic Center.

O'Connor scored wins of 9-6 and 12-6 to move into Friday's regional quarterfinals against King (Corpus Christi). The Panthers are now 29-6-2 and hope to surpass last year's 29-win total in the best-of-three series.

Collenback has won 161 games as coach of O'Connor the last seven seasons.

For it, he's been named the San Antonio High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank.

"We've hit the ball all year," Collenback told the San Antonio Express-News following Saturday's sweep. "All of a sudden the bottom fell out, but we just kind of regained our old form and it couldn't have happened at a better time."



Mark Ecker led a 13-hit attack in the opener, while Jose Rodriguez, Justin Garcia and Kent Corso had two hits each. Daniel Cruz, Ecker, Corso and Billy Craft each drove in two runs.

In the nightcap, Rodriguez and Garcia had three hits apiece as once again the Panthers exploded for 13 hits. Rodriguez had a double, triple and three RBIs.

Garcia won both games in relief, scattering six hits in 10 innings of work. He struck out six.

Garcia had a simple explanation for the team's sudden awakening with the bat.

"We have prom tonight and we told ourselves we weren't going to go to the prom sad," Garcia told the Express-News reporter Raul Dominguez.{PAGEBREAK}
It was a simple message. Nothing fancy. No panic. Rodney Chapman just wanted baserunners.

His Reagan (San Antonio) Rattlers sent 14 to the plate in the top of the seventh inning and eight of them scored in a wild 13-11 win at Judson on Saturday to help secure a Class 5A bi-district playoff win and two-game series sweep.



Reagan fought back from a five-run deficit to score an 8-7 win over Judson on Friday.

With all that momentum, Chapman had confidence going into his team's final at-bat Saturday. For it, he earned the San Antonio High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank.

"We told them we had to have baserunners," Chapman told San Antonio Express-News reporter Raul Dominguez Jr. "It wasn't going to be something where one guy walks up there and hits a six-run homer. We had to get it to the next hitter."

Tyler Frick opened the inning with a homer, M.J. Baker followed with a double and after an out, Bryan Warhurst singled and Jack Thompson walked before a sacrifice fly from Ben Brookover made it 11-7.

With two out, the Rattlers received five walks and three scored runs before Baker drilled a game-winning, bases-clearing double.

"It doesn't always work out, but we preach to them, ‘You've got to be patient,'" Chapman told the newspaper. "You've got to make them throw you strikes and we did that. When he did throw strikes, we were able to get the big hit.



"I think it let us know that we weren't ever out of it. They kept fighting, and that's what it's all about."

With Chapman as manager, the Rattlers stand a fighting chance.

Since 2007 with Chapman as coach, Reagan has won at least 21 games every season. It is currently 23-5-1 and now plays O'Connor (25-4-2) in further playoff action.

In 2008, Chapman and the Rattlers won a career-high 35 games a season after going 31-5-1. After 2008, the Rattlers were 31-7, 28-8, 28-12 and 21-9 before this season.{PAGEBREAK}
Well, Brian Sandera got it half right.

The Holmes (San Antonio) softball coach told the San Antonio Express before the season that last season wasn't a fluke, that the Huskies couldn't wait for the 2013 season to start and they were basically out for blood.

OK, maybe not blood, but they were out to score bundles of runs and win a lot of games. 



Holmes has backed that up with a 21-9 record through 30 games while scoring a whopping 222 runs while hitting .369 as a team.

For backing up what he predicted, the 37-year-old with a 58-29 career record is named the San Antonio High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank.

What Sandera didn't get exactly right was the outlook of junior catcher Hailey Rebar, who hit .586 as a sophomore with 28 RBIs and 35 walks. She's already committed to Texas A&M.

"I don't think anybody is going to throw her a strike intentionally anymore," he told the newspaper before the season.

Well, Rebar has been walked 27 times already, but she has managed 78 official at-bats (106 plate appearances). She has lashed out 43 hits, has a gaudy .551 average with 13 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 32 RBIs.

Only senior outfielder/pitcher Alessia Gallegos has more RBIs with 35. Gallegos is hitting .444 with nine doubles and two home runs. She's also the team's top pitcher at 11-3 with a 1.63 ERA.



Senior shortstop Alorah Vargas is also having a huge year, hitting .417 with seven doubles and 27 RBIs.

Sandera was selected the San Antonio Express Softball Coach of the Year in 2012, when the Huskies made their first playoff run since 2008. They reached the Region IV-5A final.

Last season, Holmes started the season 1-6 and finished 21-11. This season, the Huskies started fast by going 5-2 in their first seven, twice scoring 17 runs and once a dozen in a 12-11 win over Dawson.

Holmes closes the regular season with a doubleheader against Johnson (San Antonio) (25-7-1) starting Thursday.
{PAGEBREAK}
Hopes to reach the softball playoffs for Judson (Converse) dimmed considerably when an elbow injury at the start of the season sidelined three-year starting pitcher Emily Mueller for 25 games.

Aside from her importance in a key position on the field, Mueller's experience had thrust her into the role of team leader.

But through the struggles of February and well into March, Judson coach Theresa Urbanovsky refused to let her players concede to fate.



Mueller's return a month ago provided a glimmer of a chance for a run at the final playoff spot from District 25-5A. And when Judson defeated New Braunfels 2-0 on the road last Tuesday, the challenge had been met. The Rockets (12-20) indeed became a playoff team.

In recognition for engineering Judson's drive to the playoffs, Theresa Urbanovsky was named San Antonio area coach of the week presented by Capital One Bank.

"We just kept emphasizing that all our hard work in the off-season was going to pay off,'' Urbanovsky, in her 12th season at Judson, said. "I kept telling the girls that things will fall into place. Sometimes it helps to be humbled. It was probably tougher on the parents because we are so used to winning.''

The coach said she relied on her spiritual faith to get through the adversity.

"I stopped getting caught up in the coaching and just prayed God would protect and take care of my team,'' she said. "I did not pray for wins, I just prayed for us to be strong.''

The turning point was a 9-6 victory in the first meeting with New Braunfels on March 26, which coincidently marked Mueller's return. Judson broke loose with six runs in the first three innings.



"We showed a toughness in that game,'' Urbanovsky said. "After that, everyone played the last half of the district season extremely well.''

Still, playoff hopes rested on last week's rematch with New Braunfels. Mueller called on experience to work her way out of trouble, backed by an airtight defense.

Offensively, Kelly Ayala staked Judson to a 1-0 lead with a first-inning RBI single and two innings later a sacrifice fly by Brenda Iparraguirre accounted for the final run.

Judson and New Braunfels finished with 4-6 records in the ultra-competitive 25-5A, but Judson earned the playoff berth by virtue of its two-game sweep of the Unicorns in head-to-head play.

"Our record doesn't define who we are,'' said Urbanovsky as she gets her team ready for its fresh start in the playoffs. Judson will face Johnson (San Antonio), the top seed from District 26-5A.

Urbanovsky discounts the notion that now the drive to make the playoffs has been reached, her team will lose its edge.



"We're far from reaching our goal,'' she said. "We were 17-1 at one point last season and had a disappointing finish. There are a lot of things we still want to accomplish this year.''

Urbanovsky, who hails from LaGrange, excelled athletically in volleyball as an outside hitter and as a shortstop/third baseman in softball at St. Mary's University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.

For the St. Mary's softball team, Urbanovsky played third base and made throws to her sister, the team's first baseman. Theresa was a two-time Academic All-American and chosen to all-regional and all-conference teams. The team had national championship appearances in all three of her seasons.

She later became St. Mary's softball head coach in addition to serving as volleyball assistant coach and was received Coach of the Year honors.

For two years starting in 2003, Urbanovsky served as a part-time coach at Trinity University.

Her current duties at Judson include physical education department head.



The coach doesn't measure her role strictly in terms of wins and losses.

"I want our players to become strong, confident women that feel they can do whatever they want to do,'' Urbanovsky said.{PAGEBREAK}
Today, the Churchill (San Antonio) Chargers baseball team is the proud owner of a 25-2 record, a No. 1 area ranking by the San Antonio Express-News and is No. 10 in the state in the Coaches' Class 5A Poll.

The program's level of success bears little resemblance to the one that coach Chad Marshall inherited in 2007 when he agreed to become the school's fourth baseball head coach in four seasons.

"From the start, the parents and the community bought in to what we wanted to do and the kids have done everything I've asked,'' Marshall said.

The Chargers have been a playoff participant in all five of their previous seasons under Marshall and have reached the Region IV tournament the last three years.

They show no signs of slowing.

For guiding Churchill to convincing wins over Johnson (San Antonio) and Brandeis (San Antonio) by scores of 15-3 and 11-3, respectively, Marshall was selected as San Antonio High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank.



Against Johnson, the District 26-5A champion last season, Churchill rang up 17 hits.

"Everything was dropping,'' Marshall said.

Two days later, Churchill produced 13 more hits in the win over Brandeis.

Marshall, always the optimist, felt before the season the Chargers had a good chance to be a solid club.

"The good teams figure out a way to win even if they aren't playing their best,'' Marshall said. "We've been pretty fortunate in that regard. There have been several close games that have kept my blood pressure up.''

Leadership for the Chargers is supplied by four seniors with varsity experience going back to their sophomore season: shortstop Zane Gurwitz (bound for the University of Texas), right fielder Jason Serchay (Ranger College), designated hitter Johnny Whalen and third baseman/pitcher Justin Kelly.



The Chargers' two main starting pitchers, Joseph Dimaline (3-1, 2.82 ERA) and John Shull (7-0, 2.17), are part of a strong junior class.

Churchill (8-1 in District 26-5A), riding an 11-game winning streak, leads 6-3 clubs Johnson and Reagan (San Antonio) by two games with three left to play in the league season.

Marshall said he prefers to adapt his coaching style to the type of talent on hand, but he always stresses pitching, good defense and players that live to compete.

Originally from Corpus Christi, Marshall and his family relocated to East Texas when he was in high school. After graduation from Whitehouse, where he played first base, Marshall converted to the outfield at Howard Payne University.

After college, Marshall made coaching stops at a couple of smaller high schools, and then Churchill called.

"Churchill had been losing kids to new high schools and had only been to the playoffs once in something like nine seasons,'' Marshall said. "After going through all the coaching changes, the kids were excited to have a direction. I'm not saying my direction was any better than anybody else‘s, but at least we had one.''



Marshall, still only 33, provides stability on the coaching line. His record of 158-54 proves he is getting through to his players.

"I'm very happy here. We've got good, young kids coming up,'' the coach said. "I'm pleased about the things we've been able to accomplish and where the program is now.''{PAGEBREAK}
Softball power O'Connor (Helotes) is at it again.

Wins on Thursday and Saturday over Holmes (San Antonio) and Warren (San Antonio) stretched the O'Connor winning streak to 20.

No defeats in more than eight weeks for O'Connor.

With the District 27-5A title assured and the playoffs on the horizon, a sixth state tournament appearance has to be on the minds of coach Anne Lewis and her Panthers, ranked as the area's top team by the San Antonio Express-News.

In recognition of O'Connor's two clutch come-from-behind wins in three days, Lewis was selected as San Antonio area Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank.

O'Connor (23-2, 14-0 in 27-5A) defeated Holmes 4-1 behind the two-hit pitching of senior Kenedy Urbany on Thursday. But it wasn't easy. Holmes (17-8, 10-3), ranked No. 9 in the area, threatened in three of the first four innings. The most serious threat came in the third when Holmes loaded the bases, but failed to score.



Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, O'Connor scored a pair for its first lead. A walk to Missy Garza with the bases loaded snapped a 1-1 tie.

O'Connor sealed it with two more runs in the seventh. Urbany buckled down and retired the final six batters.

Urbany had already decided the first meeting with Holmes earlier this season with a walk-off home run. Holmes returned most of its lineup from the team that lost to O'Connor in the Class 5A Region IV title game a year ago.

Urbany improved her record to 21-2 in Saturday's 2-1 triumph over Warren, this time allowing three hits.

"In some seasons, we've divided the pitching between two or three, but she has been a horse and done a great job,'' Lewis said.

Once again, O'Connor didn't go in front until the sixth inning, with the big hit this time coming from Lesly Martinez.



"We've gotten lucky a few times in our winning streak,'' said Lewis, who has been the softball coach at O‘Connor since the school opened in 1998.

O'Connor kept alive another streak, this one for 44 consecutive district wins. The last league loss came in the 2011 season.

Urbany was one of the few holdovers from the 2012 state tournament team that went 31-3. Lewis began the season with a young and inexperienced lineup around her pitching star. O'Connor lost games in the Brenham tournament by two runs to Moody (Corpus Christi) and Clear Brook (Friendswood) on Feb. 14-15, the opening weekend of the season.

The Panthers haven't lost since.

Lewis has guided O'Connor to the state tournament five times, including each of the last two seasons.

"Our community is great,'' said Lewis. "It is very supportive, like you see in a small town. I think we have six on our staff at the school that have been there since the school opened.''



Lewis said the small-town atmosphere benefits O'Connor because middle school prospects come to watch the varsity team play. She is aware of the talent that is coming her way.

"Every year we try to adapt to the particular strengths of our players to give them a chance to be successful. We feel like each one of them has something to contribute,'' Lewis said. "We work hard.''

The Panthers were state finalists in 2003 and 2011 and lost in the state semifinal round in three other seasons.

As a head coach, Lewis' teams have accumulated 462 wins.

Originally from California, Lewis' family moved to San Antonio when she was in the ninth grade. She's never strayed too far.

"We have the ability this season to get to state,'' Lewis said. "We set our goals high every year.''{PAGEBREAK}
Medina Valley (Castroville) baseball coach Carl Keller is known for a resemblance to retired professional wrestler Ric Flair.



"I don't think so, but I've had a few guys that stopped me to take my picture,'' Keller said. "I'm about a foot shorter and several million dollars poorer.''

Keller reveals, among other little-known biographical facts, that he has a personal library of over 4,000 books, graduated seventh in his class at San Antonio's St. Mary's University and worked in private business for 16 years before entering the teaching/coaching profession 23 years ago.

Even if he got a late start in coaching, Keller has made up for lost time. He went over the 300-win threshold last month in this his 14th season heading up the school's baseball program. His current record is 307-118.

Medina Valley (17-2, 6-0 in District 29-4A) is ranked No. 4 in the San Antonio Express-News area poll.

In recognition for Medina Valley's active 10-game winning streak and first-place district standing, Keller was selected as San Antonio Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank.

Baseball is very big in Castroville, and so far this season Medina Valley has shown a great deal of versatility in its 17 wins. At times the Panthers pitching has been superb. Six of their wins have been shutouts and in five others the opponent scored only one run.

"We realize that pitching is 90 percent of the game,'' said Keller, who doubles as his own pitching coach.



The hitting hasn't been shabby either. Medina Valley has scored 11 runs or more on 12 occasions, including its last three games. But the coach wants his team to be able to bunt and hit behind the runner, too.

"We play small-ball when we have to,'' Keller explained. "In fact, we like to play that way.''

Both losses by Keller's team have come at the hands of Class 5A schools, 6-1 to Brandeis (San Antonio) on Feb. 21 and 4-1 to Steele (Cibolo) on March 7.

The Panthers' undisputed star is junior Jonathan Groff. Named all-state as a sophomore, Groff leads the team in almost every batting and pitching category. He's hitting .483 with 33 RBI and 16 of his hits have gone for extra bases. He also leads in hits, doubles, home runs and is the co-leader in runs.

On the mound, Groff, a left-hander, is 6-1 with a 0.43 ERA, having fanned 60 in 32.1 innings. In a recent District 29-4A showdown with Southside (San Antonio), Groff threw a five-inning one-hitter and struck out 13 in Medina Valley's 12-0 rout.

In another game, Groff threw 18 strikes before missing the strike zone for the first time.



Other hot hitters are sophomore Cody Moos (.429) and freshman Kyle Moos (.412).

In Medina Valley's most recent game before a week-long lull in the schedule, the Panthers blanked Memorial (San Antonio) 16-0. Back-to-back road games, at Uvalde and at Harlandale (San Antonio) await Medina Valley on Thursday and Friday.

"We only have a couple of seniors, but they are pitchers that won't be easy to replace,'' Keller said.

The seniors, Jacob DeVries and Trevor Moretich, combined to strike out 24 in a 3-2 victory over McCollum (San Antonio) on March 22.

Medina Valley went 33-3 in 2008 and advanced to the state tournament, losing 7-3 to Texarkana Pleasant Grove in a Class 3A semifinal.

Keller, 61, did his early coaching on the little league diamond. Coming out of college, he ran the family's John Deere business. While serving on the school board, he was encouraged to consider a career change by a former school superintendent.



In addition to his baseball duties, Keller serves as a football assistant, working with the defensive line. He is the social studies department chairman at the school.

Carl and wife Brenda, a history teacher, have four children: Jesse, Joseph, Joshua and Jedediah.