Jim Danley never has forgotten his first year as head baseball coach at Eaton (Colo.).
"We were 1-22 and should have been 0-23," he said. "It was a miracle. We beat a really good team, 10-0, and were really stunned. The other team probably hasn’t gotten over it yet."
Jim Danley (right)
File photo by Pam Hungenberg
From that extremely humble beginning, however, Danley has molded a small-town baseball juggernaut, which last week set a Colorado record with its 46th consecutive victory, 12-2, over Gilcrest Valley.
The record of 45 had been held by – not surprisingly – Eaton’s teams from 1998-99 and Niwot (2004-05).
"We have a sophomore-junior dominated team," Danley pointed out. "I’m very pleasantly surprised that we have started out our season 10-0. It (the streak) gives us something to work hard for and learn to play under pressure."
Even though Eaton is a town of just 2,500 with 500 students in grades 9-12, it has become a baseball hotbed under the tutelage of Danley, who is Colorado’s all-time winner with a 676-149-2 record and nine Class 3A state championships in 39 years.
Danley said he built his program by "getting as many kids to play baseball as possible. We promote pitching. You are a pitcher until we tell you that you are not a pitcher.
"Another thing we do that distinguishes us is that we throw the knuckle curve. There is no elbow involvement and you can’t hurt a kid’s elbow with that pitch. It breaks sharply downward and is very difficult to hit hard – if at all. It’s perfectly legal, but it breaks like an outlawed pitch (the spitball). It’s pretty difficult to teach."
The Fightin’ Reds play as many bigger schools as they can each year and participate in a Class 4A summer league. "We schedule the best teams we can – that’s part of our philosophy," Danley pointed out.
That philosophy has paid off by helping to produce big-time players. Last year, for example, three Eaton seniors and a fourth graduate playing in college all were taken in the Major League draft.
"That was quite a senior class," Danley noted. "That’s something that happens in a small town probably once in a hundred years," he laughed. "We have 10 kids playing in college (this year)."
The winning streak, now at 47, could end at any time, but baseball fever will continue at Eaton as the Fightin’ Reds seek their third consecutive state title.
"It’s a real tribute to the whole community," Danley praised. "It’s a small town and everybody kind of jumps on the bandwagon."
* Wando (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) defeated St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) , 8-1, in a loser’s bracket game during the 41st annual Hanahan Tournament in Charleston, S.C. Around 50 pro scouts watched winning pitcher Drew Cisco, South Carolina’s No. 1 pro prospect, fire a three-hitter with nine strikeouts. Ohio’s top prospect, Stetson Allie, took the loss.
* Jake Thompson struck out 18, with no walks, as unbeaten Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall, Texas) blanked Royse City (Royse City, Texas), 7-0.
* Dakota Rabbitt fired a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts as Bishop Feehan (Attleboro, Mass.) defeated Attleboro (Attleboro, Mass.), 4-0.
* Paschal (Fort Worth, Texas) star Tyler Nurdin belted two grand-slam home runs and drove in eight runs against Richland, but the game was suspended in the top of the eighth inning with the score tied at 11-11 and will be completed Monday.
* Junior second baseman Taylor Hoobler belted a double, triple and two grand-slam homers while driving in 10 runs as River Road (Amarillo, Texas) routed Sanford-Fritch (Fritch, Texas), 18-4, in six innings.
* New Jersey baseball coaches Frank Salvano (St. Joseph Regional of Montvale) and Joe Servino (Paramus) both won their 500th career games on the same day.
Lehrmann has 22 strikeouts
Karen Lehrmann struck out 22 batters as Richland (North Richland Hills, Texas) nipped Weatherford, 1-0, in nine innings. Earlier this spring she fanned 17 during another 1-0 victory against the same team.
* Yough (Herminie, Pa.) junior pitcher Nicole Sleith has allowed just one earned run and thrown two no-hitters while compiling a 7-0 record. She struck out 18 consecutive batters against Hempfield earlier this spring. Her high game was 21 strikeouts against Peters Township.
* Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) pitcher Emily Weiman struck out 17 and posted her fourth no-hitter of the year during a 1-0 victory over St. Vincent Pallotti.
* Farmingdale (Farmingdale, N.Y.) pitcher Isabella Corrao had 16 strikeouts during a 1-0, no-hit victory against Oceanside.
* St. Paul Catholic (Bristol, Conn.) nipped Seymour, 1-0, to end the defending Class M state champion’s 27-game winning streak. Emily O’Keefe struck out 14 and scored the winning run. She also benefitted from a rare triple play.
* Grace Brethren (Simi Valley, Calif.) senior Danielle Fletcher tied the 15-year-old California state record with 17 consecutive hits.
Capital stars beat U.S.
The Capital All-Stars defeated the U.S. All-Stars, 117-108, during the annual Capital Classic basketball game at American University. Senior guard Markel Starks (Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.)) scored 18 points for the winners and earned MVP honors. Teammate Eugene McCrory, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound senior from Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers (Washington, District of Columbia), had 20 points and four blocks.
Villanova recruit Jayvaughn Pinkston led the U.S. All-Stars with 26 points and nine rebounds.
* The USA finished fourth during the biennial Albert Schweitzer International Youth Basketball Tournament in Mannheim, Germany. East Aurora (Ill.) junior guard Ryan Boatright led the USA with a 19.6 scoring average for seven games – which were played in eight days. Australia won the title with a 68-51 victory over Germany.
* Rhode Island’s No. 1 sophomore, 6-6 Andrew Chrabascz, is transferring from Portsmouth to Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, Mass.). He averaged 23.9 points this year while leading the Patriots to the Division II state title.
* St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) forward Briana Hutchen (5-11) has signed with Rutgers University after averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds as a senior, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Rison named head coach
Former NFL standout wide receiver Andre Rison has returned to his alma mater, Northwestern (Flint, Mich.), as head football coach. He was chosen from a field of 13 applicants and hopes to put his team in the state playoffs for the first time.
* Plymouth (Canton, Mich.) kicker Kyle Brindza has made a commitment to the University of Notre Dame. The 6-2, 215-pound junior, who made 7 of 10 field-goal attempts (long of 49 yards) and punted for a 48.2 average, could graduate this spring and skip his senior year.
* The Gridiron Challenge Foundation will sponsor the first annual Florida vs. the USA football classic featuring eight teams Aug. 27-28 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
New Trier is national champ
New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.) defeated St. Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) , 5-0, to win the first annual USA Hockey National High School Championship in Bensenville, Ill. Twenty-one states were represented. The Trevians, who went 6-0 in the tourney, finished the year with a 64-5-3 record.
New Trier coach Bob Melton called the tourney "terrific" and revealed that his team, which lost in the state semifinals, got into the national field because Illinois state champion Chicago St. Rita could not participate. He called it "a nice way to end on a high note."
Senior center Matthew Hickey led New Trier in the title game with two goals and two assists. New Trier nipped Shaler Area (Pittsburgh, Pa.) , 5-4 in overtime during the semifinals despite four goals by Zac Lynch.
Barrington wins soccer title
Barrington (Barrington, Ill.) blanked Glenbrook South (Glenview, Ill.), 2-0, to win the championship during the Pepsi Showdown Soccer Tournament in Bridgeview, Ill. The Barrington girls played five times in six days – including three overtime games.
* Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, Ga.) defeated Providence, 3-1, to give Thom Jacquet his 200th soccer coaching victory.
Potpourri
* Art Stout has retired as tennis coach at Kirkwood (Kirkwood, Mo.). He compiled a 1,109-333-1 record during 53 years with boys and 36 with girls.
* Mike Bentley, founder of the American Junior Golf Association, died recently at the age of 59. Bentley, a former sportswriter, served as AJGA’s first president from 1978-83. Today’s membership includes 5,000 juniors from 49 states and 30 countries.
* The loss of all extracurricular activities at Mansfield (Mass.) has been averted for at least one year since the town voted to transfer $890,000 to the school fund, according to the Boston Globe. Nevertheless, all those who compete in sports and clubs will have to pay a fee in 2010-11.
* Great Valley (Malvern, Pa.) defeated West Chester East, 17-5, in lacrosse to give Joe Tornetta his 300th coaching victory.
* Brothers Jon and James Walters – two of the nation’s premier water polo players – will attend Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the fall, according to the Orange County Register. Jon, a freshman, scored 24 goals as a freshman at Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, Calif.), while James is an eighth-grader.
