Coach of the Year: Dave Collenback
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."
David Collenback, O'Connor
Courtesy photo
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."
