COACHING STAFF Jay lewis HEAD COACH Jay Lewis was hired as the head baseball coach at his alma mater, Wittenberg University, in 1996, with his first season at the helm in 1997. Lewis, who previously served as an assistant coach for one year for the Tigers, has compiled an 267-227-4 record. He became the program’s winningest coach in 2006, surpassing the legendary Red Maurer. A 1994 Wittenberg graduate, Lewis excelled on the diamond for the Tigers in the early 1990s. Lewis was a three-year starting catcher for Wittenberg from 1991-1993 after spending his first season at West Virginia Wesleyan. Prior to his time at Wittenberg, Lewis was an assistant coach at St. Paris Graham High School, where he helped lead the Falcons to a Division II State runner-up finish in 1995. In addition, he has helped coach perennial power
Piqua in the American Legion League with Head Coach Rick Gold. During his head coaching stint at Wittenberg, Lewis’ teams have excelled, averaging 21 wins a season, and have finished second in the alwayscompetitive North Coast Athletic Conference tournament twice (1997 and 1998). His teams display a very aggressive style of baseball, with strong fundamentals being their basis for success. Several players, including Brent Parke, Ryan Born, Ryan Peters, Steve Less and Kurt Hartfelder have gone on to play professional baseball after their careers at Wittenberg ended. Tiger teams are always fighting to be the best and looking to compete in the NCAC, which has produced several NCAA Division III World Series participants in recent years. A native of St. Paris and a graduate of Graham High School, Lewis and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Lewis’ hometown with their children, Megan and Josh.
Rick Gold joined the Wittenberg baseball coaching staff in 2004 after a long and storied career in high school and youth league baseball around the Miami Valley. He is focused primarily on team defense and pitching. Gold coached high school and American Legion baseball for 31 years. He won 191 games in 13 seasons at Miami East High School in Casstown, Ohio, and 314 in 18 seasons at Piqua High School, winning 10 league titles, nine sectional titles, four district titles and playing second in regional tournaments in his career. In addition, he enjoyed tremendous success as a youth baseball coach, primarily with Piqua Post 184 of the American Legion Baseball League.
He was inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January 2008. Gold was named Miami Valley Coach of the Year in 1976 and 1987, coached in the Ohio All-Star Game in 1979, 1987 and 1995 and was inducted into the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1982. He is a 1973 graduate of Ohio Northern University, where he lettered in baseball three years, and he has taught high school mathematics the last 31 years. Gold sent many quality players on to college and professional baseball, including Bryan and Ken Magoteaux, holders of many Wittenberg offensive records for a season and career. Gold remains a mathematics teacher at Piqua High School. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Piqua.
Former Major Leaguer Rick White joined the Wittenberg coaching staff in 2009. A graduate of local Kenton Ridge High School, White attended Paducah Community College before being drafted in the Major League Amateur Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990. White enjoyed a lengthy career in the big leagues, pitching for 14 different teams over a span of 14 years. He collected a career record of 42-54 while
pitching on the 2000 New York Mets team that advanced to the World Series and the 2002 St. Louis Cardinals that made the National League Championship Series. In the summer of 2010 White will host, along with Head Coach Jay Lewis, the first annual Rick White’s Rising Stars Springfield Tiger Classic, a collaborative youth baseball and softball tournament for regional teams. The tournament aims to raise money to help improve baseball facilities in Springfield. White currently resides with his family in his hometown of Springfield.
Tim LaBolt joined the Tigers’ coaching staff in 2010 after a four-year playing career at Denison University. During his time as an outfielder for the Big Red, he helped Denison to a 91-68 overall record. LaBolt drew 55 walks in his career, enough to place him seventh in the Denison record books in the category. In 2008, LaBolt and the Big Red won the program’s fourth NCAC West Divison
Championship and posted 27 wins, the third-highest win total in school history. LaBolt, a native of LaGrange, Ill., graduated from Denison University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management, and now resides in Springfield, Ohio.
rick gold ASSISTANT COACH
rick white ASSISTANT COACH
tim labolt ASSISTANT COACH
Name Year(s) Red Maurer 1951-75 Dick Fahrney 1976 Rocky Alt 1977 Keith Jordan 1978-80 Bob Davis 1981-83 Tim Kelley 1984-90 Rick Willis 1991-96 Jay Lewis 1997-2009 Totals 1951-2009
HEAD COACHING LEDGER
Seasons 25 1 1 3 3 7 6 12 58
Games 350 16 18 78 77 259 235 498 1531
5
Wins 211 11 10 41 19 143 150 267 852
Losses 139 5 8 36 58 109 85 227 667
Ties 0 0 0 1 0 7 0 4 12
Win Pct. .603 .688 .555 .532 .247 .524 .638 .536 .556