FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
PHILADELPHIA – There will be two familiar faces roaming the dugouts this season for the La Salle baseball team.
Head coach Mike Lake has announced the hiring of two former Explorers, John Duffy and Brian Meagher, who will be added to the coaching staff for the 2012 season.
“We are very happy to have John and Brian back in our program,” said head coach Mike Lake. “They both bring a lot to the table and should have a positive impact on the team.”
Duffy served as the pitching coach at La Salle for four seasons from 2004-2007 and made an immediate impact with the program, lowering the team ERA from 9.75 in 2003 to 5.74 during his first season at the helm of the pitchers. He will resume that role this season in his second stint with the program.
Two La Salle pitchers were also selected in the Major League Baseball draft under Duffy’s watch. Craig Muschko (22nd round, Cubs) and Gerard Breslin (23rd round, Phillies) were both taken in the 2007 June MLB draft, the last season Duffy was at the helm of the pitching staff at La Salle.
Duffy also helped guide the club to their first and only victory in the Liberty Bell Classic back in 2006.
Since his departure, the Richmond alum has stayed local and was the head coach at Germantown Academy for three seasons from 2008-10. At Germantown, Duffy won two Pennsylvania Private School State Championships in 2008 and 2010 and was nationally ranked all three seasons.
In 2010, Duffy led Germantown Academy to a 29-3 record and a ranking as high as eighth in the country according to Collegiate Baseball and 14th in Baseball America.
Also last season, Duffy had one of his players, infielder Sean Coyle, drafted in the third round by the Boston Red Sox.
Meagher will assume the role of a volunteer assistant after graduating from La Salle in 2010. Since departing 20th and Olney, Meagher has spent one season coaching the infield for Monsignor Bonner High School. He will also help out with the infield at La Salle in addition to being a key contributor to administrative and operational duties.
As an Explorer, Meager appeared in and started 200 games during his career with 11 home runs, 40 doubles and 82 RBI.
“Brian was a great four-year player for us and had success both on the field and off in the classroom,” said Lake.
The La Salle baseball team will begin their individual fall workouts over the next few weeks and will begin official practice for the spring season in January.
