Chad Massengale-SFA
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Stephen F. Austin baseball head coach Johnny Cardenas announced Monday that former Weatherford College pitching instructor Chad Massengale has been hired on to the Lumberjack coaching staff as pitching instructor, filling the team’s final coaching vacancy for the 2009 season.
“I believe Chad’s experience at the collegiate level as a pitching coach and recruiter will compliment our staff very well,” Cardenas said. “We look for our pitchers to benefit from his knowledge and experience.”
Massengale spent the 2008 season at Weatherford College after three seasons in East Texas at Texarkana College from 2005-2007. Last season at WC, Massengale’s Coyotes led Region V in team ERA, posting a 4.63 ERA – no other team in the league had an ERA under 5.06 – as they finished the season with a 36-17 record. One of his pupils, Josh Turner, earned first team all-conference honors after picking up 10 wins with a 3.57 ERA.
Before his time at WC, the Weatherford, Texas, native spent three successful seasons at Texarkana where he helped the Bulldogs compile a 128-40 three-year record. The team reached the Junior College World Series his first year and the regional tournament each of the next two seasons. While there he saw a number of students selected by major league clubs including David Welch and Jamie Richmond in the 2005 draft, and Maurice Bankston in the 2007 draft. Welch currently sports a 11-4 record at AA Huntsville in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
Massengale also put together a solid playing career, earning conference Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore at Vernon College after being an all-district pitcher for the Weatherford High School Kangaroos.
After Vernon, he finished his final two seasons at Texas State in 2000 and 2001. While a Bobcat, he was part of the 2000 Texas State team that won the second of back-to-back Southland Conference Tournaments and upset host Baylor in the first round of the Waco Regional. His 3.09 ERA in 2000 still ranks in the top 10 all-time at Texas State, and his seven saves over his two-year career there are tied for fourth.
“I’m glad to be here and meet everyone, including all of the guys,” Massengale said. “I’m excited about the challenge ahead the idea of competing for SFA’s first Southland Conference title.”
He will take over a Lumberjack pitching staff that struck out nearly seven batters per game in 2008 and had two pitchers (Kevin Thomas and Erik Gregersen) drafted by MLB teams.
However, the group also put up a 5.91 team ERA while opponents hit at a .305 clip for the year. The ‘Jacks also walked 272 hitters in `08 – the most in the SLC – despite having the second-lowest total of innings pitched.
