Justin Machado from La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad (left) notched win No. 500 for his career that began in 1996. At right is Westlake Village of Oaks Christian softball coach Pete Ackermann. He won No. 500 at Oaks Christian and is closing in on No. 600 including years at Newbury Park. Photos: KUSI.com & OaksChristian.org.
All of our exclusive state coaching record lists in football, boys hoops, girls hoops, baseball and softball have now been updated through the 2018-19 school year now that we have completed the updates for baseball and softball. Here is a recap of the major milestones from some of the greatest baseball and softball coaches in California history.
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Baseball Milestones/Highlights
Manny Hermosillo (Montgomery, San Diego)
All sources have Manny at 699 wins after 2019. He’s been coaching at Montgomery since 1984. With one more win in 2020, he’d become just the 13th in state history in the 700 club.
Clovis head coach James Patrick is shown from a game when his son, Chris, was head coach at Clovis North. Chris will now be taking over for his father at Clovis. Photo: @BroncoBaseball9.
Justin Machado (La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad)
Our 2003 State Coach of the Year when the Mavericks went 32-1 and were State Team of the Year captured his 500th win during the season. Injuries made it a tough season, but in the milestone win it was a 10-0 romp past Vista. Machado starts next season with 511 career wins. His son, Austin, a catcher, will be one of the top players in the San Diego Section.
Dan Maye (Royal, Simi Valley)
He’s been involved in the tough competition of Ventura County as head coach of the Highlanders for 30 years. Maye’s team won him the 500th game of his career with a victory on March 27 against Hood River Valley of Oregon.
Spud O’Neil (Lakewood)
The state’s fourth winningest coach ever — and second in CIF Southern Section history — added 18 wins during the 2019 season and should reach 900 (would be fourth in state history) next season.
James Patrick (Clovis)
The longtime head coach of the Cougars concluded his career, which began in 1983 at San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno, in dreamlike fashion as his team won the CIF Central Section Division I title with a 14-3 victory over Frontier of Bakersfield. Patrick passed four others on the all-time state coaching list during the season and stands in the top six in state history. There is one coach right behind him, though, on the all-time list — Michael Groves of Monterey — who at this point hasn’t retired. Coach Patrick’s son, Chris, who previously was a head coach at Clovis North, has been named to be the new baseball head coach starting next season at Clovis.
Bob Parry (Poway)
A banner was presented to Parry for his 500th win after the Titans beat La Costa Canyon on May 17, but according to numbers from the San Diego Union-Tribune (which we view as more official in the San Diego Section) the win total should still be 499. This could change if the school were to provide more details. It also doesn’t change the fact that Parry has been a great baseball coach at Poway since 1996.
Darol Salazar (Palm Desert)
It was another 20-win season for the Aztecs under Salazar (also the school’s athletic director). That put his career win total at a reported 653 sine 1987. He passed seven on the all-time state list this season and is now in the top 20.
Kevin Smith (Covina)
A victory vs. Wilson of Hacienda Heights gave Smith his 500th career win. He’s been at Covina for just the last two seasons. Previous stints have been at Sierra Vista (Baldwin Park), Baldwin Park and South Hills since 1983. He also has coached at the junior college level but the wins are counted just for high school.
Softball Milestones/Highlights
Pete Ackermann (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
Quite a lot of attention was given to Ackermann when Oaks Christian won the 500th game in the history of its program with a victory over Newbury Park. We had to be reminded that Ackermann himself, however, has more wins than that due to his years of coaching at Newbury Park before he started the Lions’ program in 2000. Ackermann will actually need just nine wins in 2020 to reach 600 for his own career.
Art Banks (Roseville)
Without any fanfare, Banks won the 700th game of his career in the fifth season of his second stint with the Tigers. He began coaching at Roseville in 1987 and also was at Woodcreek of Roseville from 1995 to 2013. Banks became the seventh coach in state history to join the 700 club.
Margaret Fitzgerald (Cloverdale)
It was the year of Margarets (see below) in California softball coaching. This one joined the other two on the all-time state list when she won her 500th game this season. Fitzgerald has been coaching softball at Cloverdale since 1990
Margaret Mauro (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego): Our State Coach of the Year for three seasons ago retired at the end of the 2019 season. She was the head coach at Cathedral Catholic (and before that at predecessor school University of San Diego High) for 41 years. Mauro’s final win total of 777 stands at No. 3 on the all-time state list.
Margaret Neill (Paraclete, Lancaster)
For Coach Neill to get 15 wins next season doesn’t seem like a stretch (her team went 18-2 this season, not counting a forfeit) and if she does she’d get to 800 for her career. There’s only been one so far in state history to get to 800 — the late Jim Liggett from Carlmont of Belmont.
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