Jim Schmitz’s career head coaching record:

At Wilmington (Ohio) College

Year

Record

1984

13-21

1985

22-20

1986

26-19

TOTAL

61-60

At Cincinnati

Year

Record

1987

31-21

1988

28-21

1989

21-30

1990

23-29

TOTAL

103-101

At Eastern

Year

Record

1995

28-19

1996

25-22

1997

25-28

1998

37-16

1999

33-23

2000

22-33

2001

35-20

2002

25-26

2003

26-31

2004

26-30

2005

17-39

2006

31-24

2007

7-11

TOTAL

337-322

OVERALL:501-483

Key Dates in Schmitz’s coaching career:

1984 – picked up first career win at Wilmington College 1987 – hired as head coach at Cincinnati 1988 – picked up career win No. 100 while at Cincinnati 1991 – became an assistant at Mississippi Aug. 31, 1994 – hired as Eastern’s head coach 1996 – picked up career win No. 200 while at Eastern 1998 – named OVC coach of the year 1999 – picked up career win No. 300 while at Eastern; named OVC coach of the year 2001 – named OVC coach of the year 2003 – picked up career win No. 400 while at Eastern March 24, 2007 – picked up career win No. 500 while at Eastern

Jim Schmitz didn’t let on that he had just won his 500th career game as a college baseball head coach. Schmitz didn’t jump for joy, or pump his fist or let out a big yell. His players didn’t douse him with a Gatorade bath or present him with plaques commemorating the historic win.Schmitz simply stood, walked out, shook hands with his players and received a congratulatory hug from his 12-year-old daughter, Hannah.The Panthers pulled out a 9-7 win in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Tennessee Tech to give Schmitz the historic win.”He came up to us and said it was a good win for him,” said senior first baseman Erik Huber. “He said ‘Let’s go out and play another game.’ It was very brief but we said congratulations.” “That’s how he is,” said Eastern senior third baseman Ryan Campbell. “He never really gets too up or too down. After the game, it’s a good job and he lets us know what we need to work on.”The Panthers led 9-6 going into the ninth, but didn’t make it easy for Schmitz and the team to win.Tech loaded the bases with no outs, prompting Schmitz to stand for the only time that inning. He headed out to the pitcher’s mound to replace Mike Budde with freshman Richie Derbak, Eastern’s closer.Derbak, who said he didn’t know about Schmitz being close to career win No. 500 until this weekend, retired all three hitters he faced to give Eastern the win.Other than the visit to change pitchers, Schmitz sat against Eastern’s dugout wall, calmly signaling in pitches to freshman catcher Kory Peppenhorst. He leaned forward with two outs and Derbak got a 0-2 count on Tech’s Thomas Nelson. Nelson hit Derbak’s next pitch to Campbell at third base, with Campbell then throwing across the field to Huber for the game’s final out.”It’s a good accomplishment for him,” said Huber, who went 3-for-4 in the win and reached base five times. “He’s a great coach, knows what he’s doing out there. I was luckily a part of his 300th (win at Eastern) last year. Those things we like to get for our coaches.”Schmitz, who also has been the head coach at Wilmington College in Ohio and at Cincinnati, is in his 13th year at Eastern. Schmitz said he is glad the wait for win No. 500 is over.”It came up in the ninth in my mind,” Schmitz said about the milestone. “I hate to admit that. I was like ‘Get it over, let’s go Derbak. Please.’ Because the others have been long.” One of the most other significant wins in Schmitz’s coaching career at Eastern happened last year, when Schmitz won his 300th game at Eastern.The win also made him the Panthers’ all-time highest winning coach.However, the win came later than expected for Schmitz, who was expected to break the record during the 2005 season.But the Panthers struggled to a 17-39 record that year, leaving Schmitz one win shy of the record heading into the 2006 season.Schmitz broke that record when Eastern beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 3-2 in the Panthers’ second game last year.Schmitz joined his team in shallow right field after Saturday’s win and not much was made of his win. “He was extremely calm about the whole thing,” Derbak said.Schmitz said he was glad his wife and two of his three daughters were there to see the win. “It’s been a good fit for me and my family,” Schmitz said of his time at Eastern. “They follow what I do and it makes you feel real proud as a dad that they’re out here. Of all the places I’ve been, this is where I’ve been the longest. To be able to do something long means I guess they like what I’m doing.”

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