Editor’s note: This is the sixth installment in a series looking back at Eastern baseball coach Jim Schmitz’s 20 years coaching the Panthers.

 Jim Schmitz was flying back to Illinois after the Eastern baseball team played its final game in the NCAA Regional in Waco, Texas, when his wife Kathy noticed something was wrong.

The 1999 Panthers were the first team to advance to a regional in program history, but following their exit so did the departure of several of the team’s best players.

“She noticed that I was in a depressed mood on the plane,” Schmitz said. “She asked me (what was wrong) and I know what my response was, ‘How am I going to do this again?’”

Since his first season at Eastern in 1995, Schmitz had a winning record in each of his first five years except for 1997, when the Panthers first joined the Ohio Valley Conference.

In 1998 and 1999, Schmitz led Eastern to 70 wins, a 34-13 OVC record, two regular-season conference titles and the school’s first appearance in an NCAA Regional.

But that was in the past and the players that brought the program success were no longer there.

“I remember it was really a feeling of, wow this was a lot of work, a lot of luck in some ways,” Schmitz said. “To think you go out and beat Arizona, to think you go out to a regional for the first time in school history, now the bar has been raised.”

For the first time since being hired at Eastern, Schmitz realized the difficult task of replacing talent is, recruiting from central Illinois.

“I didn’t sense how hard it was to recruit here – in terms of the changing of the guard and replenishing the talent,” Schmitz said. “It’s not like we were going to get three JUCO All-Americans to plug in the holes.”

Nonetheless, the 2000 season opened and despite the loss of some key players, Schmitz did have John Larson back in the rotation, following a 10-3 season for the pitcher.

In the 1999 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Larson in the 17th round.

It has been about 15 years since Schmitz sat on a couch in Larson’s home and gave his advice and to the day, Schmitz still regrets it.

“Back then 17th round wasn’t good money and maybe my advice, and it’s OK looking back what was right and what was wrong, but my advice pushed him to stay,” Schmitz said.

Larson returned to Eastern, finished his last season with the Panthers with a 5-7 record and a 5.04 ERA, but he also injured his arm.

“I said I would never do that again,” Schmitz said. “We’ll talk about the pluses and minuses, but I’ll never give my opinion on what they do.”

Following a 22-33 season for Eastern, Larson was drafted again in the 2000 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round, but his potential was never seen, Schmitz said.

“That was the biggest down time for me just in terms of a guy who came back and gave me his all and he was injured, but I would have liked to seen him go out and get that shot,” Schmitz said. “He was still drafted by the Pirates, but never able to see what he could really do.”

The 2000 season was the first time Schmitz experienced failure in his career with Eastern, but that would not last for long.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].