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Mens Baseball - Coaching Staff
Head
Coach Chris Schwarz
Chris Schwarz completed his third season as UW-La Crosse head baseball coach in 2007, leading the Eagles to a 17-21 overall and 9-15 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record.
He was named the 2006 WIAC Coach of the Year after the Eagles finished 22-19 overall and 15-9 in the conference. UW-L’s 15 conference victories were the most since finishing 18-10 in 2002. The Eagles also earned their first win in the conference tournament since 2002 with a 5-4 victory over UW-Oshkosh May 13 before falling 10-9 to eventual champion UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals May 14. Schwarz served as interim head coach in 2005, leading the Eagles to a 12-27-1 overall and 9-15 conference mark.
Schwarz was an assistant coach at UW-L in 2003 and 2004 under George Williams.
Schwarz was also an assistant football coach for the Eagles in 2002 and 2003.
Schwarz was head baseball coach of the Manitowoc (Wis.) Bandits Semi-Professional
Team from 2002-2003. A member of the Wisconsin State League Baseball Association,
Manitowoc had back-to-back winning seasons under Schwarz finishing 39-22 in
2002 and 41-19 in 2003.
Schwarz earned his bachelor’s (2002) and master’s (2004) degrees
from UW-L. He was a four-year baseball letter winner for the Eagles and was
named to the 2002 All-WIAC Honorable Mention Team after pitching in a school
record 19 games. He went 2-1 with a 4.32 earned run average and had a team-leading
seven saves in 2002, tied for second-most in single-season school history.
Schwarz is second in career saves at UW-L with 10. A member of two WIAC Championship
teams (1998, 2000), Schwarz was the Eagles’ team captain in 2002.
He also earned three letters with the UW-L football team and was a member of
the conference champion squad in 1999. Schwarz was named to the WIAC Scholastic
Honor Roll in 2001 and 2002.
He served as a sport administrative intern with the La Crosse (Wis.) Loggers Baseball Organization in 2004.
Along with his coaching duties, Schwarz works in the UW-L Foundation Office.
Assistant Coaches
Scott Gillitzer completed his third season on the Eagles’ staff as an assistant coach in 2007. Gillitzer, a native of Prairie du Chien, was drafted in the 22nd round by the Los Angleles Dodges in 2001. He played with the Verbo Beach Dodgers (Class A) as an infielder from 2001-2005.
Gillitzer started his college career at Madison Area Technical College from
1998-1999, where he earned NJCAA III All-America, all-state, all-region and
all-conference honors. He holds the school record for career hits with 129,
and hits in a season with 71. Gillitzer helped lead his team to a fourth-place
finish in the Junior College World Series.
Gillitzer transfered to UW-Milwaukee for the 2000 and 2001 seasons, where he earned all-conference and all-region honors in 2001. He also serves as an assistant coach with the La Crosse Loggers in the Northwoods League.
Sean Gavaghan returned to the Eagles’ coaching staff in 2007 after a two-year hiatus. Gavaghan, who completed his sixth year as assistant with UW-L in 2007, signed a professional contract following his collegiate career at the University of Richmond and playing for the U.S. National Team. A native of Fort Washington, Pa., Gavaghan received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Richmond in 1992.
He played in the Minnesota Twins organization from 1992-97, where he spent two seasons at the AAA level, before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers organization in 1997.
Matt Blakeley finished his second season on the Eagles’ staff as
an assistant coach in 2007. A four-year starter in left field at Randolph-Macon
College in Ashland, Virginia, Blakeley set school records in doubles, games
played and total bases.
Prior to coming to UW-L, Blakeley spent four years as the head varsity assistant coach at Adams-Friendship High School in Adams, Wisconsin. He was a member of three straight South Central Conference Championship teams. Adams-Friendship also captured two consecutive regional championships in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).
