By NCNews Staff
(This is the fourth in a series of feature stories on the 2007 inductees into the Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame).
BY JOE SAGER NCSPORTS@NCNEWSONLINE.COM Joe Hudak has built quite an impressive resume as a baseball coach. In his 16th year as Winthrop University's baseball coach, Hudak's teams have won three Big South Conference championships, made four NCAA tournament appearances and averaged 37 wins during the last 11 seasons. He will be honored for those achievements April 29 at the New Englander as one of 13 inductees into the Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame. "There's no doubt, it's a tremendous honor," Hudak said. "I was born and raised in New Castle and that will always be home for me. I am very pleased and humbled by the selection. "The list of the people being inducted is a great group. It's an honor to be with that great class." The class includes Mark Stanley, who played baseball for Hudak at Geneva College. "He's a great coach," Stanley said. "He's very passionate about the game. He is a hard worker and he taught me more about life than anything. He cares about his players. I am not surprised by his success. I had him in eighth grade at Union and he was one of the best teachers I ever had. That carried over." Hudak, a standout during his career at Shenango High, went to Malone College after his 1968 graduation and helped the program win two NAIA district championships as a shortstop and pitcher. He began his baseball coaching career at Union in 1976, compiling a four-year record of 62-30 with a section title. "I was fortunate enough to coach baseball and football at Union," he said. "That was a great opportunity for me to get back home." Following graduate school at Kent State, Hudak accepted the post at Geneva, where he directed the program for seven years. He then attended graduate school at Mississippi State, where he served as an assistant coach. He returned to Geneva for one season before going back to MSU as pitching coach. At Geneva, Hudak's teams compiled a record of 203-137 with two district championships and four district runner-up finishes. His program had 16 All-Americans and two professional draft picks. "At Mississippi State, we went to the College World Series in 1990. I was there in 1991, too, and then the job opened up at Winthrop," he said. "It was a great opportunity for me. It was a young D-I program that was struggling to find an identity. It's been a great fit for me. I have been here 16 years and been able to build it into a good D-I program." That may be an understatement. During the past six years, Winthrop -- located in Rock Hill, S.C. -- has averaged 40 wins a season and has played in three NCAA Regionals, finishing second in 2001 and 2006. Only 13 of the 293 Division I baseball programs have won more games the last two years than the 90 won by Winthrop. Before this season, Hudak had a career mark of 541-361-5 with the Eagles. "My success is due to the fact that I've had good players and assistant coaches who worked very hard for me," he said. "In all the games I've coached, I have never thrown a pitch or gotten a hit. My job is to prepare my players and their job is to win." The 2006 season produced two milestones. A 4-3 win over the Miami Hurricanes was his 700th college victory. A few days later, a dramatic 3-2 win over Evansville gave Hudak No. 500 at Winthrop. "I have been very blessed. I knew at a pretty young age that I wanted to coach baseball," he said. "I was fortunate my dad coached me from the time I was 8 until I was 18. I always loved the game and knew that's what I wanted to do. The Lord has blessed me and allowed me to do what I wanted to do my entire life. I get paid for going to ballpark. It doesn't get much better than that." Hudak, 56, and his wife, Rhonda, have three children: daughters Logan (12) and Callie (6) and a son, Preston (11). They live in Rock Hill. TOMORROW: Gene Matsook.
