On Campus: New Coaches Reflect On Their First Wins

College baseball saw an unprecedented amount of coaching turnover last year and 35 programs entered this spring under new leadership. Baseball America caught up with a few of the first-year head coaches to talk about their first win in their new job and what they’ve learned after three weeks this season.

Mervyl Melendez, Florida International

Melendez took over at Florida International after leading Alabama State to its first ever NCAA tournament appearance as a Division I program. He is a veteran head coach, having spent 12 years leading Bethune-Cookman before his five years at Alabama State.

But Melendez said he was still nervous before his first game with the Panthers. FIU defeated Jacksonville State, 5-0, on Opening Day behind six scoreless innings from senior righthander Chris Mourelle.

“It made it more special because Chris Mourelle threw a shutout,” Melendez said. “My emotions were all over the place. Coaching here is a great opportunity to lead the Panthers. The first game I coached in an FIU uniform, we came up with the victory. It was a special night for me and the whole entire staff that we put together.”

Melendez said he was given a game ball following the victory, but after 17 years as a head coach, he doesn’t place much emphasis on mementos. Instead, he is focused on the progress the Panthers (8-6) are making.

“What’s more important is trying to build the program that you want to build,” he said. “I’m not big on let’s collect baseballs or let’s collect this.”

Nick Mingione, Kentucky

Mingione spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach under John Cohen—the past eight at Mississippi State and three at Kentucky. This is his first season as a head coach.

The Wildcats had a tough start to the season, as they were swept at North Carolina and lost all three games by a total of four games. Kentucky got its first win of the season Feb. 24 against St. Joseph’s at Old Dominion’s tournament. The Wildcats overcame a five-run deficit to come back and win, 16-9. By the time he got to the bus after the game, Mingione had 68 text messages of congratulations.

“The biggest thing I remember is we were down early and our guys fought back and got the win,” Mingione said. “That meant a lot to me personally. To come back and find a way to win a baseball game meant a lot. The guys wanted it for the entire coaching staff as well.”

Mingione said he has learned a lot in the first three weeks, as the Wildcats have started 9-6.

“The No. 1 thing I learned is that being in this league for 11 years helped me for this moment, especially John Cohen’s leadership,” Mingione said. “He provided me with so much freedom. In a lot of ways, he was preparing me for it the whole time.

“It’s been reiterated to me is how important it is to have good coaching staff around me. That’s what I have here. I learned that our team is super competitive. We’ve been in every single baseball game. Our plan has been simple and precise. The guys have been able to adapt, adjust and welcome the new change.”

Lane Burroughs, Louisiana Tech

Burroughs was hired from Northwestern State, where he had spent the last four seasons as head coach. Louisiana Tech is coming off a trip to the NCAA tournament, its first since 1987. The Bulldogs have built on that momentum, starting this season 12-1.

Burroughs first win at Louisiana Tech was a 11-0 victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Opening Day.

“Anytime you have that first one, you’re a nervous wreck,” Burroughs said. “People can downplay that all they want, but you wouldn’t be human if you’re not feeling butterflies. To get the first one under our belt was exciting.”

Burroughs said the Bulldogs gave him the game ball from the first win. Louisiana Tech has a veteran team and he said they quickly embraced him.

“I enjoy coaching this group,” Burroughs said. “They’re loose, they love the game, they hate to lose. By no means are we the most talented team around. But we’ve got kids with some toughness and that play with a chip on their shoulder.”

Dan Bertolini, Youngstown State

Bertolini, 31, is one of the youngest head coaches in the country. He was hired from Mercyhurst North East (Pa.) JC, where he spent eight seasons as head coach.

Youngstown State was swept at the Riverview Inn Governors Challenge on Opening Weekend and lost the first two games of its series at then-No. 17 Georgia Tech the next weekend. But the Penguins broke out for a 12-3 victory against the Yellow Jackets in the series finale.

Bertolini said he kept the lineup card from the victory and the team all signed a game ball for him.

The Penguins are 1-9 going into their series at Richmond. Bertolini said he has learned a lot about his team so far.

“All teams we’ve played can really swing it,” he said. “If you don’t come out ready to play in inning one and two, you put yourself in a big hole. Pitching well early is really important. I look forward to continuing the success we’ve had at the plate. We need to continue to build chemistry and a family environment. That will help us down the line.”

New and notes

Atlantic Coast Conference: Lefthander Brian Brown will move into the No. 2 slot in North Carolina State’s rotation this weekend at Wake Forest. The junior has been a rotation stalwart for two years, but missed the first two weeks of this season due to injury. He made his season debut Sunday against Massachusetts-Lowell, pitching a scoreless inning in relief. Brown’s return is a boost for No. 20 N.C. State, which is still figuring out how best to arrange its pitching staff. . . Virginia has gone two games without one of its hitters striking out. In those two games, the No. 13 Cavaliers drew a total of 13 walks and defeated LaSalle and George Washington. In 13 games this season, Virginia has drawn 63 walks and struck out 32 times.

Big 12 Conference: Baylor defeated Texas A&M, 3-2, in the final game of last weekend’s Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic on a dramatic, walk-off grand slam from nine-hole hitter Tucker Cascadden. Coach Steve Rodriguez has a special appreciation for how important the last spot in the lineup can be. “I hit ninth plenty of times in my career,” Rodriguez said. “People don’t realize, but that’s a spot in the lineup and sometimes that spot’s going to come up really big.” . . . Oklahoma lost, 4-2, against Wichita State on Tuesday, snapping the Sooners’ 12-game winning streak. It was their longest winning streak since a 13-game winning streak in 2013. The Sooners (15-2) are still off to their best start to the season since 2011, when they won their first 16 games. Sophomore outfielder Steele Walker has a 20-game hitting streak, dating back to last season. He is hitting .435/.478/.694 this year.

Big Ten Conference: Sophomore outfielder Robert Neustrom has hit safely in all 11 of Iowa’s games this season and has seven multi-hit games. He is hitting .404/.429/.574 and is tied for the Big Ten lead with 19 hits. Neustrom will look to continue his hot start this weekend at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.

Pacific-12 Conference: Utah senior third baseman Dallas Carroll is hitting .525/.571/.700 in 10 games this season. He leads the Pac-12 in batting average, ranks fifth in on-base percentage and sixth in slugging. He hit .294/.409/.456 last season. . . No. 12 Washington hosts Indiana State this weekend for what will be the first meeting between the two schools in program history. Coach Lindsay Meggs was head coach at Indiana State from 2007-2009 before taking over at Washington. His son, Joe, is Indiana State’s director of baseball operations.

Southeastern Conference: Louisiana State came into the year with the first two spots of its rotation set with righthander Alex Lange and lefthander Jared Poche’, but an opening for its third starter. Three weeks into the season, freshman righthander Eric Walker has done his best to lock down the spot. On the big stage of the Shriners College Classic last Sunday, Walker held Texas Tech to one run on six hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked none. Coach Paul Mainieri said Walker did a good job mixing his pitches against Texas Tech. “He kept them totally off balance,” Mainieri said. “Whenever he gets his offspeed pitches over, it speeds up his fastball. And his fastball is fast enough with good enough command that you’ve got to take it seriously as well. He’s the consummate pitcher out there.” Walker 1-0, 3.00 with 19 strkeouts and three walks in 15 innings. . . . Arkansas announced Thursday sophomore righthanders Isaiah Campbell and Cody Scroggins are out for the season due to elbow injuries. While Scroggis will have Tommy John surgery, Campbell will not. Campbell was rising in stature in the 2018 draft class following his performance this summer in the California Collegiate League, where he was the No. 2 prospect, and in the fall, but pitched in just one game this spring. Scroggins made three appearances, all in relief. The Razorbacks (10-3) host Rhode Island this weekend.

Other conferences: Saint Louis improved to 11-1 with a 12-3 victory Wednesday at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. It is the best start to a season for the Billikens since 1966, when they began the year 14-1 and went on to win the Missouri Valley Conference. Saint Louis has a chance to match that mark this weekend, when it hosts Northern Illinois (2-10) for a three-game series. . . Florida International has won six straight games, including a midweek sweep of its home-and-home series against Miami, after starting the season 2-6. Coach Mervyl Melendez said he shook up the lineup a bit after the slow start and the Panthers are now playing with three or four freshmen a game. “They have given us a lift,” Melendez said. “They’re playing with a lot of passion, a lot of intensity. They’re maybe not big in stature, but they’re big in heart.” Freshmen econd baseman Derek Cartaya (.297/.409/.297) and outfielder Javier Valdes (.291/.344/.345) have settled in as FIU’s leadoff and three-hole hitters.