Mike Hutcheon named head baseball coach
9/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 8, 2003
Mike Hutcheon, formerly the coach at Bethel College (Mishawaka, Ind.), has been named the head baseball coach of the Air Force Academy, according to Director of Athletics Col. Randall Spetman.
Hutcheon replaces Reed Peters who was the Falcons' coach for four years. Peters resigned in July to become the head coach at Feather River Community College in Quincy, Calif.
"We are so excited to have a quality person and coach like Mike Hutcheon," Spetman said. "Mike has been successful everywhere he has been and we are confident he will do a great job at the Academy. We were fortunate to have an outstanding pool of applicants and are certain that Mike will be a great addition to the Falcon family."
The 2002 National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Coach of the Year, Hutcheon spent four years at Bethel College and led the team to the NCCAA national championship in 2002. The Pilots were 130-78 during his tenure. He was named the region coach of the year twice and produced three players who were drafted into Major League Baseball.
"This is a tremendous opportunity," Hutcheon said. "The mission at the Academy is similar to Bethel College. It is about so much more than winning and losing games."
Prior to his stay at Bethel, Hutcheon was the head coach at Belhaven College in Jackson, Miss. In five seasons at Belhaven, the team posted a 109-62 record from 1995-99. Hutcheon also spent two years as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State (1988-89) and Kansas State (1987-88).
Air Force finished the 2003 season with a 15-39 overall record and a 3-27 regular-season conference mark for sixth place. Air Force lost 13 seniors from last season's team, including seven everyday starters in the field. The senior class combined to hit .326 and drove in 72 percent of the team's runs.
Senior outfielder Mike Rose is the team's top returning hitter. He was second on the team with a .371 average and started in 46 games. He was also third on the team with six home runs, 44 runs scored and was fourth with 32 RBI. On the mound, the Falcons return two of the four top starters in Clayton Couch and Paul Vignola. Couch started eight games and had a 1-4 record with an 8.94 ERA in 51.1 innings. Vignola started 14 games and had a 9.93 ERA in 68 innings. Vignola led the team with five wins and had one complete game.
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