Eastern Mennonite University has announced the resignation of head baseball coach Mark Mace, effective at the end of July. Mace led the Royals for six seasons but will step down as he starts work on a graduate degree.<\/p>\n
Mace inherited a small roster when he took over the EMU baseball program before the 2006 season and has built the roster sizes and win totals during his tenure. After a seven-win campaign his first year, Mace’s squads improved their record each of the next three seasons. He leaves with a career mark of 61-149-1.<\/p>\n
“I have started a master’s program this summer and I realized that being a full-time teacher at Harrisonburg [High School] and a part-time baseball coach is too much of a time commitment,” Mace said in his letter of resignation. “My goal is to spend more time with my family and have an opportunity to watch my daughter in her high school activities.”<\/p>\n
Mace said he is happy with the status of the Royals.<\/p>\n
“I am proud to have left the Eastern Mennonite baseball program in a much better situation than I found it,” he said. “I have taken a program that started with 14 players [and filled it] to a full college roster. This season the team defeated the number one team in the country with five freshmen starting and there will be 19 new players coming in this fall to add to a young team.”<\/p>\n
Athletic Director Dave King said he was thankful of Mace’s work at the school.<\/p>\n
“I am very appreciative of what Mark has done with the baseball program during his six years,” King said. “He has been an effective recruiter, continuing to increase the roster size of the team. Being a full-time teacher along with his responsibilities as a coach placed special burdens on Mark and I am grateful for the time and energy he gave to the program. I know it hasn’t been easy balancing all his responsibilities.”<\/p>\n
Mace said that while his biggest accomplishment at EMU was impacting the lives of his players, the school also made an impression on him.<\/p>\n
“My years at EMU taught me the value of friendship, honor, and loyalty,” he said. “I am proud of the impact I made to the university and look forward to pursuing an advanced degree in Educational Leadership.”<\/p>\n
In reflecting on Mace’s tenure, King said: “Mark has grown as a coach and a person and I trust that his pursuit of graduate studies and more time with family will be as rewarding to him as his experience in collegiate coaching has been. I wish him all the best.”<\/p>\n
Assistant coaches Dave Ramsey and Jason Stuhlmiller will be providing leadership to the baseball program during the search process for the next head coach, which will begin shortly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"