SPARTANBURG, SC – Wofford head baseball coach Todd Interdonato today named Dusty Blake as the Terriers’ pitching coach and Nick Jaksa as the team’s assistant coach for hitters and catchers.
Blake has been the pitching coach at Catawba College for the past two seasons. In 2006, the Indians led the South Atlantic Conference with 49 wins, an earned run average of 3.44 and an average of 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
“This is a great opportunity to work with an up and coming program,” said Blake. “I am excited about working with the Wofford pitchers and Coach Interdonato.”
This summer, Blake is the head coach of the Asheboro, NC Copperheads of the Coastal Plain League, an NCAA-sanctioned wood bat summer league. Blake previously had served as an assistant coach with Gastonia of the CPL in 2005 and as an assistant coach with Asheboro last year.
“We are very pleased to have Dusty join our staff,” said Interdonato. “He has a proven track record of success in working with pitchers and he will most certainly have a positive impact on our pitching staff.”
Blake earned a bachelor of science degree from Appalachian State in 2003. He helped lead the Mountaineers to a fourth place finish in the Southern Conference in 2001. During the summers, Blake pitched for the Salisbury Pirates in the Southern Collegiate League where he set team records for career wins and innings pitched.
Blake was an assistant coach at Pfeiffer University in 2004-05 and also directed the Catawba College baseball summer camps.
Dusty and his wife, Amy, currently reside in Troy, NC.
Jaksa was an assistant coach at Evansville this past season where he worked with the Purple Aces’ catchers and was the head coach of the junior varsity team. He was instrumental in the development of Evansville catcher Kirk Bacsu, a Philadelphia Phillies draft pick in the 2007 draft.
“Nick will bring a lot of energy to our program,” said Interdonato. “He has a real passion for baseball and our players will benefit from that passion.”
Jaksa is a 2004 graduate of UNC Asheville where he earned a bachelor of science degree in history. On the field, he was a four-year letterwinner who excelled at first, second and third base while also catching. He finished his career with a .270 average, 14 career homers and 94 RBIs. He spent the summer of 2004 as a catcher with the Evansville Otters of the Pioneer Independent League.
A native of Grand Ledge, MI, Jaksa earned Big South Player of the Week honors during his final month at UNCA.
“I am excited to be a member of this staff,” said Jaksa who is currently the head coach of the Morganton Aggies of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League. “I am looking forward to working with a Wofford program that is clearly on the rise and continuing to learn baseball from Coach Interdonato.”
