When Eric Wagle pitched for Live Oak High in the 1990s, his best
quality was his desire to win, according to Coach Mark Cummins.
When Eric Wagle pitched for Live Oak High in the 1990s, his best quality was his desire to win, according to Coach Mark Cummins.
“He had good stuff but his best attribute was his competitiveness,” Cummins said. “He was the closer and he had the right attitude for that.”
Now, Wagle is charged with passing along a little of that passion for the game to his charges on his alma mater’s baseball team.
Wagle, who is in the process of earning his Master’s at St. Mary’s, is in his first season as Live Oak’s varsity pitching coach.
“He adds a lot to our staff,” Cummins said.
Wagle said he returned to Live Oak to coach for the same reason he enjoyed playing there — Cummins’ knowledge and enthusiasm for the game.
“I had a good time when I was here,” Wagle said. “Coach Cummins is a good coach and I hope to learn from him.”
Wagle, who is substitute teaching at Live Oak, said his short-term goal is to find a teaching and head coaching position at the high school level.
Eventually, Wagle said, he wants to coach at a community college or university.
Wagle has played and excelled at all those levels.
As a junior and senior at Live Oak, Wagle earned all-league honors, then played a year at Gavilan before transferring to San Jose City College.
At SJCC, Wagle hit his stride, earning first team All-America honors while setting a new school record with 12 saves in 22 games.
Wagle attracted pro scouts while at SJCC but decided to accept a scholarship to UC Riverside to play baseball.
But he said he didn’t enjoy his experience at the Southern California univ-ersity and soon decided to return to Northern California, enrolling at Sonoma State.
Wagle pitched for the nationally ranked Division II program for two years and enjoyed every minute of it.
Wagle hasn’t pitched since his final season there, and he said he misses it sometimes. In fact, he said he’s had offers to pitch for local semi-pro teams but he said it’s time to hang up his cleats and move on.
