GateWay Baseball

Gecko Baseball player wins $10,000 through ESPN contest!

Kevin Collinge, a freshman baseball player at GateWay Community College, competed March 11 in Kansas City for a national ESPN Contest. Last month, Collinge submited a video of his best impersonation of sports broadcaster Dickie Vitale and was picked to be in the Top 25 by ESPN staff. After a month of voting, Collinge was voted into the Top 15 by viewers & his fans and was flown out to Kansas City for the Big 12 College Basketball Tournament on March 10. Yesterday (March 11) he performed his impression in front of a live audience and against several other impersonators and the audience voted Collinge as their favorite. Collinge received a $10,000 check! CONGRATULATIONS KEVIN!

(more pictures/video/story to come)

GateWay Baseball player makes NJCAA "Player of the Week"

Casey Maloney has been chosen as the "Divison II Player of the Week" by the National Junior College Athletics Association!  Along with one other player and two other pitchers, Maloney was chosen by the NJCAA as one of the first "Baseball Players of the Week" for 2010 for his outstanding play during the last few games. Check out the full article here.
Congratulations, Casey!

2010 Baseball team photo

 2010 Baseball team photo

Gecko Baseball player is in Top 25 for ESPN Contest

Gecko Baseball player Kevin Collinge needs your help to win $10,000!
His impression of the infamous sports broadcaster Dickie Vitale has been chosen by ESPN staff as one of the TOP 25 in the nation!
Your votes help keep him in the running of the "BE DICKIE V" contest---If he makes it into the Top 15, Collinge will be flown to a College Basketball Conference Tournament Game to do his impression in front of a live crowd! If the audience likes him, he will win $10,000!!

Watch his impression HERE and vote everyday until 2/24!!

Pictures from games vs Eastern Utah & Southern Nevada

#3 Rob Smith takes off for first base in a game vs College of Southern Nevada

 Coach Shabansky talks with  #8 Austin Tolliver & #23 Justin Sutherland in the game vs. Eastern Utah

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#5 Casey Maloney attempts to tag out a Eastern Utah player

#20 Daivd Miczek slides into 3rd base in the game vs College of Southern Nevada

Coach Shabansky catches up with his old high school baseball coach, Tim Chambers, who now coaches at Southern Nevada.

2010 GateWay Baseball Roster

Check out the roster for the 2010 Gecko Baseball team!

GateWay Baseball Almanac

Gecko Sophomores in ACCAC All Star Game

The Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Sophomore All Star game will take place this Saturday, October 17th. GateWay sophomores Rob Smith, Dillon Downs, Alex Murrieta and Devon Either have been selected to play. The game begins at 7 p.m. at Peoria Sports Complex. Good luck Geckos!

Scramble For Scholarships Event to Support GateWay Athletics

A unique evening golf tournament fundraiser at Continental Golf Course to support GateWay athletes

Grab your clubs and join GateWay Community College for a unique night of food and fun at one of Scottsdale’s finest courses! The first ever Scrambling for Scholarships event will be held Saturday, September 19 and will feature dinner, a silent auction and a 9-hole round of night golf.  Each player will receive their own glow-in-the-dark ball and a chance to win great prizes! The event will begin with dinner at 7 p.m. at Continental Golf Course, located at 7920 E Osborn Rd in Scottsdale. Proceeds from the event will help raise money for GateWay athletes.

As the expense of a college education continues to rise, it is imperative that scholarships are available for student athletes to help provide for books, school supplies and sporting equipment.

“This is a great opportunity to support your Geckos while having a great time with friends and family,” said Jaime Long, GateWay’s acting athletic director. “We have over 140 student athletes, many of which have difficulties affording the high price of school supplies. Our fundraising efforts are working to build a book scholarship to benefit these athletes.”

The cost to register for Scrambling for Scholarships is $45 per person and up to four people per group are allowed. Additional support is encouraged and there are three levels of sponsorship with incentives such as tournament registration, t-shirts and recognition in the Gecko Newsletter. 

Sign up today by visiting http://www.maricopa.edu/foundation/events/golf/. The deadline to register is Saturday, September 5.

For more information, contact Rob Shabansky at 602-286-8215 or e-mail shabansky@gatewaycc.edu.

For media inquiries contact:

Stephanie Lough, GateWay Sports Information Director, at (602) 286-8218 or lough@gatewaycc.edu 

Michelle Everson, GateWay PR Assistant, at 602-286-8232 or everson@gatewaycc.edu.

2010 Schedule

Tillman Pugh selected for MLB draft

GateWay center fielder Tillman Pugh was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 16^th round in the 2009 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. The Oakland, California native was the 473^rd player picked overall. 

Tillman transferred to Gateway Community College from Arizona State University in the spring of 2009. He excelled with a .333 batting average and season highlights include an infield homerun against Mesa Community College in their final match against GateWay.

GateWay head baseball coach Rob Shabansky said that he sends his congratulations to Tillman and “hopes to see him patrolling centerfield for the Seattle Mariners in the near future.”

Tillman’s 2009 Stats         

Open Baseball TryOuts

Tryouts for the Geckos baseball program will be held on June 4^th, 2009 at 9:00 am.  Registration for the tryout will begin at 8:30 am.  The tryout will be held at Gene Autry Park, field #3.  There is a fee of $5 dollars in order to participate in the tryout.  Participants in the tryout will be responsible to bring their own equipment.  GateWay baseball will provide bats, baseballs, and any other equipment that might be needed for use during the tryout.

            Please inform any graduating seniors about this opportunity that you feel can play at this level.  Any interested players can contact me directly in my office at 602-286-8215 or via e-mail at shabansky@gatewaycc.edu.

            In order to be eligible for the try out, please have your student/athletes contact me so that I can place their name on the tryout list.  Walk ups will be allowed, but this will give me a rough estimate on how many will be attending the try out.  Each participant has to complete an Assumption of Risk Form and a Tryout Liability Waiver.  If the student/athlete is under the age of 18 years old, a parent or guardian will need to sign the forms as well.  Both of these forms can be obtained on the day of the tryout at the field, in my office at GateWay (MA-1133), or can be e-mailed directly to each participant.  You will need these forms the day of the tryout in order to participate.  If you do not have these two forms you will not be allowed to take part in the tryout.  If you have any questions about the upcoming tryout please feel free to contact me.

            Thank You,

                        Rob Shabansky, Head Baseball Coach

The Geckos return from Tucson tournament

The men of GateWay baseball had a strong showing with a tournament record of 1-2-2 at the Jack Howell Classic which took place in Tucson, March 11-14^th.  The Geckos matched New Mexico JC 7-7 in their first game of the tournament, tying up the game after being down two runs in the last inning. Wednesday ended with a 3-6 loss to Indian Hills CC.

The second day in Tucson started with a 4-3 victory over Douglas College. Highlights include the Geckos entering the 9^th inning down 2-3 to be saved by a winning hit by Jason Pohl. The remainder of the Jack Howell Classic had the Geckos tied up 6-6 with Langley Blaze Baseball Club of Canada, and a harsh 2-11 loss to the West Coast Cave Ducks.

"The guys played really well, especially up to the final (innings)," Coach Shabansky said. "We are making real strides for the rest of the season."

Trade in your Irish green for Gecko blue this St. Patrick 's Day as GateWay baseball faces Eastern Arizona CC in a double header at home.

Want to Play Baseball?

What Happens in Vegas...

GateWay Baseball kicked off the season at the 3^rd Annual Coyote Border Battle this past weekend in Las Vegas. The ended the tournament 1-3, starting the event beating Colorado Northwestern 8-5, only to surrender to the double-header 3-6. The second day in Sin City proved tough as the Geckos lost to the College of Southern Nevada, 3-11, and to Salt Lake Community College 0-5.

Way to go Aaron Munoz, who was recently named preseason All-American! He shined defensively against CSN, throwing out three runners and picking off another two.

“We played better than the numbers show”, said Coach Rob Shabansky, “but we have to continue working on the little things in order to get past the beginning of the season and move forward.”

The Geckos returned to the Valley to face Phoenix Community College in a loss of 6-9. Thursday marked their first home double-header against Colorado Northwestern resulting in 2-5 L and 3-8 L. The men's next contest will be Friday the 13th against Glendale Community College at home. Keep on swingin' Geckos!

UPDATE: Colorado Northwestern had ineligible players participate in the double header on February 5^th, resulting in a double forfeit in GateWay’s favor.