LYNN — It was 30 years ago that former St. Mary’s baseball coach Jim Tgettis guided the Spartans to consecutive Division 3 state championships. Fast forward to the 2019 season and Tgettis, now retired, still maintains close connections to the Spartans.
In addition to following the team as a fan, three of his former players are now on St. Mary’s coaching staff. Spartans head coach Derek Dana and assistant coaches Tom Donohue and Tim Fila were members of the 1987 and 1988 Division 3 state champion teams.
“I’m kind of not surprised,” Tgettis, who coached at St. Mary’s for 13 seasons (1981-1993), said. “They were really baseball guys and devoted. I’m not surprised that they were into coaching. I’m surprised that they’re together and coaching locally. I’m extremely happy for them. I thought my coaching success was initially about state championships but really it’s not. It’s seeing these guys continue on in teaching the game.”
Dana played catcher and pitched, on occasion, during his career at St. Mary’s. He played Division I baseball at UMass Amherst and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 28th round of the 1991 MLB Draft.
“I remember when Derek was younger and I saw him at a clinic prior to coming to St. Mary’s,” Tgettis said. “He became a catcher and an absolute terrific one. Derek was very intense and you could see it. He was highly energized and well into the game. He knew the game and he knew what I wanted. He brought a lot of fire behind the plate.”
Fila was a left-handed pitcher and first baseman. He went on to play college baseball at Brevard Junior College in Florida. With Fila on the mound and Dana behind the plate, the Spartans had a solid 1-2 punch.
“Timmy was also intense but he was cool and tempered,” Tgettis said. “Derek would dig in and Timmy was able to reach back. It was nine innings in those days and we won a lot of 1-0 ball games. Those two were really something. Timmy was cool, calm and poised but he also was a very fierce competitor. The two of them really had it going.
“Timmy was always around the plate and very, very effective,” Tgettis said. “Between Timmy pitching and Derek catching, you could see why we were very successful. The two of them worked very well together.”
Donohue played third base and designated hitter. Tgettis remembers Donohue as an exemplary teammate.
“Tommy was all-in,” Tgettis said. “He was quite the team player, as all of them were. He was part of a great family. All the families were quite supportive, right from the very beginning. Tommy had a big smile and whatever he could do, he did it in a nice way. When he was DH, he was the first one off the bench when the team came back to the dugout.”
The Spartans defeated St. Bernard’s in 1987 for the state crown and St. Joe’s in 1988. Both games were down-to-the-wire, one-run wins. St. Mary’s won 46 consecutive games (undefeated in 1988) from midway through the 1987 season into the early stages of 1989.
“We were a determined team,” Tgettis said. “We wanted to be successful. I think we knew we could do it. We believed we could do it. We wanted to make sure we got it done. There wasn’t a lot of great speeches. We never left anything behind. We worked as hard as we could. There were no shortcuts. The kids just didn’t want to lose.”
After his stint at St. Mary’s, Tgettis coached at Princeton, Classical and Salem. Dana was an assistant coach on Tgettis’ staff at Classical. He still keeps in touch with Dana on a regular basis.
“We usually talk about situations,” Tgettis said. “I’ll run some things by him, certain scenarios and things like that. It’s more reminiscing him as a player and as a coach with me. He was an extension, almost another coach on the field. He knew the game. We were very, very well drilled.”
Tgettis said he couldn’t be prouder of what his three former players have accomplished as coaches at St. Mary’s. They guided the Spartans to the Division 3 state championship in 2015 and have coached this year’s team to the Division 2 state final, where they’ll meet Hopkinton Saturday (noon) at Lowell’s Alumni Field.
“I don’t know that I could feel any prouder than I do,” Tgettis said. “They’re great representatives and ambassadors for the coaching profession in high school baseball. The fact that all three played for me makes me feel extremely proud.”
Tgettis saw St. Mary’s play last weekend in the North sectional final, a 5-0 win over Woburn. The Spartans are one win away from bringing another state championship home and Tgettis feels they’re primed to do so.
“They were extremely impressive,” Tgettis said. “I saw Terence Moynihan make a terrific catch in left field. I saw them make key plays in big situations. They’re a highly-motivated team. They’re very good, they’re rolling well at the right time. I think everything’s in place.”
