JOHN KOVACH | Colleges Santore, Agona trade bats, gloves for coaching gear

Two recently-graduated college baseball players who taught baseball at the SwingLab Baseball Technology indoor facility in Warren have climbed the ladder into collegiate coaching.
Frank Santore, a Youngstown State pitcher from Boardman High, and Evan Agona, an outfielder for the College of Wooster from Ursuline High, have been named assistant baseball coaches at Hiram College and Thiel College, respectively.
The two new coaches enhanced their skills by serving as volunteer instructors at SwingLab under professional instructor Jim Devine, who also is general manager of the Livi Steel team in the Class AA League and an associate scout with the New York Yankees.
Santore, who pitched three seasons for YSU but was hampered by injuries, will tutor pitchers and coordinate recruiting outside of Ohio. He also will serve as an assistant linebackers coach for the football team.
Agona, an outfielder who helped Wooster win four straight North Coast Athletic Conference Eastern Division championships (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) and one NCAC championship, will be in charge of recruiting in Ohio with a focus on the Youngstown-Warren area.
He also will serve as a house manager on campus and be responsible for the supervision of student workers within the athletic department.
Recommended by Devine
Santore said Devine recommended him to Jenter for the Hiram job. Jenter lives in Champion.
"I used to work [at SwingLab] the last two summers and [did] a little bit of winter instruction and teaching. We tailor lessons to the age groups and abilities," said Santore, who compiled a 5-3 record over three seasons with YSU, including a 3-1 record in 2002.
His 2002 record could have been a lot better if he hadn't been struck in the face by a line drive against Detroit in late April and sidelined for a month.
"I had a hairline fracture to my jaw. I was on non-solid food for a month. I couldn't play or practice for about a month before I got cleared by my doctor," he said.
Then later that year, Santore underwent rotator-cuff surgery in November which forced him out of the 2003 campaign, but he returned this past spring only to struggle with an 0-1 record in 13 appearances.
"I didn't recover completely until halfway through when the weather warmed up. The first few weeks of season I didn't pitch that much," explained Santore, the son of Thomas and Virginia Santore.
While at Boardman High, Frank was a first-team All-Ohio selection as a senior for Coach Dave Smercansky. Santore's older brother, Todd, was a catcher for YSU.
Goist helps Agona
Agona, meanwhile, learned about the Thiel coaching vacancy from friend Caleb Goist of Columbiana, who played baseball for the Tomcats and just graduated this spring.
"He told me that Coach [Joe] Schaly was looking for an assistant. I had no prior ties with the college," said Agona, who batted .313 (21-for-67) with 22 runs and 18 RBIs this past season, helping Wooster to a 37-10 record, including 13-3 in the NCAC East for first place.
Agona, Goist and Santore all played for Bob Mingo's Youngstown Metros team in the Class AA League.
Agona said his coaching experience at SwingLab got him more interested in coaching.
"I was going [to SwingLab] working out when I was in college and helping [Devine] with some of his younger players during their lessons," said Agona. "I would show them how to hit. I worked mostly with hitters. I was doing volunteer work while I was there."
The son of William and Pamela Agona of Girard, Evan is planning to begin work toward a master's degree at YSU next spring.
While at senior co-captain at Ursuline in 2000 for coach Sean Durkin, Agona helped the Irish to win the Ohio Division III championship in 2000. He was an All-Steel Valley Conference first team pick as a junior and senior.
SwingLab grows
Devine said Swing Lab has developed from a team gym to a successful business venture helping boys and girls become better baseball and softball players.
"It was mainly set up for Livi Steel [players] and we started offering it to the [public] and it kind of just blossomed," said Devine, who has taught as many as 300 students a week.
He said reservations for instruction at SwingLab can be scheduled by calling him at (330) 883-9725 or (330) 393-4487.
kovach@vindy.com