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Eastern Gateway names Hlebovy pitching coach
Eastern Gateway expands its staff
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
Eastern Gateway Community College has named Gus Hlebovy pitching coach for the upcoming 2019 season.
“Gus brings both professional and Division I college experience to our program,” said John Zizzo, Gators director of athletics and head baseball coach. “His knowledge of pitching fundamentals has improved our pitching staff tremendously this fall.
“He also has a very good knowledge of our local high school talent and that will greatly contribute to our recruiting,” Zizzo said Tuesday. “Plus, his energy and enthusiasm make him a true asset and fit for our program.”
A 2000 graduate of Campbell High School, Hlebovy was a three-year letter-winner for the Red Devils and a member of their 1999 state runner-up squad.
He helped the Red Devils to three regional appearances (1997-99) and was named to the Mizuno all-state team his senior season.
He was a first-team all-state selection and ranked as the No. 5 player in the state his senior year according to Buckeye Scout’s Top-10 service.
He will be inducted into the Campbell Memorial Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday at Christ the Good Shepherd Church’s Palermo Banquet Center.
He played for the Golden Flashes from 2000-03, was a member of KSU’s three-time Mid-American Conference championship squad and finished second in career saves.
A 2000 MAC selection, he was a three-time conference Pitcher of the Week honoree.
He was drafted by the Montreal Expos (22nd round) in the 2003 Amateur Draft and was also a part of the Washington Nationals and Washington Wildthings’ organizations from 2003-08.
He earned the New York-Penn League’s Rolaids “Relief Man of The Year” award in 2004 when he led the entire Expos’ organization in saves.
That same year, Hlebovy was named pitcher of the year for the Vermont Expos.
Locally, he was a two-time Connie Mack World Series participant (1999-2000), was the Class B League 18U batting champion (1998) and was named pitcher of the year in 1999 when he posted the lowest earned run average in the league and the NABF 18U tournament.
Hlebovy earned Clark Griffith Wooden Bat League all-star honors in 2002, earning pitcher of the year honors that same season.
Also, in 2002 he was named MVP of the Bethesda Big Train was an NABF all-star pick.
Regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, he has served as a professional pitching and hitting Instructor since 2000, working as pitching coordinator for the Beaver Valley Baseball Organization (2008-09) and most recently Roth Brothers (2018) of the Class B League.