2009 Coaching Staff

Head Coach
Matt Palm Head Coach Director of Athletics (419) 448-2009 mpalm@heidelberg.edu
Assistant Coaches
Chad Fitzgerald Assistant Coach (419) 448-2967 cfitzger@heidelberg.edu		Adam Piotrowicz Assistant Coach (419) 448-2188 apiotrow@heidelberg.edu

Matt Palm

Head Coach
Director of Athletics
(419) 448-2009
mpalm@heidelberg.edu

Success and Matt Palm have been a constant over the course of the last nine years with the Heidelberg baseball family and year 10 will be no different. Palm enters his 10th season at the helm of the baseball program and he will look to add to the storied history of the team that is coming off one of its most successful seasons.
 
Under Palm’s guidance, the Berg has posted a 20-win season every year since 2000, including three 30-win campaigns and a record-setting 41-10 season a year ago. Heidelberg has made nine appearances in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament with eight coming with Palm’s direction, including five-consecutive. For the first time in 2008 Heidelberg claimed both the OAC Regular Season and Tournament Titles, leading to a second appearance in the NCAA Regional’s where the Berg played in the championship game.
 
In 2008 Heidelberg’s win total set a new school record and that was one of just a combined 30 school records that were set between team and individual honors on the year. Palm guided 10 players to All-OAC recognition, while five were all-region performers and Jeremy Wentworth was tabbed a Third Team All-American. Along the way Palm was named the OAC Coach of the Year for the third time.
 
In nine seasons, Palm boasts an overall record of 266-129-2 for a .673 winning percentage. Prior to Palm’s arrival the program owned just a .387 winning percentage. He became the college's career win leader in 2002 and reached the 100-win mark midway through the 2003 season. In 2007, Palm reached the 200-win plateau during Heidelberg’s annual trip south to open the season and he eclipsed 250 wins in 2008.
 
In 2004, the Berg captured its first OAC Tournament crown and made its first appearance in the NCAA playoffs. Palm was named the OAC Co-Coach of the year, the second time he has received this honor. The 2003 squad earned Heidelberg’s first OAC regular season championship and broke numerous school records including best winning percentage at .727, which has since been reset.
 
During Palm's first season, the Berg shattered the then school record for victories by 13 posting a 32-13-1 mark. Heidelberg finished the regular season as runner-up in the OAC and advanced into the OAC tournament for only the second-time in school history. Additionally, the Berg tied the conference record with a team batting average of .370. Honored for his turnaround of the program, Palm was named OAC Coach of the Year, becoming just the second 'Berg coach to earn the honor in the award's 32 year history.
 
Palm has brought a tradition of championship caliber teams to Heidelberg since day one. He has coached three OAC Players of the Year (Aaron Fischer 2000, Jon Hatfield 2003 and A.J. Schlea 2006), one OAC Pitcher of the Year (Bill Sheets 2002), had 13 Academic All-OAC First Team award winners, and 29 All-OAC First Team honors. He has also coached three All-Americans in first team honoree A.J. Schela (2006), second team recipient Jon Hatfield (2003) and Wentworth (2008).
 
He joined Heidelberg after spending one year as an assistant baseball coach at Indiana University in Bloomington. Palm earned his master's degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. During that time, Palm was an assistant coach with Emory University. The Eagles advanced into the NCAA Regional’s every season he was with the program.
 
During his undergraduate career at The College of Wooster, Palm was a catcher. Throughout his four seasons with the Scots, Wooster posted a 112-55 mark. He had a career batting average of .332 with eight homeruns, 101 RBI and 29 doubles. In his senior year of 1995, he hit .352 with 40 RBI.
 
Aside from his coaching duties, Palm was named director of athletics at Heidelberg on June 1, 2008 after serving as the associate director of athletics during the 2007-08 academic year. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the athletic department, with a strong emphasis on the overall experience that a student-athlete receives while at the Berg. Palm oversees the “H” Association, which raises funds for all student-athletes, as well as continually generates enthusiasm for all athletic teams through the Berg Pride program.
 
Palm is a native of Orrville, Ohio and is a graduate of Smithville High School. He resides in Tiffin with his wife, Michelle, two sons, Samuel and Nicholas, and daughter, Cecilia.
 
Palm Year-By-Year

Chad Fitzgerald

 
In his second year on the Heidelberg coaching staff is Chad Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald works closely with the Berg pitching staff.
 
Fitzgerald helped lead the pitching staff to four team records, including lowest earned run average (3.50) and opponent’s batting average (.246) in 2008. Along the way Fitzgerald had five pitchers land on the All-Ohio Athletic Conference Team, while Everett Thomas and Andy Lowe earned all-region accolades.
 
Fitzgerald was a pitcher and two-time Academic All-American at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa. Seton Hill racked up 124 victories over the course of his four-year career, including a 45-20 season in 2006. In 2006, Seton Hill also claimed the American Mideast Conference Championship and went on to win the NAIA Region IX and the East Coast Super Regional’s, earning a bid to the NAIA World Series. Fitzgerald posted a 4-1 record on the mound in 10 appearances, with a 3.69 earned run average during the Griffins’ championship season in 2006.
 
Fitzgerald is a native of Hermitage, Pa. and a 2003 graduate of Hickory High School and a 2007 graduate of Seton Hill with a degree in marketing and human resource management.

Adam Piotrowicz

 
Joining the Heidelberg baseball coaching staff for his first season is Adam Piotrowicz. Piotrowicz will work directly with the Berg catchers and hitters.
 
Piotrowicz joins Heidelberg after a successful collegiate career at Manchester College and Bethel College where he amassed a record of 112-65. In his freshman season, he led Bethel to the Mid-Central College Conference Championship and an appearance in the NAIA Regional’s. Piotrowicz continued his successes at Manchester where he won two Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournaments and one regular season championship. Along the way he appeared in two NCAA Regional’s, while serving as a captain in his senior campaign.
 
Piotrowicz originally hails from North Liberty, Ind. and attended John Glenn High School. He graduated in 2008 from Manchester with a bachelor of science degree in business.