Matt Palm Completes 2008 Coaching Staff

Ninth-year head coach Matt Palm of the Heidelberg College baseball team has announced the addition of Chad Fitzgerald and Matt Talarico to his 2008 coaching staff. Fitzgerald and Talarico join Palm and current assistant coach Jeff Fontaine in a quest to defend the program’s Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season Title from 2007.

Prior to Heidelberg, 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.

Talarico joins the Berg coaching staff following a four-year playing career at Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind. He helped guide Manchester to a 124-54 record since 2004, while claiming two Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Championships and two tournament titles. Manchester advanced to the NCAA Regional’s on three occasions and made an appearance in the Division III World Series in 2004. In his final season, Talarico was named to the HCAC First Team and the all-region third team.

A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Talarico attended Bishop Dwenger High School. He graduated from Manchester with a degree in history in 2007.

Heidelberg is a member of the 10-team Ohio Athletic Conference. In 2007, Heidelberg finished the year with a 28-15 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the OAC. The Berg won the program’s second OAC Regular Season Championship and earned the right to host the OAC Tournament. Overall Heidelberg made its eighth postseason appearance and fifth consecutive.