Penns Valley hires alum Shawn Meyer as baseball coach

The Penns Valley school board approved Shawn Meyer as the school’s baseball coach on Wednesday night.

Meyer was an assistant on former coach Jon Bowersox’s staff the past two seasons, and Rams athletic director Nate Althouse said that experience weighed heavily in hiring Meyer to lead the program.

“I think we’ve got some momentum. It might be small momentum,” Althouse said of Meyer, who played baseball at Penns Valley. “He really believes that we can keep making incremental steps as a program. That’s important that he’s invested in these kids and he believes in these kids.”

After going 4-14 in Bowersox’s first year, the Rams finished with a 6-12 record in 2017. Penns Valley showed improvement this past spring, winning six of eight games during one stretch after starting the year 0-7. Althouse said a “handful” of candidates interviewed for the job after Bowersox resigned following the 2017 season, but Meyer’s experience with the players and passion for the program set him apart.

Althouse was also impressed by Meyer’s work with the team’s pitchers during the past two seasons.

“I think when you look to establish a program, you got to start with the pitching,” Althouse said. “He’s done a great job and I think that that’s important for us moving forward.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Penns Valley hires alum Shawn Meyer as baseball coach."