Serra of San Mateo legend gains top baseball honor after team wins CCS title in walk-off fashion. Also selected are Bob Anderson from Central Valley of Shasta Lake for medium schools and Brad Gunter Jr. from Valley Christian of Roseville for small schools.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor
Contributing: Paul Muyskens

A game-winning base hit to win a championship is one thing, but when it's the last game for a retiring coach – and not just any coach but one of the winningest in Northern California history – the focus is naturally going to be on that coach.

Players at Serra High of San Mateo all knew what was on the line when they batted in the bottom of the seventh inning of the CIF Central Coast Section Div. I championship last month in San Jose with the score tied at 4-4 against league rival Archbishop Mitty of San Jose.

With one out, Luca Ponti singled up the middle. He moved to second on a balk, then went to third on a passed ball. With the infield drawn in, teammate Justin Maffei also singled up the middle to score Ponti and give the Padres a 5-4 victory.

Such was the final sentence in the final chapter in the coaching career of Serra's Pete Jensen. He tried to give all the credit to his players after the game, but even the players had a sense of the moment.

"We've been working all season to give him this championship,” Ponti said. "I can't even say the words how this makes us all feel.”

Jensen himself added: "Boy, I've had so many memories at this school and to win both of our last two games the way we did and now to end it like this is right at the top. We've always had such great kids at Serra and they work so hard at it.”
The championship capped a 30-6 season for the Padres' in Jensen's 23rd and final season. It also was the fourth time he's been handed a CCS championship plaque and put his final career record at 564-181-5.

There's even another final line for Jensen's resume as well: He's been chosen today as the 2009 CalHiSports.com State Coach of the Year.

One of the reasons that Serra and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area's West Catholic Athletic League is so strong in baseball is that coaches like Jensen are more the norm than the exception. His retirement this year follows one a year ago of 600-win head coach Gary Cunningham at Bellarmine Prep of San Jose. Jensen also is the third State Coach of the Year in baseball from the WCAL in the last six years. Two years ago, John Diatte from Valley Christian of San Jose earned the honor while four years ago it went to Mitty's Bill Hutton, who won his 500th game this season.

	Mark Tennis
	Pete Jensen

When Jensen began his career at Serra as an assistant baseball coach in the early 1980s, he helped coach home run king Barry Bonds. In Jensen's first season, in 1984, the Padres won his first CCS title and were led by future MLB star Gregg Jefferies. Jensen then guided the school to additional CCS championships in 1991 and 1998.

Yet another prominent athlete that Jensen coached for the Padres was a catcher with a strong arm named Tom Brady, who has won three Super Bowls as a quarterback in the NFL. Brady played for Jensen as a senior in 1995, but in the previous two seasons Jensen took some time off and the team's head coach was Tom Monaghan.

Our two other state coaches of the year and our special updated list of all-time state coaches of the year follows.

Medium Schools:
Bob Anderson (Central Valley, Shasta Lake)
In his 9th season with the Falcons and his 28th year coaching overall, Anderson led his school to its first-ever CIF Northern Section Division II championship and the first baseball section title in its 55-year history. The Falcons made three straight section finals under Anderson from 2001-03 but had to settle for runner up status until this year's 6-0 win over Yreka. On the year, they went 32-2 and became the first team in Northern Section history to win 30 games in a season while no other team in California had as many victories this year. Anderson's first coaching job was back in 1982 at his alma mater, Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach, and then he moved on to Bishop Montgomery of Torrance where he coached from 1983-1990. After various positions at the college and pro level, he found his way back to the high school ranks when he moved with his family to Redding.

Small Schools:
Brad Gunter Jr. (Valley Christian, Roseville)
Everything the Lions have accomplished as a baseball program since their very first season has been in large part with a Gunter playing a critical role. This year, Valley Christian won its second straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII championship and finished 22-7. Gunter Jr. was part of the school's very first baseball team that was coached by his dad and needed a sixth-grader and an eighth-grader to help field a full team. Gunter Jr. went on to play at Liberty University in Virginia and Sacramento State before returning to his alma mater to coach. Besides coaching the baseball team at the school, Gunter's other duties include serving as vice principal, teaching classes, handling the responsibilities of being athletic director, coaching basketball and serving as league commissioner for the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic Conference. Gunter Jr. has been named as the Sacramento Bee's Coach of the Year and all his activities do not even include being a father to three kids of his own.

Updated List
State Baseball Coaches
Of The Year

(Selected by Cal-Hi Sports)

2009 - Pete Jensen, San Mateo Serra (30-6)
2008 - Jeff Phillips, La Mesa Grossmont (29-7)
2007 - John Diatte, San Jose Valley Christian (33-4)
2006 - Spud O'Neil, Lakewood (29-5-1)
2005 - Bill Hutton, San Jose Mitty (28-6)
2004 - Rick Steen, Danville San Ramon Valley (25-8)
2003 - Justin Machado, Carlsbad La Costa Canyon (32-1)
2002 - Dave Currie, Santa Clara Wilcox (34-3)
2001 - Tom Muesborn, Chatsworth (31-2)
2000 - Harry Jenkins, Torrance West (29-2)
1999 - Joe Walters, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (27-1-1)
1998 - James Patrick, Clovis (33-2)
1997 - Dave Brunell, Santa Maria St. Joseph (29-0)
1996 - Dennis Pugh, San Diego Mission Bay (29-5)
1995 - Dave Demarest, Westminster La Quinta (28-3-1)
1994 - Ron LaRuffa, Fountain Valley (27-3-1)
1993 - Mike Maio, Woodland Hills El Camino Real (24-2)
1992 - Dan Peters, Long Beach Millikan (22-5-1)
1991 - Jeff Meredith, La Mesa Grossmont (28-1)
1990 - Mickey McNamee, San Marino (23-2-1)
1989 - Sam Blalock, San Diego Mt. Carmel (25-2)
1988 - Chris Sims, Moraga Campolindo (24-5)
1987 - Don Ardissone, San Jose Bellarmine (26-7)
1986 - Mike Curran, Anaheim Esperanza (25-3-1)
1985 - Dave Perkins, Hanford (23-5)
1984 - Darryl Stroh, Granada Hills (16-2-1)
1983 - Larry Quirico, El Cerrito (27-1)
1982 - Jim Garrett, Tulare (21-5)
1981 - Guy Anderson, Rancho Cordova (28-8)
1980 - Mike Noakes, Fresno Bullard (29-2)
1979 - John Bachman, Covina (27-3)
1978 - Al Endriss, Larkspur Redwood (30-5)
1977 - Lou Zuardo, South S.F. El Camino (28-1)
1976 - John Herbold, Lakewood (22-4-1)
1975 - Jack Hannah, Fresno Hoover (29-2)
1974 - Jim O'Brien, Torrance North (26-6-1)
1973 - John Stevenson, El Segundo (30-5)
1972 - Hi LaValle, Compton Dominguez (22-4-1)
1971 - Denny Holt, Sepulveda Monroe (19-0)
1970 - Dan Bodary, Lompoc (27-1)
1969 - Bob Myers, Long Beach Millikan (21-6)
1968 - Bill Sandback, San Diego Crawford (21-7)
1967 - Marvin Wood, Torrance Bishop Montgomery (27-3)
1966 - Bill Cox, Oakland St. Elizabeth (23-5)
1965 - Al Exton, Arcadia (21-4)
1964 - Bob Zuber, Van Nuys Birmingham (18-1)
1963 - Bill Kelly, Redondo Beach Aviation (20-3)
1962 - Dick Sperbeck, Sacramento Bishop Armstrong (22-2)
1961 - Elmo Ferrari, Ojai Villanova (17-0)
1960 - Jake Abbott, Fresno Roosevelt (20-2)
1959 - Howard Johnson, Inglewood Morningside (20-6)
1958 - Ken Proctor, Ontario Chaffey (20-5)
1957 - Ollie Bidwell, Fresno (22-2)
1956 - Bill Ziegler, Eureka (18-0)
1955 - Bob Patterson, Vallejo (20-1)
1954 - Ed Grimm, Redding Shasta (14-0)
1953 - Charles Doyle, Compton (23-2)
1952 - George Powles, Oakland McClymonds (16-0)
1951 - Cliff Perry, Sacramento McClatchy (22-0-1)
1950 - Harry Brubaker, L.A. Dorsey (17-0*)
1949 - Al Kyte, Oakland Technical (8-2, League)
1948 - Len Porterfield, Santa Maria (16-2)
1947 - Cliff Meyer, Long Beach Wilson (20-3)
1946 - Walt Williams, San Jose (17-2)
1945 - Pop Elder, S.F. Mission (10-0, League)
1944 - Bob Fatjo, San Jose Bellarmine (13-2)
1943 - Les Haserot, L.A. Fremont (13-1)
1942 - Roy Engle, San Diego Hoover (13-0 vs. Prep Teams)
1941 - Ras Johnson, S.F. Galileo (12-1*)
1940 - George Wolfman, S.F. Mission (11-1*)
1939 - Dewey Morrow, San Diego (22-5)
1938 - George Sperry, Glendale
1937 - Bernie Baumeister, S.F. Commerce (12-2, League)
1936 - Lyle Kinnear, Long Beach Polytechnic (23-2)
1935 - Ed Combatalade, Sacramento (20-1)
1934 - Myles Regan, L.A. Cathedral (13-5-1)
1933 - Kit Carlson, Santa Maria (9-1)
*League and playoff record

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