Baseball

Professional Experience:

• Southern Vermont College, 2007-Present, Head Baseball Coach (50-95)
  • 2011 18-22 (10-8 NECC) Most wins in SVC history
    • NECC Tournament Runner-Up finish
  • 2010 12-22 (6-9 NECC)
    • Led team to NECC Playoffs
  • 2009-2010 Assistant Director of Athletics & Scheduling Coordinator 
  • 2009, 12-26 (7-3 NECC) 
    • The team's batting average was 60 points higher than before his arrival. 
    • The team ERA dropped almost five runs from before Schaffer took over the program. 
    • Hosted New England Collegiate Conference Playoff Tournament
      • Led team to NECC semi-finals

Full Bio: 

Don Schaffer took over as the head baseball coach at Southern Vermont College in the summer of 2007. He served as the Interim Director of Athletics from Dec. 08 - July 09, he served as the Assistant Director of Athletics from Aug. 2009 - May 2010, and he is currently the Facilities Coordinator aside from coaching.

In only his fourth year at the helm, SVC won 18 games in 2011, which was the most in program history. The team also reached the New England  Collegeiate Conference (NECC) championship game. In the championship game SVC lost to Mitchell College 3-2 with the tying run on third base.  The team's batting average has consistently risen since Schaffer's arrival. In 2011 despite the new bat regulation the Mountaineers raised their batting average again.

Coach Schaffer recently served as a member of the NCAA Division III Baseball Regional Advisory Committee. Responsibilities as a member included: gathering and sharing results for teams within one's conference or geographic area, ranking of top teams in the region, input in the selection of umpires for the championship, input in the selection of sites for championship competition, and serving as a "sounding-board" for the NCAA Division Baseball Committee. 

Since serving his membership on the Regional Advisory Committe, Schaffer currently serves on the board of directors for the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA)

He came to the Mountaineers after being assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for eight years at Division II Post University in Waterbury, Conn. While there, Coach Schaffer helped turn around a declining program and coached seven all-conference players.

The SVC baseball leader has coached 37 seasons, including semi-pro, AAU Junior Olympic and high school varsity teams. A lifelong catcher, Don played high school and college baseball in his native New Jersey. Coach Schaffer's teams are known for their hustle, hard work, baseball smarts and passion for the game.

In his spare time, Coach Schaffer fulfills his second love as he has been a nationally certified umpire for 25 years. He has umpired at the high school, American Legion and semi-pro levels in both Vermont and Connecticut.

Coach Schaffer and his wife, Suzanne, live in Arlington, Vermont. His son, Jeff, a former college baseball player (New Jersey Tech. '06), is a mechanical engineer living in Bennington, Vt. His daughter, Stephanie, lives in Philadelphia, Pa. and is in the final stages of her  graduate studies. Stephanie will receive her masters degree in December.

For more information on the Southern Vermont College baseball program, contact Coach Schaffer at dschaffer@svc.edu or call 802.447.4662.

After four successful years as the starting second baseman and closer in a SVC uniform Dave Gage will begin his college coaching career in the 2011-12 season. Gage who leads SVC in nine All-Time statistical categories including saves in a season and career saves was named the Mountaineer’s pitching coach in May of 2011. As the 2010 valedictorian Gage earned his Sports Management degree in three years, but decided to return to SVC in 2011 to finish his athletic career and get a second degree. 

As a member of the SVC baseball team Gage was a captain from his sophomore through senior seasons. While Gage was captain of the team the Mountaineers won the regular season NECC championship in 2009, and were runner-ups in the 2011 conference tournament. In 2010 SVC also made the NECC tournament. Throughout his career Gage earned 2^nd Team AD3I All-American Honors as a freshman, NECC All Tournament Team as a junior, and 1^st Team NECC second baseman as a senior. A career .307 hitter Gage set an NCAA record for most hit by pitches in a career with 82.

Also, a member of the SVC Men’s Soccer team from 2008-2010, Gage helped the Mountaineers make two NECC playoff runs. As a captain in his senior year Gage led the Mountaineers to a runner-up performance in the conference tournament.

In the summer Gage is the head coach of the Tri-County Bees 18U team. Under his reign the Bees have qualified for two National Championships in five years. In 2010 Gage’s team went 31-5 and finished fourth in the NABF World Series. Gage’s teams have had ERA’s of 1.21, 1.88, 2.44, 3.25, and 3.75 while he has been at the helm, progressively getting better each year. Gage will look to repeat those numbers as he takes over a SVC staff with a 5.88 ERA in 2011.

Gage is also the Sports Information Director at SVC.