Pat Herrera has a special bond with his son Patrick, whom he coached the last four years on Mesa Skyline’s baseball program.

With his son graduating, Pat has stepped down as head coach, leaving behind a legacy of success.

He rebuilt the program and reached the state tournament in six of the eight seasons (including last year’s pandemic year) he was the coach.

Patrick played shortstop for his father, and hit .480 with 23 RBIs in senior season, helping the Coyotes go 12-6.  Patrick had a career .360 varsity batting average and is committed to Northwestern.

Skyline went 124-73-2 and reached the 2018 6A semifinals under Herrera.

“I would like to thank the Skyline community for all of their support these last eight years, especially Dr. Green for giving me the opportunity to create something great,” Herrera said in a statement he shared with The Arizona Republic. “I came to Skyline to rebuild a struggling program. It was a challenge that my entire family embraced. Through hard work and commitment, we established a legacy to be very proud of and accomplished our goal of leaving Skyline baseball a much better place than when we started.

“Thank you players and parents for trusting the process and believing in us. It has been an incredible journey, and I cannot express in words the gratitude we feel. It is now time for me to step away and focus on my family. However, I  look forward to continuing to educate Skyline students in the classroom and accepting the next challenge that comes my way.”

Skyline had only one winning season before Herrera took over the program. The 2018 team was his best, winning 23 games.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

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