The Spokane RiverHawks announced this week that the club will play its home games at historic Avista Stadium in 2006 and that coaching legend Steve Hertz will replace ex-major leaguer Kevin Stocker as the team’s field manager.

Avista Stadium is the home of the Spokane Indians of the affiliated pro Northwest League.

Hertz, GU’s Director of Athletic Relations, will also assume the role of General Manager for the RiverHawks. Kevin Stocker, the team’s only manager since the Hawks debuted in 2003, will continue supporting the club in an advisory capacity. Stocker was the starting shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies 1993 World Series team and was a collegiate star at University of Washington.

The club also added Keith Snyder and Barry Matthews to the team’s coaching staff. Snyder will be Hertz’s head assistant and Matthews the club’s pitching coach. Snyder coached at Spokane Falls C.C. from 1983-1991 where he won 250 games and 2 NWAACC championships. Matthews is currently the pitching coach at C.C of Spokane. Matthews pitched for Coach Hertz at Gonzaga and played professionally before starting his coaching career.

A native of Southern California, Steve Hertz brings years of college coaching experience to the Hawks as Steve managed the Gonzaga University Bulldogs for 24 years before retiring after the 2003 season. An alumnus of Gonzaga (and star Bulldog pitcher from 1970-1972), Hertz is the winningest coach in GU history. The former Minnesota Twins farmhand accumulated 696 wins over 26 years as a head coach at Gonzaga and UC Irvine. His career is highlighted by five Coach of the Year honors earned in the West Coast Conference (WCC), Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10 North), Northern Pacific Conference (NorPac) and the Southern California Baseball Association.

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