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Bo Durkac, a former All-Metro Conference third baseman at Virginia Tech, is in his seventh season as a member of the Charlotte coaching staff under Loren Hibbs. His main responsibilities are handling the hitters, infield/outfield instruction and recruiting.
In the six seasons Durkac has served as hitting coach, the 49ers have batted .309 and averaged 7.27 runs and 3.26 extra base hits per game. Charlotte set the school record for team batting average in 2008, finishing at .333 for the season. The Niners had over 700 hits in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history and had the second-most hits in a season in 2008, with 720. After an already offensive year in '07, the Niners managed to improve on batting average (by 12 points), home runs (+21) and slugging percentage (by 24 points). They also were up in on-base percentage (by 20 points) and walks (+63) and down in strikeouts. Charlotte stole 99 bases in 2008, sixth-most in team history and the most since 115 steals in 1998. Charlotte has hit over 100 doubles in a season for five straight seasons, one shy of the mark of six from 1995-2000. In 2007, the 49ers set the team record for triples in a season (33). 2007 saw an increase over the 2005 numbers in hits (+105), runs (+22), RBI (+37) and HR (+7). The team hit 10 points better in average and 20 points better in slugging and set the team record for fielding percentage (0.966). Over the past five years under Durkac's tutelage, the Niners have seen steady increases in runs, hits, batting average, RBI and slugging percentage.
Durkac finished his professional baseball career with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in September of 2001. Before that he played for Sonoma County in the Western Baseball League in the summer of 2001. He played with the Taichung Agan in the Taiwan Major Leagues in March and April of 2001. Before playing in Taiwan, he played three seasons in the Western Baseball League for the Chico Heat. In 1999, he made the Western League all-star team as a member of the Heat. Also, in 1999 he played for Team USA in the XIV International Cup in Sydney, Australia. Durkac also played in the California League for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1996-97. In 1995, he spent his first pro season with the Adirondack Lumberjacks in the Northeast Independent League.
Prior to his professional career, Durkac was a two-time All-Metro Conference third baseman at Virginia Tech. During his three seasons with the Hokies, he hit .360 with a school-record 60 doubles. He was an ironman, playing all but two innings in his final two collegiate seasons. In 1993, he was the Metro Conference Newcomer of the Year as he led the conference in hitting at .423. He played his freshman season at North Carolina.
"Bo is very knowledgeable about the game of baseball," Charlotte coach Loren Hibbs said. "He knows what it takes to be successful at this level. He has a great way of communicating with our players. Bo and Brandon give our program two young guys who are working tirelessly to take our program to the next level. I have complete confidence in him to do what needs to be done for our program to be successful."
The Kittanning, Pa., native graduated with a liberal arts and sciences degree from Virginia Tech in 1995. He has authored two books on baseball: "2001: A Baseball Odyssey" and "How to Become a Professional Baseball Player." He also contributed a semimonthly column on Baseball America's website for two years.
