Spoto hires new baseball coach

Posted Dec 11, 2009 by Adam Adkins

Updated Dec 11, 2009 at 04:42 PM

Spoto has found its next baseball coach, hiring Brandon assistant Pat Rainey to lead the Spartans.

It is the first head coaching job at the high school level for Rainey, 42. He replaces Larry Benton, who was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting another to commit prostitution in June and was not brought back as coach.

Rainey, a 1985 Brandon High grad, began coaching baseball at the youth level in 1986. He has had coaching stints with Brandon High’s American Legion squad and the Bullets AAU organization, and spent the past two seasons on Matt Stallbaumer’s staff at Brandon.

Rainey, a teacher at Giunta Middle School, said he met with players and parents Thursday night and is eager to guide the relatively new Spartans program. Spoto has played just three seasons and enjoyed its best season in school history in 2009 with a 13-11 record.

“I think it’s going to be a challenge to improve on where they have improved to,” Rainey said. “We have a very positive attitude. I think we will be able to do it.”