FROM THE ROD POTEETE COLLECTION Rod Poteete, a former collegiate baseball standout and a pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, is going to retire as a Pahrump Valley teacher at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. Advertisement

Rod Poteete, one of the first coaches ever hired to coach athletics at Pahrump Valley High, is going to retire at the end of the 2008-2009 school year.

There will be a retirement celebration/party May 15 at Wulfy's, starting at 6 p.m., for Poteete, a charter member of the PVHS Sports Hall of Fame.

Any one wishing to attend the party should inform Rod's wife Jean (at rolopo@cox.net or 1-702-375-2389), Sherry Allison (at sallison@nye.k12.nv.us) or Cindy Colucci (at colucci10@mac.com) by May 13.

There will be a cost of $5 per person. There will also be a 'baseball money tree' if you would like to contribute.

Jean Poteete is putting together a scrapbook of memories for the 35 years her husband has been associated with the Nye County School District. Contribute any memories or comments to here at 5382 Stampa Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89146.

Poteete'scoached varsity baseball from 1975 through 1986; his teams won 153 and lost 82, claiming Southern Nevada league championships in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1985 and finishing second in 1977, 1982, 1984 and 1986. Overall, the Trojans were 80-34 in league games.

The Trojans were state runnersup in 1979, when they were 12-4 (9-1 in the league); 1981, when they went 10-0 in the league and finished 17-4 in all games) and 1983, when PVHS was 22-5 (7-1 league).

The 1979 team had a composite average of .394, while the 1981 team finished at .402, which at the time was the eighth all-time team average nation-wide, according to the National Federation of High Schools.

On the 1981 team were Dick Empey, a freshman who batted .492; sophomore Mike Kruse, who hit .483; junior Scott Yardley, who hit .479; sophomore Mike Floyd, who batted .475; sophomore Bob Farthing, who finished at .415 and sophomore Gary Nerger, who hit .400. The 1981 team averaged 10 runs per game, while the 1983 club scored 8.5 runs per game and slugged a team-record 22 homers.

Kruse, who was 22-8 in three seasons as a pitcher, was 7-2 with a 1.80 earned run average in 1981 and 9-2 with a stingy 0.93 ERA in 1983. Empey, a lefthander, was 10-3 in 1984 and finished with 374 career strikeouts.

Charles Stevens (Class of 1986) was 22-5 in three varsity seasons as a pitcher and batted a school-record .525 lifetime for the Trojans, including a sizzling .609 in 1985.

Pahrump Valley was in Class A from 1975 through 1981, then was reclassified to 2-A in 1982. In 1986, PVHS returned to 1-A.