Document text
Binney's 'interim' tag removed By JOE ZAVALA Ashland Daily Tidings It's official: Larry Binney is a Raider � again. The former Southern Oregon University baseball player turned hugely successful prep softball coach had the "interim" label removed Tuesday from his title as Raider head softball coach. Binney, who stepped down in 2002 after 20 years of coaching North Medford High, took over for James Gravelle in early July following Gravelle's surprise resignation. Fittingly, Binney was recruiting in Salem when he found out via cell phone. "I think it's great," Binney said this morning in a telephone interview. "I'm a Southern Oregon College grad, played baseball there, and I got a great education there and I wasn't looking for a job - I had been retired for a year and was enjoying that - but it seemed like a good challenge. They have good kids and a good program established and we're hoping to take it a step further." SOU Athletic Director Phil Pifer was unavailable for comment. Binney, 57, who guided the Black Tornado to four state titles and 17 Southern Oregon Conference championships, takes over a program that won the Cascade Conference title in 2003 and has advanced to two consecutive Region 1 tournaments. Binney says he's followed SOU softball since it re-started its intercollegiate program three years ago. He likes the talent he has coming back, and hopes to bring in more. "We have several kids coming in that James recruited pitching-wise who are going to be very, very confident," he said, "but exactly who we're going to have when we have our first day of practice, I don't know yet." After naming Binney the interim coach, Pifer said the Raiders would conduct an official search for a head coach. Applications were accepted through July 20, and at least one applicant besides Binney interviewed for the job. In the end, Binney's loaded resume was too good for the Raiders to pass up. The former national high school softball coach-of-the-year led the Black Tornado to a record of 471-103-1. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -