Chris Curry and Tommy Raffo will meet at home plate just before 6:30 tonight in Jonesboro, the first time the two will meet as head coaches in the Sun Belt Conference.
Curry's first UALR team and Raffo's seventh at Arkansas State have reached the final weekend of the conference season in similar spots, with both trying to qualify for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Their first meeting as head coaches will determine whether their seasons last at least another week or end after Saturday's 1 p.m. series finale.
"We're going to have a full-on battle," said Curry, referring to the both teams' desperation, but also what he knows about Raffo.
Though tonight will be their first game against each other , Curry and Raffo won't be introducing themselves for the first time.
Curry spent one season as a catcher at Mississippi State in 1999 while Raffo was the hitting coach for the Bulldogs. Their connection actually began two years before that, when Curry was a senior at Conway High School and Mississippi State showed mild recruiting interest in him.
Curry said Raffo wasn't interested enough to visit Conway, but the coach sent letters, placed a couple of phone calls and suggested Curry enroll at Meridian (Miss.) Community College rather than sign with the San Francisco Giants, who drafted him in the 26th round.
"I didn't think I would play early, and they felt the same way," Curry said.
Curry went to Meridian in eastern Mississippi, but he and Raffo didn't lose touch.
"That's where he really started to bloom and really take off as a player," Raffo said.
Curry got to Mississippi State in 1999 and helped the Bulldogs win two games in the SEC Tournament and reach the NCAA Tournament, a trip sparked by what Curry remembers as an animated pep talk from Raffo after a third-place finish in the SEC West.
"One thing about Coach Raffo is his class and professionalism are second to none," Curry said. "But he has a fiery, competitive side. ... I remember a fiery speech to the team on the bus right before the SEC Tournament, and he really challenged us to play well and to finish strong."
Curry, who hit .295 with 8 home runs and 51 RBI in his one season in Starkville, bypassed his senior year after being selected in the ninth round by the Chicago Cubs. He spent eight seasons in the minors with the Cubs and San Francisco Giants, reaching as high as Class AAA Iowa in 2002.
When he finished in 2006, Curry went into coaching, first at Hendrix, then at Arkansas Tech, Arkansas, Meridian and Northwestern (La.) State. Through the years, he and Raffo weren't real close, but would catch up at Mississippi State alumni games. When Curry was mulling whether to take the head-coaching job at UALR, a program that has only once in 24 seasons finished with a winning Sun Belt record, last summer, he placed a call to Raffo.
"He was an outstanding resource for me," Curry said. "Just being a Division I coach and what it takes to be successful. He encouraged me to take the opportunity. He thought it would be kind of a sleeping giant opportunity."
Raffo remembers being supportive of Curry's interest in the Trojans.
"I think everyone in this profession wants to be a head coach," Raffo said. "You could tell there was excitement in his voice and a passion to come back home. I think the biggest thing was to say 'Hey, if this is a goal of yours, do everything you can to move in that direction.'"
Once coach and pupil and now colleagues, Curry and Raffo find themselves competing for the same goal this weekend -- one of the eight spots in the Sun Belt Tournament that begins next week in Troy, Ala.
UALR enters the final regular-season series in ninth place in the league standings, a half game behind eighth-place Texas State. ASU is in 10th place, one game behind UALR and 1 1/2 games behind Texas State.
The scenarios are so varied that neither coach has spent much time relaying to their players what it will take.
"It can kind of wear you out, and we have enough on our plate," Curry said. "Stress comes from worrying about things that are non-controllable, and we're really trying hard to concentrate on the controllable."
Sports on 05/14/2015