Turco wins 200th game
On Tuesday September 13th Pope defeated North Atlanta in a run ruled shortened
game 15-0 to secure Coach Chris Turco’s 200th win. Turco is currently in his 10th
season as a head fastpitch softball coach, all at the helm of the Pope Fastpitch
program.
Win number 200 comes 3 and ½ years after Turco’s 100th win was captured on
10/3/12 in a game that saw Pope capture it’s 1st ever region championship.
The path to the 200th spanned a streak which saw Pope reach the Elite 8 three times
in a row finishing state runner up in 2012 and capturing a state Championship in
2014 with the 2013 season ending with a 4th place finish. During this run, Pope
secured two 30 win seasons, setting a school record for wins in the 2014 state
championship campaign with 32 wins.
Turco’s 1st 100 wins did not come as quickly as the 2nd 100. It took 5 ½ season’s to reach the 100 win mark and a total of
173 games vs. 138 games to reach the 2nd 100 wins. Turco’s coaching career began inauspiciously with his 1st season in
2005 ending with a 8-18 record and a 7th place finish in the region.
Since this difficult 2005 season, Turco has led the Greyounds to the playoffs in 7 of his 8 campaigns as coach of the
Hounds with 2009 being the other season the Hounds missed the playoffs under Turco’s leadership.
When asked about win 200, Coach Turco commented:
“I have been fortunate to have been able to coach with amazingly talented assistant coaches who have worked
supremely diligently to make sure that Pope Fastpitch has reached its potential. These coaches’ efforts combined with
dedicated and talented players has driven the success that this program has been able to achieve. I would be remiss if I
did not also attribute much of the program’s success to the booster club and parent group that I have been fortunate to
have the support of. Lastly, without the support of an amazing wife I could never have made it through as many seasons
as I have so a huge thank you goes out to her”