St. Francis names Dorlarque as new baseball skipper
Aaron Dorlarque saw an opportunity too good to pass up when the St. Francis High baseball coaching position became available.
Dorlarque had built Dunn of Los Olivas into one of the top teams in CIF Southern Section Division VII over the past 15 seasons, which included six Condor League championships and three semifinal appearances. Dorlarque applied for the St. Francis job, seeing potential within a program looking to get back on track.
Dorlarque, a Stanford University graduate, will now have the chance to reshape St. Francis after he was named head coach Thursday.
“It’s going to be a big step up for me,” said Dorlarque, who was head coach at Dunn from 2002-15 before serving as the team’s pitching coach last season. “There’s going to be some very good competition playing in the tough Mission League going up against teams like Harvard-Westlake, Notre Dame and Chaminade, but we’ll look to go out there and put the pieces together.
“I was looking for a new challenge. In my interview, we talked about character development and that’s something I always like to focus on with the student-athletes, doing well in the classroom and on the field. The school and community put a big priority on education.”
Dorlarque, 46, will take over a St. Francis squad that finished 6-22, 2-16 for last place in the seven-team Mission League. Dorlarque succeeds Joe De Pinto, who held the position on an interim basis after Terry Phillips was dismissed early in the season. Dorlarque will teach algebra and geometry at St. Francis.
He graduated from Stanford in 1992 and played on the university’s baseball team as a pitcher, winning a team-best nine games in 1991 with the Cardinal. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 32nd round in 1992 and posted a record of 15-13 with 47 saves before retiring in 1996. Dorlarque also pitched in the minor leagues for the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos.
“You can draw from your experiences and I’m enthusiastic with what I do,” Dorlarque said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity to build something special at St. Francis.
“The key things are always going to be pitching and defense. There’s a lot of potential here. The wins and losses will take care of themselves. We’ll have a young team, but we can build together.”
St. Francis athletic director Matt Luderer said Dorlarque brings a wealth of experience to the Golden Knights.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s background,” Luderer stated in a press release. “His character and integrity, along with his baseball experience, were exactly what we were seeking in a leader for our baseball program.”
St. Francis last qualified for the playoffs in 2011, when it lost to Peninsula in the first round. St. Francis’ last winning season came in 2009, when it finished 16-13 and qualified for the postseason.
