Grove City High School and Slippery Rock University graduate Billy Herman is taking over as head baseball coach at Grove City. He replaces Pat Forese, who retired after 26 years on the job.

GROVE CITY — Bill Herman has never been far from a baseball field.

He grew up playing the sport in Grove City, played for the Eagles high school baseball team and then moved on to have a standout four-year career as an infielder at Slippery Rock University.

Even when his playing days were done, he was not finished with baseball.

Herman has served as an assistant baseball coach at Shippensburg University, Youngstown State University and Mercyhurst College since his graduation from SRU in 2009.

Now, Herman is beginning his biggest challenge as a baseball coach.

Herman was hired to replace Pat Forese, who started the baseball program at Grove City High in 1988 and served as the program’s only head coach for 26 years.

“Those are some big shoes to fill,” Herman said.

But Herman said he is more than ready to fill them.

“To be able to take over for Pat, a man I respect so much, it’s a great honor,” Herman said. “I’m going to try to fill those big shoes the best that I can.”

To do that, Herman plans to stay the course.

Forese posted a 350-167-1 record in his 26 seasons as the baseball coach at Grove City. His teams won 14 league titles and six District 10 championships.

Herman, 27, was a part of a slew of wins in 2004 and 2005 when he was a star for the Eagles. He said his coaching style is quite similar to that of Forese.

“The way he coached me is the way I approach the game,” Herman said. “There’s not going to be any radical changes.”

The biggest adjustment for Herman will be the late start to the high school baseball season.

As a player at Slippery Rock University, where he graduated as the all-time leader at The Rock in games played (205) and at-bats (705) and second in school history in hits (225) and assists (396), the season began much sooner.

The same was true of his coaching gigs.

“Usually by now I have 10 games under my belt,” Herman said. “I see the guys twice a week at voluntary things we do, but that’s it.”

Herman and Grove City will travel to Orlando, Fla., next month to play four exhibition games before returning to Pennsylvania to start the regular season.

Weather permitting, of course.

“I’ve been involved with baseball in the north all my life,” Herman said. “It’s tough, especially when I was in Erie.”

When Herman does coach that first regular season game for the Eagles, the first in the program’s history without Forese filling out a lineup card, he said he will have some emotions.

“I’m nervous, but I’m really excited,” Herman said. “Pat created the program and he built it into one that is always at the top of the league.”