By kevin eckleberry

Daily News

 

 

David Smart, who is in his third year as LaGrange High’s head baseball coach, is moving on at season’s end.

Smart is set to become the head coach for baseball and softball at Denmark High in Alpharetta, a brand-new school that will open its doors this fall.

Smart will remain as LaGrange’s coach for the remainder of this season.

LaGrange athletics director Mike Pauley said the search for a new baseball coach will begin immediately.

“We are in conversation about who will be our next coach,” Pauley said.

Smart took over as LaGrange’s baseball coach for the 2016 season after Todd Herrington left to take over the program at Northgate.

The Grangers reached the second round of the state playoffs in 2016, and they made it to the state semifinals last season.

The Grangers (3-12 overall) have struggled this season, but they opened their Region 5-AAAA schedule with a 1-0 win over the Cedartown Bulldogs on Tuesday.

“He’s determined to finish the season very strongly,” Pauley said of Smart. “He and his staff are fully committed to finishing the season as strong as they can.”

Before coming to LaGrange, Smart served as the head coach at Northside-Columbus for six seasons, and he guided the team to two appearances in the state quarterfinals.

Before that, Smart was the top assistant at Columbus High under Bobby Howard for 10 years, and he was a part of numerous state-championship teams.

Smart was also the head softball coach at Northside for three seasons.