It’s hard to conceive the notion that a high school baseball coach could reach the 500-win Club as only two coaches in the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association region have, but that’s the situation Janisch found himself in when his Silver Creek/Forestville Black Knights hosted Chautauqua Lake on Thursday.

After picking up win 499 on Wednesday against Ellicottville in dramatic fashion — Silver Creek/Forestville scored four runs in the sixth inning and held on for a 9-8 victory — Janisch’s team needed a little more of that magic last evening. For a while things looked bleak for the Black Knights, who trailed 9-2, but they kept battling and had the opportunity to make win 500 a walkoff.

Silver Creek/Forestville trailed 9-7 in the bottom of the seventh, but when its first three batters reached base it really began to look like a victory was on the horizon. Shawn Kelly and Matt Woleben scored to tie the game, then a passed ball gave Kam Sakpal the opportunity to dash home and that’s exactly what he did to make it a 10-9 victory for Janisch’s milestone win.

After 45 years of coaching, Janisch joins just two other area coaches in the 500 win club, Cattaraugus-Little Valley’s Chuck Senn who reached 601 and Falconer’s Denny Meszaros who finished at 509.

Silver Creek/Forestville head coach Mike Janisch holds up Kam Sakpal at third base. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

“It means that I’ve worked at it,” Janisch said. “It’s the work ethic that makes a difference. I’ve got on my wall at home a poster from Babe Ruth and it says, ‘Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games,’ and that keeps driving me, because I want to be better today than yesterday and better tomorrow than I was today.”

Even after all these years, Janisch still can recall his first victory, way back in 1978 when he defeated Allegany 8-5. When he first started, he did not realize that would be the beginning of a long journey that would bring him to 500 wins, but he’s glad it did.

“There’s no way I even thought about this sort of stuff,” Janisch said chuckling at the idea. “This is a passion for me, there’s no doubt about that. Did I know that this was going to be something that would engulf my life? No, I didn’t have any idea what it was going to entail and it has just grown bigger and bigger and bigger every year and that’s the fun part of it.”

Despite retiring from teaching, coaching is just something that has become an essential part of Janisch’s life.

“It was very easy for me when I retired to quit doing this, and I wouldn’t do that,” Janisch stated. “I like these kids too much and it keeps pulling me back. I’m not sure that my wife would agree that this is the best thing for our relationship, but it’s the best thing for me in terms of keeping going on. I’m already thinking about next year and what this may lead up to, or later on this year we’re planning for sectionals and being in a league hunt. I think about the kids, because that’s where I want to be.”

OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

A big part of what keeps Janisch coming back is not the wins, but the impact he can have on the athletes who come through the program.

“Back in ’99 or so I had a little skinny shortstop,” Janisch recalled. “He came out and I pointed the way to shortstop and he ended up being not only All-League MVP, he ended up almost All-WNY MVP and right now he’s the college coach at Canisius College, Matt Mazurek. You just look at kids like that. You’ve got a thousand stories about every kid that you have. You want kids to learn to be better people when they leave what you’re doing than what they were when they came in.”

Now reaching that illustrious 500 club, Janisch doesn’t have his sights set on any number in particular, but he knows he’s not done yet.

“I’m chasing whatever the kids lead me on,” Janisch added. “I’m not looking for any specific number, I got to the number I’ve been looking at for a couple decades. I really think that whatever happens at this point in time is great.”

Janisch knows that he couldn’t have reached this benchmark without plenty of support and especially the stability and support of Silver Creek.

Silver Creek/Forestville’s Aiden Piccolo slides safely into third base during Thursday’s nonleague game against Chautauqua Lake in Silver Creek. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

“I’ve been blessed with a very supportive administration,” Janisch stated. “Not only athletic directors, but principals and superintendents. When they go out of their way to help you get to where you’re going, it makes the whole process better. It makes it so every kid has a better chance to be successful.”

Janisch and Silver Creek/Forestville will waste no time seeking win 501 as they’ll host Cattaraugus-Little Valley today for the first league contest of the season.

Black Knights’ Brayson Parsell secures an out. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

Silver Creek/Forestville head coach Mike Janisch stands in front of his team after win 500. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

The Black Knights gather together after Thursday's victory over Chautauqua Lake. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

Chautauqua Lake’s Brett Meadows (6) comes in to catch a fly ball as Kameron Press (4) supports. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms