Baseball

The following previews for the 2019 Williamsburg High School baseball and softball seasons can be found inside the March 13, 2019 print edition… Baseball Jackets must adapt and evolve in 2019 season After finishing the 2018 season with a 19-10 mark and winning the All A Regional Tournament, the 2019 Williamsburg High School Baseball Team has some high goals set again for this season. Head Coach Bryan Hopkins said the goals for this season are similar to the goals for last season, and include a 20-win season and repeating again as All A Regional champs. This year the team hopes to advance beyond the regional level of the All A Tournament and advance...

The following previews for the 2019 Whitley County High School baseball and softball seasons can be found inside the March 6, 2019 print edition… Colonels baseball hoping to build on the successes of last season in 2019 After a 25-12 record and finishing second in the 13th Region, the bar for measuring a successful 2019 season has been set high for the Whitley County Colonels baseball team. Second year Coach Jeremy Shope said while the team has lost the core of the pitching staff that led the Colonels to so much success, another strong group of juniors and seniors will give the team a potent offense, and an improved defense. “It has been...

The following previews for the 2019 Corbin High School baseball and softball seasons can be found inside the February 27, 2019 print edition... Redhounds baseball embracing role as defending region champs Last spring, the Corbin Redhounds achieved a 24-13 overall record that included 50th District and 13th Region championship victories. They fell short against Hazard in the first round of the KHSAA state tournament at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington, but their chances of getting another opportunity to play in a state tourney are good this year considering all of the talent they are returning to the roster. Leading the way for the Hounds in 2019 will be a strong senior class...

Cincinnati Reds pitchers and catchers will report to the team’s spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona on Feb. 12, and catcher Tucker Barnhart said he is excited about getting to work with the revamped starting pitching rotation that includes the newly acquired Tanner Roark, Alex Wood and Sonny Gray. Barnhart, who is entering his sixth season working behind the plate for the Reds, joined hall of fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman, backup catcher Curt Casali, and top prospect Taylor Trammell during a Reds Caravan stop last Thursday at Reds Radio affiliate WFTG AM 1400/FM 106.9 in London. Barnhart said he is excited about the team’s potential in 2019, given the upgrades to...

With so many major championships won by coverage area teams over the past twelve months, the News Journal’s annual year-end list of top sports stories will require a total of ten spots for 2018. 1. Corbin boys basketball team wins region, advances to quarterfinals of Sweet 16 tournament It was a tough call for which story should take the top spot this year, but in the end the Corbin Redhounds’ 13th Region championship and trip to the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena was too big not to be placed at number one. Led by senior Andrew Taylor, who finished his career as the Corbin High School basketball program’s all-time leading scorer, the...

Update: It was a win-or-go-home situation for the Corbin 11U baseball All-Stars Wednesday, but unfortunately for them, their summer season came to a disappointing end after a one-run loss to North London. North took a 2-0 lead against Corbin in the third inning, but RBIs from Eli Pietrowski and Clay Botner tied the score up at 2-2 heading in the fourth. NL scored one run to regain the lead, 3-2, but a pair of two-RBI singles from Cam Estep and Pietrowski put Corbin back on top, 6-3. North came back in the fifth inning with four runs of their own to once again regain the advantage, 7-6. Corbin could not answer...

The Corbin 12U baseball All-Stars were crowned district champions after an 11-2 victory over Hazard-Perry Thursday evening at Rotary Park. The win secures the team a spot in this year's state championship tournament, being held in Lebanon, KY. Bradric Helton pitched all but the final two outs of the district championship game Thursday, being relieved by teammate Justin Troutman with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Helton's solid work on the mound, and an all-around great offensive effort, Coach Mondo Cima's All-Stars were able to stay undefeated this summer ahead of their upcoming state tourney appearance. Hazard took a two-run lead in the bottom of the first...

From the June 13, 2018 print edition... 2018 All-County Player of the Year – Chase Estep (Jr.), Corbin The accolades have piled up for Corbin junior Chase Estep recently, and rightfully so. The University of Kentucky commit has enjoyed an outstanding sports year in 2017-18, first helping the Redhounds football team make it to the Class 3A finals back in December, and then helping the baseball Hounds to 50th District and 13th Region championships this spring. Estep stepped up in a big way this season, helping to fill the void left on the pitching mound after the graduation of last year’s ace, Cole Brock. He also took care of business at the...

After a 5-1 loss to the Hazard Bulldogs in round one of the 2018 KHSAA state baseball tournament Thursday, the Corbin Redhounds ended their season with a 24-13 record. The Hounds and the Bulldogs played their first round contest Thursday afternoon at Lexington's Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The weather was perfect, but for Corbin, the end result was anything but. Region 14 champs Hazard went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning, and they were able to extend their lead to 4-0 in the top of the third. They got out to a 5-0 advantage in the top of the fifth inning before the Redhounds were finally able to score...

This From the Sidelines column appeared in the June 6, 2018 print edition of the News Journal as part of special coverage of the Corbin Redhounds baseball team qualifying for the KHSAA state championship tournament... Things were a little bit different the last time the Corbin Redhounds went to a state baseball tournament. The year was 2005, and I had just graduated high school. The upperclassmen on this year’s CHS baseball team were probably playing tee-ball as preschoolers or kindergartners. George W. Bush would be in the White House for three more years, Carrie Underwood had just won American Idol and Star Wars: Episode III was breaking all kinds of box office...