Baseball

On Monday, March 28, the Whitley County High School baseball and softball teams were both victorious over Barbourville in their 2016 home openers. Here are some shots of the evening's action.

The Williamsburg Yellow Jackets were able to get the 2016 season off to a good start, defeating Bell County 15-2 in their home opener, and then beating Barbourville 5-4 one night later to improve to 2-0. This spring, the baseball Jackets are being led by four seniors – Alex Patterson, Tanner Rains, Jordan Osborne and Jacob Curnutt. Curnutt (18, OF/C) said that he fell in love with the sport of baseball at a young age while playing in the local Little League program. He said that he decided to stick with it from there, taking a break in middle school, and returning to the diamond four years ago as a high...

Corbin baseball Head Coach Cody Philpot is tasked with replacing a talented group of seniors in his second year at the helm. At the end of last season Philpot and his staff said goodbye to Nick Vorbeck, who was a fantastic power hitter and outfielder. They also said goodbye to Austin O’Neill, who was a great asset to the Hounds behind the plate at his catcher position. Andrew Jones was another outgoing senior. He unfortunately spent most of the year sidelined with an injury, but he provided a lot of great leadership, whether it was on the field or in the dugout. Finally, Trevor Browning came out to play...

Continuing with our weekly series of stories previewing the upcoming spring season, this week we check in with the Whitley County High School baseball and softball programs. The baseball Colonels enjoyed a lot of success in 2015. They won 20 games, including an 8-7 win at home over 50th District rival Corbin, but they were defeated in the first round of the district tournament. Being kept out of the 13th Region tournament again was certainly a frustrating way to end an otherwise positive season, but this year Head Coach Kyle Adams says that he hopes his team can take the next step and play their way out of the district. “We’re...

The Williamsburg High School baseball and softball teams saw their seasons come to an end in the first round of the district tournament last year, but there was still plenty to be happy about and build upon. Both teams advanced to the second round of the regional All “A” tourney, with the baseball Jackets picking up a 3-2 victory over Barbourville, and the Lady Jackets winning 8-5 over Lynn Camp. Both teams also picked up big wins over district opponent Whitley County in the regular season, defeating the Colonels 4-3 on the baseball diamond, 3-2 on the softball field. Looking ahead, coaches Bryan Hopkins and Jason Prewitt are both anxious...

It has been several years since the Lynn Camp Wildcats have been able to enjoy very much success on the baseball diamond. Head Coach Marc Estep had high hopes coming into last spring, but his team never could figure out how to put the pieces together and win ball games. In the end, they finished the season with just three wins, and 25 losses. In 2016, Estep is once again feeling good about the Wildcats’ prospects. A talented junior class will be counted on to lead the way in the months ahead, and will hopefully be the ones to lift the team to some much-needed big victories. “I’m pleased with our...

Many sports fans may be hearing the name Mike Fiers for the first time after he threw a no-hitter for the Houston Astros in his first complete game as a professional pitcher last week, but many fans in this area will likely recognize Fiers from his short, but very successful stint at University of the Cumberlands. Fiers, whose no-hitter came against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Friday, is a native of Florida. He was pitching for a junior college in his home state when Patriots baseball Head Coach Brad Shelton began recruiting him. “We recruited him against some of the best schools in the country,” said Shelton. “He had a good...