Baseball

Coverage area baseball teams returned from Spring Break beach trips this week to open up play in their respective districts. In the 50th District, the Whitley County Colonels started things off Monday by hosting their rivals from across town – the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets. Both teams were coming off of productive Spring Break trips, with the Colonels traveling to Myrtle Beach, SC and the Jackets traveling to Cocoa Beach, FL. The early stages of Monday’s contest favored the visitors, as Williamsburg would take a 4-1 lead after one inning. Whitley began to battle back in the second, however, scoring two runs to cut the Jacket lead to 4-3. The Colonel offense...

This week we meet five senior athletes from Whitley County High School – three from the Colonel baseball team, and two from the Lady Colonels softball team. The baseball Colonels kicked off district play this week with a big 15-5 victory over crosstown rivals Williamsburg. It was the first step in what Whitley hopes will be a championship season in 2016. Leading the way this season are three talented seniors – Michael Wayne Harris, Casey Crisologo and Jared Partin. Partin, 19, is an outfielder and pitcher for the Colonels. He has been playing baseball since age five, and said recently that being a senior this year really means a lot to...

The date of April 6th, 2016 will now be etched into the mind of University of the Cumberlands (UC) Baseball Head Coach Brad Shelton along with many members of the Patriots baseball program for a lifetime. Just over a week after earning his 500th career win at UC, Shelton’s team would come home to sweep the Cavaliers of Montreat College in a mid-week doubleheader. On that day, Shelton would make a mark on the UC baseball program that will stand for many years to come as he would tie and break the record for all-time wins as a head coach for baseball for the Patriots. The Patriots would take game...

There were heightened emotions on each end of the spectrum last Friday night at Williamsburg’s Briar Creek Park. On the baseball side, it was the elation of a thrilling comeback win in the bottom of the seventh inning. Over at the softball field, it was the despair of losing a heart breaker in extra innings. The Lady Jackets were hosting Knox Central, now being led by former Corbin Lady Hounds Head Coach Chris Hart. The Jackets took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, but allowed the Panthers to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the second. Williamsburg took the lead back, 3-2, in...

On March 29th, the University of the Cumberlands (UC) Baseball team defeated the Berea College Mountaineers in a single game matchup by a score of 7-5. With the win, Head Coach Brad Shelton earned his 500th win during his illustrious coaching career at University of the Cumberlands. Hitting the 500 win mark will rank him second in wins in Cumberland Baseball history, and only puts him two wins behind all-time wins leader Coach Terry Stigall. Shelton has an overall coaching record of 689 wins and 371 losses with a win percentage of .650. Shelton's 500 wins at Cumberlands, entering the 2015-16 season, ranks him 10th all-time in Kentucky Collegiate 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...