by DOUG KRETZER

When many think of sports in Eastern Kentucky, Vondal Lee Hall is another guy from Wheelwright who excelled in sports there, went to college in another state, made his home there, coached there and did it so well he had statewide recognition.

Vondal Lee Hall grew up at Melvin in Floyd County, KY. He was such a good pitcher on the Trojan baseball team at Wheelwright High School that his high school record was 21-1. That one loss came in the state baseball tournament his senior season. Newport Catholic defeated Wheelwright 4-1 in the first round of the State Tournament in June 1953.

Hall was selected All District two times, all Regional one time and All State one time for his pitching prowess. As a senior at Wheelwright he was selected as the best baseball player in the state of Kentucky.

Hall played in the Industrial League in Detroit Michigan and played American Legion baseball.

After high school Hall received a scholarship to play baseball at Georgia Teachers College. That name later was changed to Georgia Southern. Sound familiar? It may if you have read the articles on here about Don Wallen who played basketball at Wheelwright and stared at Georgia Southern. Hall was a pal of Wallen’s and went to that same college at the same time as did Wallen.

As a sophomore at Georgia Southern the right hander’s record was 4-1 with an ERA of 3.03. He was also an outstanding hitter.

After graduation from the college in 1957 Hall, like his friend Wallen, went into coaching his favored sport. Unlike Wallen, Hall chose to stay in Georgia to do his. He did it well. So well in fact that he became the Coach of The Year in Georgia baseball for 1967. Much as his friend Wallen had done in the state of Florida where he also added a “National High School Coach of the Year” to his record.

Hall also dabbled in golf. He loved teaching kids the many fine aspects of sports. The boys from Wheelwright all learned that sport well on their own course situated in a hollow in the coal town. For many years, Hall was a golf coach for the McDuffie County Recreation Department Youth Golf Program. He was also an advocate for handicapped children and began the Kicklighter Rehabilitation Center in Savannah, GA.

Hall passed away in 2008.

The post Mountain Sports Hall of Fame remembers Vondal Lee Hall appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

There may a few less statistics that come to mind when considering achievements on the mound – strikeouts being the first to come to mind for most. Then you have wins, of course. Surely, too, there are walks and batters hit by pitch, the less dignified of pitching records. For now, we’re going to focus on the positives.

But aside from wins and strikeouts, there are the rare moments for pitchers, the games worthy of tracking down the gameday ball to put on the mantle for all the years to come – the no-hitter and the prize of all prizes, the perfect game, such a rare feat that even at the highest level of play there have been only been 24 pitched. That many, right? Not many when you consider that since records have been kept this is 24 of a grand total of approximately 238,500 games.

Keep in mind as we begin taking a look at these pitching statistics that KHSAA records are only current up to May 18, 2023. There may be some players already on the lists and who will be following this season. If you know of any players who are in this position, let us know in the comments!

Wins

Danville’s Paul Morse has won more games than any other high school pitcher in the state with 55 wins from 1988 to 1992, including 13 during the 1989 season.

From 2011 to 2014, Max Hall, who played for Letcher County, notched 31 wins for ninth-place all-time. Hall also shows up in the lowest ERA in a season with an astounding 0.83 in 2012 and career shutouts at 10. Harrison County’s Logan Dailey hold the top spot for the lowest ERA in a season when in 2008 over 34 innings pitched, he walked away with an perfect 0.00.

Another ace from the region, Pike Central’s Josh Elswick, is on the books for consecutive wins with 16. The most all-time is 24 straight when Madison Central’s Jeff Cruse cruised through batters in a three-year period between 1980 and 1983.

Strikeouts

For most people – die-hard fans and casual enthusiasts alike – strikeouts is the first stat that comes to mind. And why not? It’s probably the easiest to understand: a hurler takes the mound and tosses his best pitches, the hitter takes their swings without a hit then heads back to the dugout.

With a minimum of 340 Ks to qualify for the all-time list, pitcher Paul Morse shows up again for the most ever. Morse wiffed 651 batters during his high school career.

Most in one season belongs to Mike Blakeman, from Green County. In one of the longest-standing records on the books, Blakeman struck out 192 batters in 1968.

Twenty strikeouts in a single game has become one of the numbers pitchers and fans alike begin to root for when the total starts moving closer to that in the later innings. There are 14 pitchers who have hit that mark since Don Gullett racked up his 20 Ks against Portsmouth Clay in 1969. Also among those 14 is Johnson Central’s Matt Fyffe who did it in 2007.

But who was the most consistent over the course of one season with the strikeouts per game average? That record belongs to Alex Hamilton of Breathitt County with an average of 17.2 punches a game in 2013.

No-hitters

As it goes with statistics, there are plenty of categories, but, after wins and strikeouts, it’s the historic no-hitter that is one of the most revered.

In high school baseball, a no-hitter is a rare and celebrated achievement where a pitcher or pitching staff prevents the opposing team from recording a single hit throughout the entire game. While baserunners can still reach via walks, errors, or being hit by a pitch, the feat remains a pinnacle. Achieving this requires a near-perfect combination of velocity, location, and mental composure, supported by a defense that must remain flawless in the field to keep the hit column at zero.

Brennen Milby, of Green County, holds the top spot for most career no-hitters with seven, while Jimmy Osting secured first-place all-time in one season with four. In a nearly unbelievable stat for the most consecutive no-hitters, Rockcastle County’s George Durham, completed three straight no-nos in 1997.

Perfect games – To get an ever better idea heading into this last category to get an idea of how rare this actually is, have a look here.

A perfect game is when a pitcher, or pitchers, retires all 27 opposing batters consecutively in a full game, allowing no hits, walks, or errors.

Numerous high school pitchers have pitched one perfect game during their high school career. But, closer to home for that number, includes Pikeville’s Reese Ward against South Floyd in 2012 and fellow Panther Kolby Brinker facing Phelps two years earlier in 2010.

The most recent perfect game in this region was achieved by Paintsville Luke Stratton in a 10-0 win over Shelby Valley last month.

The most perfect games thrown was by both Jon Kirby, of Estill County, and Kiekhefer, with two.

The post BY THE BOOK 2 of 2: A look at Kentucky high school all-time pitching records appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

My first year of covering 15th Region basketball has officially come to an end. This year was nothing short of exciting, the talent in this region on both the boys’ and girls’ side is as good as it has been in years. There are so many amazing players spread across the region who are game changers for their teams, and most of them will be back next year. Here are my thoughts on players and teams to keep an eye on heading into the next basketball season.

TEAMS TO WATCH (BOYS)

Johnson Central (28-5)
The defending 15th Region champions will certainly be the team to beat next year. Coach McKenzie has his team looking like a well-oiled machine, and the kicker is: they return every single player on the roster! Johnson Central finished the season 28-5, and you have to think they will be even more dangerous next year. This team’s ceiling is as high as it gets, they will be exciting for years to come.

Floyd Central (25-6)
Floyd Central finished this season with a 25-6 record and looked like one of the best teams in the region all year. They have a great coaching staff and a lot of young talent; Lucas Howard has the potential to be the best big man in the area going into his sophomore season. The Jaguars do lose two of their three best players in Dylan Boyd and Chris Spriggs, but if they can get a jump in production from Howard and Brayden Turner like expected, Floyd Central will be a tough challenge for everyone in the 15th Region.

Belfry (22-11)
Belfry has a ton of upside under coach Brent Perry. They return their three leading scorers and one of the best players in the region, Brody Little. They do have a hole to fill losing their leading rebounder and arguable best defender, senior Peyton Owens, but I believe their front court of Bo Williams, Jaxson Pack, and Colten Young can hold their own down low.

Pikeville (22-5)
Last but not least, the 15th Region Tournament Runner-up, the Pikeville Panthers. Led by Coach Elisha Justice. The Panthers are always one of the teams to watch in the region. They lose their two best perimeter scorers with Jackson Keene and Carter Parsons both graduating, but any team with Grant Hall and Mark Bowling as their starting guards will be a dangerous matchup come tournament time. Also, Cole Slone has the potential to be one of the best players in the region, he is a matchup nightmare and was at times Pikeville’s best offensive threat.

TEAMS TO WATCH (GIRLS)

Paintsville (23-11)
The Paintsville Tigers return every player they had this year on the roster, the Tigers young team showed a lot of potential to be the best team in the region in the upcoming season. The key to Paintsville’s success heavily relies on the best player in the region, Kylie Kinner. If the Tiger’s can see a jump in some of their younger players to give Kinner some relief, expect them to be one of the teams to beat come tournament time.

Floyd Central (21-8)
Floyd Central is another young team to watch next season, the Jaguars return their three leading scorers and rebounders. Led by Maddy Engle, the Jaguars will be a matchup problem around the region,

Johnson Central (20-7)
The 15th Region Tournament Runner-up, Johnson Central will likely be the favorites to win it all next season. Exactly like the boys, they return every player on the roster. The Eagles were a problem this year and look to be primed to be even better this upcoming season. Karlea Stanely and Allie Slone may be the best duo in the region and will be must watch basketball.

Martin County (15-11)
Martin County loses one of their best scorers with Chloe May graduating but are still expected to be a tough matchup around the region. The Cardinals return their two best players, Maci Maynard and Makenna Marcum, who are a young duo with a ton of potential. If Coach Robinson has this young team clicking by tournament time, you will not want to be on their side of the bracket.

PLAYERS TO WATCH (BOYS)

Austin Slone (Johnson Central) – 21.1ppg , 7.1rpg , 51.9% fg , 37.1% 3pt.

Braxton Keathley (Martin County) – 33.1ppg , 9.0rpg , 56.6% fg , 47.1% 3pt.

Tyler Weddington (Phelps) – My pick for 15th Region Player of the Year – 29.8ppg , 16.4rpg , 58.3% fg , 41.7% 3pt.

Lucas Howard (Floyd Central) – 13.3ppg , 10.2rpg , 61.9% fg , 37.5% 3pt.

Cole Slone (Pikeville) – 14.2ppg , 6.7rpg , 59.2% fg , 39.3% 3pt.

PLAYERS TO WATCH (GIRLS)

Catherine Walters (Pikeville) – 14.6ppg , 3.1rpg , 47.2% fg , 41.4 3pt

Kylie Kinner (Paintsville) – My pick for 15th Region Player of the Year – 27.1ppg , 7.8rpg , 43.9% fg , 31.6% 3pt

Lindsay Baldwin (Shelby Valley) – 15.3ppg , 6.6rpg , 38.2% fg , 27.3% 3pt.

Karlea Stanley (Johnson Central) – 16.7ppg , 4.6rpg , 42% fg , 29.9% 3pt.

Maci Maynard(Martin County) – 15.5ppg , 12.7rpg , 60.3% fg

Maddy Engle (Floyd Central) – 15.5ppg , 6.5rpg , 54.3% fg , 29.9% 3pt.

The post 15th Region Basketball Overview: What we see looking forward appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

by DOUG KRETZ

The season was 1976. Feds Creek came in to the 15th Regional Tournament as the runnerup in the 60th District Tournament to Belfry and sported a 21-12 mark, a far cry from the previous season of 13-16. This was the first year for the Vikings under their new coach Sherman Combs.

Virgie came in to the 15th Regional Tournament under a first year coach also, in former Johns Creek and Morehead State great Eugene Lyons. The Eagles entered with a 21-7 mark and had won the 59th District Tournament. They had been runnersup in the Regional the previous year.

These two teams, Vikings and Eagles, were going to go at it. No one gave Feds Creek a chance to win. The Litkenhous ratings had Virgie rated as the #3 team in the Region behind Sheldon Clark and Betsy Layne. They rated the Vikings as # 7.

Each team played six players . Five of Virgie’s players were named Newsome.

That season there was but one player from the 15th Region who made the All State teams, Jackie Wireman of Johnson Central. There were a host of great players who were All State Honorable Mention selections that season. They were Jim Stepp and Steve Goble of Sheldon Clark, Bill Majakey of Paintsville, Ricky Roberts and Ronnie Clark of Betsy Layne, Larry Daugherty of McDowell, Jeff Goodson of Dorton, David Lyons of Johns Creek, Ricky Pack of Allen Central, Jeff Riley of Wheelwright and two who would play in this game in David Hunt of Feds Creek and Donnie Newsome of Virgie.

I can’t find predictions on the game in old newspapers but people have told me that the Vikings were certainly the underdogs going in. Virgie had been the pick to annihilate the Vikings in this first round game. One newspaper sports writer was said to give Feds Creek a .01% chance of victory. Well, that certainly isn’t much of a chance.

In that first round game Feds Creek played the part of Jack The Giant Killer when they took home the victory over Virgie, 74-70. That was the biggest upset in the 15th Regional that year.

Raymond Miller led Feds Creek in scoring that game with 24. Donnie Newsome, playing with a pulled hamstring, led Virgie with 23.

That was the first game of a mighty fine Regional Tourney in 1976, promising fans what was to come in the next few days. The rest of the tournament went thusly: 1st Round- Betsy Layne 69, Sheldon Clark 65. McDowell 73, Belfry 55. Johnson Central, champions of the Region the previous year, then had to go overtime to defeat Dorton 71-69. In the semifinals that 1976 season it was Betsy Layne taking the wind out of the sails of Feds Creek with a 59-44 victory and McDowell taking two overtimes to defeat Johnson Central 74-73. Betsy Layne then earned the right to a trip to the Sweet 16 with another close game. This one Betsy Layne 48, McDowell 47.

Looking over the Regional Tournament from that season one would think of the close games as the best of the seven games played-a two overtime game, an overtime game and a one point squeaker in the championship game as probably the ones that created the most talk as the tournament concluded and fans were leaving. However it was the Feds Creek upset in the first game of a very good Virgie team that still gets brought up in conversations 44 years later.

Maybe the sportswriter who gave Feds Creek a .01% chance of defeating Virgie had his numbers right but in all the wrong places.

– reprinted with permission of Mountain Sports Hall of Fame

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The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife have asked the public to let them know if they see wild pigs around the region.

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2694th District State Representative Mitch Whitaker proposes bill for a change in involuntary commitment for mentally incompetent offenders.

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Pike County alone has $3.5M in unclaimed property among eight counties totaling more than $11M.

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Pike Emergency Management Director Nee Jackson talks safety while driving this winter season.

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Local prosecutors discuss benefits of the eWarrants platform website for the legal field.

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Floyd Judge-Executive says senior citizens centers are facing cuts of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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