Baseball Coach

LANCASTER - Garrard County has turned to a former Admiral as its new head baseball coach. Danville graduate C.J. Lynn was hired by Garrard after spending last season as an assistant under Danville coach Paul Morse. “I'm really excited. I've always wanted to be a head coach. That's been my goal since high school,” said Lynn, 25. “There is a lot of young talent at Garrard County, and with a lot of hard work they can improve and hopefully be a good contender for the district and down the road the region may be possible.” Lynn played four years at Alice Lloyd College, then served as a graduate assistant at the school.

STANFORD - Lincoln County has its new baseball coach. Brad Hood, a special education teacher and assistant football coach, has been named interim coach and given a one-year contract that will pay him $1,800. "We were having trouble finding a coach. Several of my kids from football played, so I knew them already, and it bothered me them not having somebody," said Hood, who is in first year at the school. "So I talked to (the school) about it and kind of held off at first. And finally I just felt like it would be right.

Matt Ginter has been hired as baseball coach at George Rogers Clark High School. Clark principal David Bolen confirmed the hiring Tuesday in an e-mail to staff members at the school. Ginter welcomed the opportunity to lead the baseball program at Clark. "I'm excited to work with some of these kids and see what we can get done," he said. Ginter, a former standout at Clark, enjoyed a successful career in the major leagues. He was drafted as the 22 nd pick overall by the Chicago White Sox in 1999.

Garrard County is looking for a new baseball coach after Doug Simpson resigned Monday. “Doug works at the (Danville) fire department and has a pretty stressful, full-time job. I think he just wanted to be with his family. You only have one shot to see your kids grow up,”¿Garrard athletics director Kalem Grasham said Thursday.  “Doug loves the game of baseball and loves Garrard County. There's not a person more qualified for to coach baseball at Garrard¿County than Doug Simpson.

STANFORD - Jimmy Hill stepped down as Lincoln County baseball coach Tuesday, saying he was ready to get away from the year-round nature of the game. "To be competitive at the level I want to be competitive at, you have to play a fall schedule, do a lot of weightlifting in the winter, and commit to play in the summer as well," Hill said. "The amount of time I put in is very, very intense. This is something I've been thinking about since last season. " Hill will stay on as a social studies teacher at the high school.

STANFORD - For the second straight year, Lincoln County has hired a baseball coach in the fall. This time, however, the word "interim" is not in the job title. Danny Masten, a former player and assistant coach at Pulaski County, has been named the new coach at Lincoln. "I'm excited about getting the job, and I'm looking forward to seeing the talent Lincoln County has," said Masten. "I've talked to several coaches in the region who said this is a talented group, they just need some guidance and coaching.

University of Kentucky baseball coach John Cohen took a break from his busy schedule to visit Winchester on Tuesday night. Cohen spoke to the Clark County Kiwanis Club at Victorina's Restaurant and discussed a variety of topics concerning his program and the recent passing of longtime University of Kentucky men's basketball equipment manager Bill Keightley. The Wildcats, ranked No. 10 in the nation, are 22-4 (5-4 Southeastern Conference) and have won 17 in a row at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Ed Rall thought it would be fun to return to high school coaching. What he didn't realize was that coaching meant even more of a time commitment now than it did when he coached high school sports 20 years ago. That's why he has resigned as Garrard County's baseball coach after one year with the Golden Lions. "It just takes so much time," said Rall. "You have to put so much time and energy into coaching. I teach English and getting home at 11 or 12 at night during baseball season was just hard.

George Rogers Clark senior Jesse Bates signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball at Pikeville College Friday. Joining Bates were: Front row, from left, father Morris Bates, mother Tracy Bates and brother Dustin Bates. Back row, Clark athletics director Ryan Nolan, Clark baseball coach Matt Ginter, strength coach Rick Mitchell.

Dear Editor: I hope that everyone in Danville will vote for Larry VanMeter for Court of Appeals judge. He was my baseball coach for two years in Lexington, and he will make a great judge on the Court of Appeals. He is very smart. He graduated from Vanderbilt University and UK Law School. He is fair. He spent a lot of time teaching all of us the fundamentals of baseball. He spends a lot of his time working with children, and he has a great sense of humor. All of these qualities will make him an excellent judge.

“42” reminds how far we've come on race Dear Editor, The other night my wife Kristen and I went to see the movie42, the Jackie Robinson story. Being the son of a baseball coach and having played baseball in high school, I am naturally drawn to baseball movies. Baseball however, is not the main reason we wanted to see the movie. The life story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball and continuing social change in America is the real story. As I watched the movie, I thought how far we have come as a society.

Danville coach Paul Morse earned his 300th career victory Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader that the Admirals split with Bullitt Central at Shepherdsville. Danville (5-2) won the first game 14-1 in five innings, but Bullitt Central (4-2) took the nightcap 6-5. The Admirals cranked out 13 hits in the opener. No. 9 hitter Chase Ransdell went 3 for 3, and J.B. Williams and Mason Stamm had two hits each. Stamm and Will Graham drove in two runs each; Stamm and Jay Hunn stole two bases each.

George Rogers Clark senior Jesse Bates signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball at Pikeville College Friday. Joining Bates were: Front row, from left, father Morris Bates, mother Tracy Bates and brother Dustin Bates. Back row, Clark athletics director Ryan Nolan, Clark baseball coach Matt Ginter, strength coach Rick Mitchell.

LANCASTER - Garrard County has turned to a former Admiral as its new head baseball coach. Danville graduate C.J. Lynn was hired by Garrard after spending last season as an assistant under Danville coach Paul Morse. “I'm really excited. I've always wanted to be a head coach. That's been my goal since high school,” said Lynn, 25. “There is a lot of young talent at Garrard County, and with a lot of hard work they can improve and hopefully be a good contender for the district and down the road the region may be possible.” Lynn played four years at Alice Lloyd College, then served as a graduate assistant at the school.

Garrard County is looking for a new baseball coach after Doug Simpson resigned Monday. “Doug works at the (Danville) fire department and has a pretty stressful, full-time job. I think he just wanted to be with his family. You only have one shot to see your kids grow up,”¿Garrard athletics director Kalem Grasham said Thursday.  “Doug loves the game of baseball and loves Garrard County. There's not a person more qualified for to coach baseball at Garrard¿County than Doug Simpson.

George Rogers Clark baseball coach Matt Ginter likes what the future holds for his program. Ginter, a former major league pitcher and standout at the school, guided the Cardinals to a 20-14 record in his first season as coach. Clark, which won the 10th¿Region title and advanced to the state tournament for the first time in school history last season, lost to Bishop Brossart 2-1 in eight innings in the regional semifinals last week in Mount Sterling. The Mustangs defeated Harrison County in the regional final less than 24 hours following the narrow victory over Clark at Whitaker Field.

George Rogers Clark baseball coach Matt Ginter was all smiles after the Cardinals defeated Bourbon County 5-3 to win the 40th District Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Cardinal Field. Both teams will advance to next week's 10th Region Tournament at Montgomery County High School. Clark's Brent Stoneking provided the heroics with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning, breaking a 3-3 deadlock and sending the Cards into the regional tourney as a district winner.

LIBERTY - Changing coaches is nothing new for the Casey County baseball program, but the latest change has brought the Rebels an infusion of something that has been in short supply for years: confidence. Casey has gone through five coaches in the last seven seasons and has gone through some long seasons during those years of transition. But now the Rebels are off to a good start in their first season under Greg Hammond, who said one of his first priorities is to convince his players they can compete.

Derek Willis of Bullitt East, a top-35 player in the class of 2013, will announce Friday whether he'll play college basketball at Kentucky, Louisville, Indiana or Purdue. The 6-foot-8 Willis originally committed to Purdue as a sophomore before changing his mind and re-opening his recruitment. Family friend Kevin Veeley has known Willis since he was 6 years old and was his Little League baseball coach. “My son was best friends with him until we moved to Shelbyville three years ago, and they still talk all the time,” Veeley said.

In a matter of a few hours, it will be time to celebrate a new year and leave 2011 behind.The past 12 months featured several memorable highlights, including the 10 events that shaped the sports scene in Clark County. As we ring in a new year tonight, it's time to reflect on the previous one. 1 The George Rogers Clark boys basketball team returned to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2007. The Cardinals compiled a 30-6 record and lost to Louisville Eastern (65-50)