Darren Doyle, story and photos:
The Wildcats shut out the Hart County Raiders at Bowling Green Ballpark, home of the Hot Rods, on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

Edmonson County's freshman pitcher Hunter Wilson got out of a jam in the first, after walking three and giving up a single. The Wildcat defense was able to get a runner out trying to steal home while Wilson struck out two more to leave the Raiders scoreless.

The Wildcats put their first run on the board in the second when Michael Mills singled, driving in Alex Elkins, who had singled and stole second base for a 1-0 lead.

Edmonson County added another run in the third inning. Andrew Talley reached on a single to right, then advanced to second on a passed ball. He scored when Cole Baxter doubled to center field for a 2-0 lead.

The Cats were able to get another run in when Daylen Cook scored on another passed ball for a 3-0 lead in 5th inning.

Wilson paced the Cats on the mound, going the full 7 innings. He gave up 6 hits, walked 3, and struck out 9.

Baxter went 2-3, Talley was 2-2, Dakotah Curtis was 1-3, Wilson was 1-3, Alex Elkins went 1-2 and Michael Mills was 1-3. Baxter and Mills each had one RBI.

Baxter, Elkins, Cook, Mills, and Ty Brantley each had a stolen base.

Edmonson County is now 6-4 on the season and is scheduled to play in the East TN Baseball Coaches Association Tournament next week during spring break.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
The term "once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat" rings true in Edmonson County, especially at times when there are specific needs. Spring sports for high schools are oft times difficult to navigate because of unpredictable weather. Soggy, wet grounds, cold temperatures, and sometimes even snow, hinder baseball and softball seasons as they begin in early March.

Those weather conditions can cause problems for game and practice schedules, and for teams that don't have a place to practice inside, they can find themselves falling behind other schools.

Head baseball coach for ECHS Michael Meredith began working with the baseball boosters to figure out the possibilities for constructing an indoor practice and workout facility for the Wildcats, as they are the only team in District 12 that has no place of their own.

"We have always been able to use the gym to do some workouts and throwing, and we've always appreciated that, but there are limitations and we felt like our kids deserved a facility of their own where they could throw and hit," said Meredith.

Hitting a baseball inside a gym is not feasible for several reasons and the size limitations can cause safety issues.

Coach Meredith said he and the boosters started putting a plan together, pricing, and determining needs. The cost obviously became an issue very soon.

"Our boosters have been phenomenal over the years and they took it upon themselves to go seek out some funding for the project."

They went to the CEO of Houchens Industries, Dion Houchins, who also happens to not only be an ECHS alum, but also a member of the back-to-back regional baseball championship teams in 1982 and 1983. It didn't work out this time for Houchens Industries to be part of the project, but Houchins, the former Wildcat, had an idea.

"It just sort of hit me, personally," Houchins said. "I just felt like this was something that me and some of my old teammates could help. I got on the phone with Craig Browing, (Managing Principal of The Glenview Trust Company), (a former teammate) and asked him if he thought we could generate some interest with some of the guys and he was immediately on board. We divided and conquered. I started a text list and Craig started another and immediately we had half a dozen guys that wanted to be involved."

Not only did the 1982 and '83 teams win the region, they also advanced to the finals in 1980 and '81. It was a stretch of high-level baseball with tremendous athletes in Edmonson County that unfortunately is often overlooked.

Browning said that he was impressed when he learned of Coach Meredith's vision for the facility and for the future of Edmonson County baseball.

"Dion reached out to me and shared what had been presented to him, then I started contacting other guys," said Browning. "It was an all-around effort. When the news got back to Coach Meredith, he was encouraged and he and some others started working even harder to make it happen."

Coach Meredith said that from the beginning, local people were working together to see that the facility could be built.

"We had Dennis Arthur, an architect that has a grandson on the team (Carter Hodges), donate his services to draw up the plans, and that saved us no telling what," Meredith said. "We had our own crew put together of working on it here and there, pricing materials, selling signage, and then the guys from the '82 and '83 teams got involved and we could see that this could really happen."

The former Wildcats raised nearly $17,000 by themselves, by simply calling, texting, and emailing, rallying each other to get involved.

"When we think about those regional championship teams, they were special," said Browning. "But not any of us want to selfishly be the last regional champions. We just want to give back so that our present and future teams have the best opportunities to do it again."

Houchins had similar thoughts.

"It was impressive what was done during those years," he said." Going to the regional finals four years in a row was really something, and what I hope is that our kids now and in the future can be better prepared to do the same."

Coach Meredith said the list of people to thank was getting longer by the day.

"The support from the community, our parents, our boosters, the school, everyone, has just been phenomenal," he said. "It looks like we've raised enough money to put up the building, but we'll need to finish it out on the inside later. We'll still need nets, a way to construct a mound inside, other equipment, I mean, there's always going to be something we'll need so there's still plenty of ways people can donate."

Signage is still being sold for the building and donations are being accepted. The team hopes to use the building this season if all goes well. Coach Meredith said the facility can also be used for other county teams and other purposes on down the road.

"This could not have been possible without the support and oversight of Brian Alexander, Jonathan Williams, and Callie Belilies," Meredith added. "They have helped oversee the project from the get-go."

He also wanted to thank Stewart Lich, president of the baseball boosters, and his wife, Mandy, for their work on the project, as well as the Edmonson County Lions Club and Jonathan and Lori Hodges for allowing the team to use their properties for practice over the last two years.

The Lady Cat Softball team was able to build a similar facility several years ago and they also had to rely on fundraising and donations. It wouldn't have happened without the support from the community, volunteers, and local businesses.

"There have been great improvements made to our program over the past few years," he said. "We've improved our field, scoreboard, our new press box, and now this. We just want to continue to build on what is here and I believe these things will help make us better."

For more information, email Coach Meredith at michael.meredith@edmonson.kyschools.us, or donations can be sent to:
EC Baseball Boosters
c/o Christy Logan
205 Noah Stevenson Road
Bee Spring, KY 42207

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
The Lady Cats had little trouble against McLean County last night at home in the All A play-in game that lasted only part of 5 innings in an 11-1, run-ruled win.

McLean County used two different pitchers that each struggled with control at times. They gave up a combined 7 earned runs, 7 walks, and a hit batter on one strikeout in 5 innings.

Kiper went 2-3 with 3 RBIs. Pitcher Julie Norris gave up only one earned run, struck out 5 and walked 2 in 5 innings. She also went 2-3 at the plate with a double with an RBI.

Eighth grader Addie Childress also went 2-3 with an RBI. Alyssa Doyle, Callie Webb, and Brooklyn Wilson each added singles, Makalya Hogg had 2 RBIs and a stolen base, and Jolee Vincent added an RBI.

The win will allow them to continue in the All A Region 3 Tournament that will take place on April 29th, with opponent and location to be announced.

Edmonson County is now 4-3 on the season and is scheduled to take on Clinton County at home on Monday, April 3rd. A benefit alumni game is scheduled for Thursday. The Lady Cats will not be playing in the match as over 20 former players will make up the teams. Current players will serve as coaches and staff for the team fundraiser.

The Edmonson County boys will take on Hart County on Thursday night at Bowling Green Ballpark in a V-JV doubleheader at the home of the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Stay connected to the Edmonson Voice for the full story and photos.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
The Edmonson County Middle School and High School Archery Teams competed in the NASP Kentucky State Tournament on Friday, March 17th. 

ECHS finished in the middle of the total list of schools but a good enough score to qualify to compete at the national level this May.

While the Middle School team did not have a nationals qualifying score, the team shot their second highest score of the year.  Archery coach Joy Curtis said they have grown tremendously as a team, as half of the middle school team are first-year archers.  

She also said the high school team has continued to improve throughout the season.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
The Edmonson County Middle School 8th Grade Volleyball team won the Green River Valley Conference Tournament last night at Hancock County, defeating St. Romuald Interparochial School (in Hardinsburg) in two sets.

The seventh grade team finished runner-up, falling to Breckinridge County in two sets.

The eighth grade team also won the tournament last year in the team's inaugural season, making this their second consecutive year to win the tournament.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
After two wins earlier in the week to start the season, the Lady Cats fell last night to the Ohio County Lady Eagles at home in a 3-2 pitching duel where errors were the deciding factor on the scoreboard.

The Lady Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when junior Kaylee Ann Sanders singled on a bunt with runners on first and second. Both runners scored on throwing errors by Ohio County that advanced Sanders to third.

Unfortunately for the Lady Cats, it was all the run support they would provide for Edmonson County pitcher Julie Norris, who pitched the 7-inning complete game. She gave up 5 hits, walked 3, and struck out 5 in the loss.

The Lady Eagles got on the board in the top of the third when the Lady Cats committed an error with a runner on second. The runner advanced and cut Edmonson's lead to 2-1.

The score remained the same until the top of the 6th when Ohio County doubled. The base runner then advanced to third on a pop up that was dropped by the Lady Cats. With runners on first and third, Ohio County hit a hard grounder that was bobbled by Edmonson for another error. Two runs scored for an Ohio County 3-2 lead.

While Edmonson County held the Lady Eagles for the rest of the game, they were unable to produce any more runs for their first loss of the season. The Lady Cats struck out 12 times against Ohio County pitcher Addyson Graves.

Sanders finished 1-3, Jolee Vincent went 1-3, and Brooklyn Wilson also went 1-3.

Edmonson County is 2-1 on the year after a win against Bowling Green on Monday and on Metcalfe County on Tuesday.

The Wildcat baseball team is also off to a 2-1 start as their season began this week as well. They defeated Russellville 18-3 in 5 innings, lost 1-4 to Allen County-Scottsville, and won over Metcalfe 14-3 last night.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
Kasey Webb, a junior at Edmonson County High School recently placed 2nd in the Kentucky Class A Indoor Track State Championship, held in Louisville, in the shot put competition.

Webb set a new school record with a shot put throw of 44 feet and 4 inches.

In addition to Webb, Seth Baker, also a junior at ECHS, competed in the shot put as well. He finished 38th overall.

ECHS Track Coach Brad Meredith said that while track season hasn't officially started, some have already been working on their own to prepare for the upcoming season; two of them had the opportunity to compete in Louisville over the weekend.

"Coach Michael Peger is our throws coach and he does a tremendous job with our kids," said Meredith "They have been working for over a month now and when he asked if he could take them to Louisville to compete I said absolutely. Both wanted to see where they were in competition since putting in the early work.  I knew they would do fine but didn't dream they both would throw as well as they did. I am very proud of them and shows that hard work pays off."

Coach Peger spoke on Webb's performance and described him as very coachable and a hard worker.

"He has not yet hit where he's going to go in the sport," said Coach Peger. "He competed against 54 throwers and three different flights and came in second in the state. I can't wait to see how well they do throughout the season. I'm very proud and very happy for him."

Kasey is the son of Todd and Michelle Webb of the Otter Gap community.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
The 2023 Edmonson County Wildcat basketball season came to an end tonight with a 48-31 loss to the Owensboro Catholic Aces in the 3rd Region Tournament, held at the Owensboro Sportscenter, the home court of the Aces.

OC pressed the Wildcats on every single dead ball situation, which caused trouble for Edmonson County early. While turnovers weren't the main issue for the Wildcats, (7 at halftime), rushed and altered shots contributed to poor shooting in the first half, shooting 5 of 24 from the floor (21%)

The Wildcats were down 34-18 at the half. Edmonson County could never find any real offensive rhythm as Catholic continued their press. While the Aces were out-rebounded by the Cats, their offensive rebounding was extremely efficient as they scored double figures in second-chance points.

Edmonson County was led in scoring by Braden Wall with 10 points. He also pulled down 11 rebounds. Also scoring was Will Alexander with 6 points along with sophomore Joshua Decker (6pts), who started in place on the absent Braxton Highbaugh, who ECHS said was unavailable for tonight's game.

Tyler Anderson had 4 points, Zander Bass had 3, and Boden Bates added 2 points.

Coach Brad Johnson discussed the difficult night for the Wildcats.

"We had to shuffle everybody around a little bit but we made no excuses," he said. "They shot the ball better than us. Of course, it's their home gym...if we knock in some shots and we shoot a better percentage, then we're right in the game."

Johnson also paid respect to his seniors that took the floor for the last time in a Wildcat basketball jersey tonight that included Braden Wall, Tyler Anderson, Zander Bass, Boden Bates, Caden Mills, Braxton Highbaugh, Cam Campbell, and Tyler Vincent. He discussed each one and their contributions to the program over the years. He also said that he told them in the locker rooms that while this is the end of one part of their lives, it's the beginning of something else. He said he also told them that there are much worse things in life than losing a basketball games.

Edmonson County finishes their season with a record of 18-13. They brought home the first District 12 Championship since the 2017 team. It was the first time in school history that the boys and girls won the championships in the same season.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
The 2023 District 12 Champion Edmonson County Wildcats are scheduled to take on Owensboro Catholic tonight at approximately 7:35PM at the Owensboro Sportscenter in the boys' first round of the Region 3 Tournament.

As we stated last night during the Lady Cats' game, we are prohibited from carrying the live action on video; however, we are allowed to provide an audio stream of the game, due to Region 3 regulations.

We are providing a video stream on our YouTube Channel of the audio that will feature our broadcasters and a shot of the scoreboard. While we know this is not your preferred method of receiving game content, we feel it is better than simply offering our audio feed-only from the WildcatsLive page on EdmonsonVoice.com.

The response to this format was overwhelmingly positive last night, despite our Lady Cats falling short to Breckinridge County. We plan to call the game as normal on YouTube, but you will simply have our audio of the action, not the video itself.

Editor's Note: The reason for this is that a majority of Region 3 schools voted against video streaming of the tournament for fear that it would hurt attendance. We completely disagree. We have proven that we provide a service to hundreds, even thousands of fans that will not or cannot attend games in-person. There are many die-hard sports fans that have never attended a game in-person but they will watch all the games on TV or a stream. We have more viewers than ever and there were more basketball fans packed into ECHS last week for the District Tournament than we have ever seen for a basketball game. While we strongly disagree that streaming hurts attendance, it is our duty to cooperate with other schools and officials. We hope that more outlets like us are willing to speak in favor of their content and provide information that may change this stance in the future. --Darren Doyle