Lewis County’s first-year head baseball coach has been around 63rd District baseball long enough to come up with a quick response when prompted to describe the district.
“It’s the AFC North,” said Seth Wallingford, who played for the Lions in the mid-2010s and was an assistant coach from 2021-24. He is referring to the NFL division consisting of the Bengals, Browns, Steelers and Ravens. “You’ve gotta bring your A-game every day.”
Greenup County coach Steve Logan had similar thoughts.
“There’s no love lost between any teams in the district. There’s a mutual respect,” Logan said, “but let’s just say there’s not any Christmas cards being sent around.”
Russell’s Tim Rice, who’s in his 10th year as the program leader, confidently said, “Everybody knows the 63rd is the best baseball district in the region. … It’s kind of the SEC of the 16th Region.”
Logan didn’t hesitate to say who the favorite is, though.
“It’s Raceland’s to lose,” the Musketeers’ coach said.
Raceland went 30-8 and was a region semifinalist in 2024. The Rams entered this spring as three-time defending district champions.
RACELAND
Coach Marty Mills is in his ninth season at the helm. The 58-year-old joked that “a lot of guys my age find golf and pickleball, but I’m still baseball.”
“I enjoy it every day. I enjoy the practices, the preparation,” Mills said.
One aspect of coaching high school sports is keeping players pepped up and hungry. He called his players “self-motivated” after tasting quite a bit of success in recent years, including a region championship in 2023 and three consecutive district titles.
Kadin Shore and Eli Lynd — two of the Rams’ four seniors — are among the top players in the region, Mills said.
Shore had not allowed a run or given up a walk in his first seven innings pitched. He also had 10 strikeouts. At the plate, he was batting .538.
Eli Lynd is behind the dish.
Raceland was 4-2 through its first six games (through March 30) as it took a crack at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach.
Mills said pitching and defense are strengths of this group, which is comprised of “super kids,” he said.
Shore, Bryer Parsons, Landon Bloss, Brigham Davidson, Connor Thacker and Caden Smith are among the reliable arms who will have turns on the bump.
Mills said Raceland has an exceptionally athletic middle infield with shortstop Parker Ison and second baseman Michael Pennington. The duo can hit, too — they had 16 RBIs through the first six games.
Bloss will man the hot corner the majority of the time.
Shore and Sam Lynd are top first-base options.
Davidson is a utility guy who will see time at various positions.
Thacker is the lone returning outfielder. Gunnar Smith, Preston Coldiron, Tayler Sparks, Aidan Shaffer and Sam Lynd also figure into the outfield mix.
“They’ve done really well,” Mills said. “They work on their angles every day and are improving. I’ve been really pleased with that.”
GREENUP COUNTY
The Musketeers carried a 3-3 record into the Sunshine State, where they would spend spring break.
Logan said the bats haven’t been consistent yet, but he is optimistic. Once they do get aboard bags, this team will put pressure on opponents, he said.
“Will we lead the state in stolen bases? No,” Logan said. “But we’re very aggressive on the bases. We’ve got a little bit of team speed and little bit of offensive power.”
Although senior-less, Greenup County isn’t devoid of experience. The junior class is eight deep.
Through six contests, Gavin Roy led Greenup County in innings pitched (9.1) and in RBIs (seven).
Roy, Hunter Holbrook, Luke Boggs and Kasey Gammons are aiming to lead a pitching staff that Logan hopes will avoid some of the troubles it encountered last spring.
“We ...
