Burgin Baseball/Softball Preview

Arpan Dixit
Herald Staff
sports@harrodsburgherald.com

BASEBALL

With a new coach in the dugout for  Burgin, the Bulldogs look to get back to winning ways as they open up the 2017 baseball campaign. Coach Jeremy Noel, a 1995 graduate of Boyle County, recently got back into the coaching ranks after being away from the game the last couple years. Noel is beginning his first season as the head man for Burgin.

Burgin returns five seniors from last year’s team and looks to make some noise this season after going 7-8 last season and exiting in the first round in the 46th district tournament against eventual district and region champion, West Jessamine. Jordan Hurst, senior infielder and pitcher, starts out as the ace for the Bulldogs and looks to lead his team to the region tournament in his last year of eligibility.

Noel talked about the challenges this season being in a very tough district and region. “Anytime you’re going against the likes of Mercer County and West Jessamine multiple times a year, it is going to be tough,” said Noel. “I’m looking forward to working with this group of guys.”

SOFTBALL

Just like the Burgin baseball team, the softball team is getting used to a new coach as well. Head Coach Taylor Bottoms, a 2006 Burgin graduate, takes over the helm after a successful softball career at Centre College, graduating in 2010. Bottoms has helped coach at the youth level after college, but this is her first head coaching experience, and she couldn’t be more excited.

“I am excited to coach these young girls and teach them about the game,” said Bottoms. The goal this season for the Lady Bulldogs isn’t just about how many wins they can achieve this season, but getting better at the basics is what Bottoms is really stressing.

“My main goal is just to get better,” said Bottoms. “We just want to improve fundamentals, softball IQ and understanding the game. We have several girls that have never touched a ball before this season, and are going to be starters, because we are limited on the number of players we have and just getting them to understand how the game works.” Motivation comes in a lot of ways for coaches in any sport, but Bottoms believes her team is okay in that department.

“The best motivation that they have that I have seen is themselves,” she added. “At this age they are very social so I encourage them to motivate one another.  I am very vocal, but I want the girls to be the voices on the team.”

For the full story, pick up your copy of this week’s Harrodsburg Herald.