Old scorebooks, part 3: Pelphrey, Lorenzen, Smith played baseball, too

May 25, 2016 FieldsColumn

They aren’t remembered as baseball players, but John Pelphrey, Jared Lorenzen and Derek Smith were talented multi-sport athletes in high school.

In his junior year at Paintsville, Pelphrey was a star pitcher who helped the Tigers reach the 1986 state baseball final four in Elizabethtown. The 6-foot-7 righthander had an 11-1 record before losing a 3-1 decision to eventual champion Tates Creek in the semifinals. Pelphrey pitched well against the Commodores, giving up six hits and striking out three.

Here’s Paintsville’s lineup from that game:

johnpelphrey

Pelphrey and baseball teammates Keith Adkins and Mike Minix were standout players on Paintsville’s basketball team, which made the Sweet Sixteen three years in a row (1985, ’86, ’87). Pelphrey was named Mr. Basketball as a senior.

Jared Lorenzen and Derek Smith were a multi-sport dynamic duo in their days at Highlands. They are best remembered for their accomplishments in basketball (three consecutive Sweet Sixteens, including a state runner-up to Eastern in 1997) and football (undefeated state title in 1998).

But they were pretty good baseball players, too. As sophomores they helped the Bluebirds to the sectional semifinals where they gave eventual state champ Harrison County its toughest test in the playoffs, losing 4-3. Lorenzen was the designated hitter who wore his signature No. 22 jersey. (He was named Mr. Football as a senior.) Smith played left field. That Highlands team was led by 6-foot-6 pitcher Eric Glaser, who was drafted in the second round by the Boston Red Sox and was a star basketball player, too.

Here’s Highlands’ lineup from that game, Again, pardon my awful penmanship:

lorenzensmith

Old scorebooks, part 3: Pelphrey, Lorenzen, Smith played baseball, too

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