HCHS baseball program is a consistent winner

The 1985 Henry County High School baseball team posted a 17-14 record. The team included (front row, from left) Steven Harrison, Richard Raymer, Tas Gardner, Mark Elkins; (second row) Terry Tharpe, Ricky Watson, Mickey Barker, Ron Harrison, Murray Palm, Tommy Hays; (third row) head coach Ray Waggoner, Kirk Heinrich, David Matlock, Mike McSwain, Russell Boyd, Chris Hudgins and assistant coach Randy Veazey.

Winning baseball teams has been a staple of the Henry County High School athletic program since I started covering sports in 1985.

During that time, the Patriots have had 16 20-win seasons while winning 11 district championships, three region titles and playing five times in the sectional tournament. In that more than 30 years, the Patriots have just eight coaches.

Brian Welp was the dean of the Patriot coaches as he guided the program for 12 seasons from 2005 until 2016. Paul Putman had an eight-year run from 1997 until 2004. The shortest run as coach was the one-season term for former Patriot Doug Barner, followed by Benji Bona for two seasons. Both Barner and Bona left the program for personal reasons. Current Patriot head coach Shane Kemp is now in his third year.

Let’s take a look at some highlights from the Patriot baseball program since 1985.

 

WAGGONER TAKES PATS TO SECTIONAL

Ray Waggoner was the Patriots’ head coach in the first two seasons that I covered the Patriot baseball program. The 1985 Patriots went 17-14, but that paved the way for a breakout 21-16-1 season in 1986.

The Patriots won the District 10-AAA title and district tournament championship in 1986. They also claimed the Region 5-AAA title before losing in the sectionals to McGavock in Nashville.

Most of these Patriot baseball teams played baseball in college, including Steven Harrison, Richard Raymer, Tas Gardner, Mark Elkins, Mickey Barker, Ron Harrison, Mike McSwain, Russell Boyd, Murray Palm and Chris Hudgins.

 

MORRIS HAS SEVEN-YEAR RUN

Jeff Morris is primarily known as a football coach, but he had a seven-year run as the Patriots’ baseball manager from 1987 until 1993 and posted a 100-56 record with three district championships.

The 1991 Patriots tore through the season with a 21-2 record to win the district, but lost to Brentwood in the region tournament. The following year, the HCHS baseball squad rolled to a 27-3 season to win another district title, a district tournament title and a region tournament championship. The squad fell to Montgomery Bell Academy in the sectional tournament.

Players such as Barner, Dock McDonald, Matthew Harrison, Jon Davidson, Blair Gardner, Jordan Beddies, Rob Markum and John David Olive were the leaders. Barner and McDonald would move on to play minor league baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics. Beddies had a long run in independent baseball, including playing for a World Series champion at that level.

 

VEAZEY WAS A STAPLE TO THE PROGRAM

Randy Veazey was a popular assistant coach for both Waggoner and Morris. He took over as the Patriot head coach for a three-season run from 1994-96. He rolled up a 48-29 record during his term.

Veazey later served a season as the Lady Patriot softball coach and another as a softball assistant coach.

PUTMAN OWNED DISTRICT 10

The Patriots simply owned District 10-AAA during Putman’s tenure as head coach from 1997-2004. Putman started out his career by winning five straight district titles and six district championships overall.

The 1998 Patriots went 19-9 while winning the district and region titles before losing to Brentwood in the sectional tournament. In 2000, Henry County posted a 23-6 record with a 12-0 run through the district. The Patriots won the district tournament before placing second in the region and falling in the sectional.

Shane Kemp won his second straight district Most Valuable Player honor in 2000. He would go on to play at Middle Tennessee State and several years in independent baseball. Josh Archer and Matt Crowder were All-District players who also played in college. Archer was Kemp’s teammate at MTSU.

 

WELP WINS 200 GAMES WITH PATRIOTS

Welp posted a 206-151 record in his dozen years as the Patriots’ head coach. His tenure included a district tournament title in 2008 when the Patriots went 26-5 and won another district tournament championship in 2016.

Some of his top players included Kane Barrow, Skylar Haley, Hunter McSwain, Thomas Bomar, Drake Walker, Jared Pugh, Cody McSwain, Josef Neumair and Hunter Updyke. Barrow had a strong college career at Jackson State and the University of Memphis. Pugh was the District 10-AAA Pitcher of the Year in 2016.

 

KEMP SHOWING PROMISE AS COACH

Barner’s tenure lasted only one season where he produced a feisty team that finished 14-16, but went 8-6 in the district. Updyke and Case Pope were All-District selections.

Bona took over for two seasons to go 19-13 in the 2018 season and 22-9 in 2019. The Patriots went a combined 23-9 in district play in those two years. Will Parrish, Wesley Bomar and Brandon Armour earned All-District honors while Pope was an All-Tournament pick.

Kemp became coach in 2020 and had to endure a lost year to the coronavirus that stopped the season after four games. The Patriots were 2-2 when the season ended. Henry County came back with a 13-14 mark in 2021, but that paved the way for an exciting spring this year when the Patriots went 21-14.

Henry County won the first District 14-4A championship with a 6-0 district mark before winning the district tournament and placing second in the region. The Patriots dropped a 2-0 decision to Collierville in the sectional tournament.

The Patriots’ lineup was led this spring by a group that included district MVP Charlie Davis and Pitcher of the Year Peyton Charles. The Patriots All-District players included John Carter Olive, Reece Killion, Hudson Cepparulo, Ashton Kemp and Truitt Webb. Kaine Gallimore was named to the All-Tournament team.

Go Big Red!

 

TOMMY PRIDDY is a Paris native who has been sports editor at The Post-Intelligencer since 1985. He can be reached by email at sports@parispi.net.

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