RICHMOND, Ky. – A week after notching his 1,000 Kentucky high school baseball coaching victory, Jody Hamilton has added another championship to his ledger.
Owensboro Catholic defeated Lyon County 7-3 Sunday to capture the All “A” Classic state tournament at Eastern Kentucky University. The Aces (19-5) defeated Pikeville 3-1 in the semifinals earlier Sunday morning.
Owensboro Catholic’s toughest game may have been the first one when it bested Walton Verona 3-2 in 9 innings.
Hamilton is the only coach with two state baseball championships, winning it with Boyd County in 2001 and West Jessamine in 2015. This is his first All “A” Classic title and it followed a typical format with Hamilton’s teams – good pitching and good defense. Owensboro Catholic gave up only seven runs in three games.
Hamilton is No. 5 on the all-time win list in Kentucky and the fifth coach to achieve 1,000 victories, which he accomplished on April 20. Adding the All “A” Classic title to his coaching resume puts him on even more rare ground in Kentucky high school baseball circles.
He is in his 39th season of coaching with stops at Raceland, Boyd County, West Jessamine and Owensboro Catholic. His son, Casey, who was part of the 2001 state championship team at Boyd County, is on his current coaching staff.
Hamilton played from 1976-80 at Morehead State where he was a Triple Crown winner and the school’s all-time home run leader with 49 until it was eclipsed this season. He played two years of professional baseball in the New York Yankees organization, debuting in the same game as Mets star Darryl Strawberry.
He is in the Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame, an inaugural member of the Ashland Baseball CP-1 Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Jody and wife, Denise, live and own a farm in Owensboro.
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