Putnam County had a lot of success on the baseball diamond this season, despite its early exit from the first round of the GHSA Class AA state playoffs in April.
The War Eagles had three players earn Region 4-AA honors after their performances on the field in 2022.
The accolades were highlighted by senior Gerald Kilgore winning the Region 4-AA Player of the Year. He was also a Region 4-AA First Team selection as an outfielder.
The Tennessee Tech football signee led the team in hits, home runs, runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, respectively.
Kilgore was also effective on the mound for PCHS, allowing only six hits in 12.0 innings pitched. In addition, he posted 25 strikeouts and had a 5.25 ERA in 2022.
Pitcher Chase Lupton and outfielder Jacob Grimes were the other two War Eagles that were named to the Region 4-AA First Team.
Lupton collected a teamhigh 47 strikeouts during his senior campaign at Putnam County. In addition, he only had 22 walks and posted a team-low 2.21 ERA. Offensively, Lupton had a hot stick for the War Eagles. He had a team’s second-best 26 hits and had a team-high 24 RBIs in 2022. Lupton also posted a team’s second-best four home runs for Putnam County last season.
This past year, Grimes hit .300 at the plate with 15 hits and 10 RBIs, respectively. He also scored 16 runs and hit two home runs as a junior for PCHS.
War Eagles’ head coach Mike Phiel was extremely proud of these three young men.
“These guys are our leaders, top-three in the lineup, best defenders and pitchers,” Phiel said. “They’ve had a big hand in any of the success we’ve had over the last two years.”