Pike County Central defeats Magoffin County in a pitcher’s duel

Posted by sheldoncompton on March 31, 2025, 12:05 pm in Pike Central HS, Baseball

by JACOB CHANEY

Jonah Hicks pitched a complete game Thursday night to give the Hawks a 3-1 victory over the Magoffin County Hornets. Hicks was in a groove on the mound, throwing 102 pitches in seven innings with 73 called strikes. He allowed only one run on six hits with 11 strikeouts and did not allow a walk.

Magoffin batters looked uncomfortable in the box all game and had trouble keeping up with Hicks’ velocity. He ended the game striking out four of his last seven batters faced. He also went 1-3 at the plate with a run scored.

Magoffin got on the board first in the top of the fourth inning after a groundout by Evan Reed, scoring one run.

Caleb Compton for the Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a sacrifice bunt, allowing Trevor Holbrook to score after leading off the inning with a double.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Pike Central added on two more runs after a couple of wild pitches with Grey Crum and Hicks scoring.

The Hawks improved to 4-2 on the season. They will face district rival the Phelps Hornets Friday, March 28.

Key Players

Pike Central- First baseman Tyler Holbrooks had a great game at the plate. He went 2-2 with two doubles and an RBI. He also walked once and scored a run.

Magoffin County – CF/RP Michael Trusty looked to be the Hornets best player, he went 2-3 at the plate and pitched 1.2 innings with four strikeouts.

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Pikeville native represents hometown in 2025 USBC Masters

Posted by sheldoncompton on March 31, 2025, 11:55 am in Bowling

by JACOB CHANEY

Jesse Hawkins is a prominent figure in the Pikeville bowling community. He is now a nationally recognized bowler! Earning the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) National High Average Award for the 2021-2022 season; he has an impressive average of 257.47 over 90 games during the Gary Stepp Memorial league at the Hatfield McCoy Recreation Center in Williamson, West Virginia. This accomplishment places him fourth on the all-time average list in the men’s division and marks the highest average recorded in a four-player league.

Hawkins continues to give back to his community through coaching and organizing various local bowling events such as the WV/KY Open Championships. These events allow local bowlers to compete and fall in love with the sport of bowling.

Jesse started coaching at the University of Pikeville as an assistant coach for the women’s bowling team from 2011 to 2016. In 2023, Hawkins was hired as the head coach for the Pikeville High School bowling teams. Coaching both boys and girls, he had to build the program from the ground up. In his first season as head coach the boys finished fifth out of 18 teams in their region and the girls finished 12th out of 16 teams. He also just had his first high school bowler sign to bowl in college. Keyton Looney committed to Midway University to continue his bowling career on February 27, 2025.
This is a huge accomplishment for a first-year head coach, and the future is bright for the Pikeville High School Bowling Team.

Hawkins’ most recent milestone came just a few days ago, participating in the 2025 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters in Allen Park, Michigan. The USBC Masters is one of the most prestigious and challenging tournaments in professional bowling. It is part of the PBA Tour’s Majors and attracts a diverse field of top professionals, talented amateurs, collegiate stars, and international competitors. Over the course of three days and
15 games, Jesse proved he belonged – bowling with the best and not afraid of the spotlight. He finished tied for 147th out of 400 bowlers.

His game score was:

Round 1: 197, 187, 228, 181, 233 (Total: 1,026)

Round 2: 246, 179, 171, 192, 202 (Total: 990)

Round 3: 162, 182, 204, 201, 192 (Total: 941)

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