Baseball - Varsity
Saint Xavier High School Varsity Baseball Team
Schedule
Roster
Coach Info
Saint Xavier Athletic Coaches
Andy Porta '85 - Head Coach
Coach Porta is a 1985 graduate from Saint Xavier High School where he played four years of baseball and basketball. He earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Murray State University.
2022-2023 marks his 31st year teaching Mathematics at St. X. Over the years, Coach Porta has been an Assistant Basketball coach (16 years), Assistant Baseball coach (5 years), and an Assistant Principal (3 years).
2023 will be his 12th year as Head Coach and in the 10 previous seasons (Covid) his teams have a combined record of 307-91 including six trips to the State Tournament where their record is 18-2. With recent State Titles in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022, St. X now has nine Baseball State Championships in Kentucky which is more than any other school.
During Coach Porta’s tenure 18 graduates have gone on to play Division-1 baseball, 11 to Division-2, 14 to Division-3, 3 to NAIA, and 7 to JUCO’s. Two recent grads, Connor Holden ’17 and Trey Sweeney ’18 are playing professionally.
Coach Porta has been named “Coach of the Year” by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association four times (’14, ‘16, ’18, and '22). In 2016, Coach Porta was also named “Kentucky Baseball Coach of the Year” by USA Today and “Region 4 (IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, WI) Coach of the Year” by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association.
In 2018, after the Tigers won State with a record of 37-2, Coach Porta was named “Kentucky Baseball Coach of the Year” by the National Federation of State High School Associations. In 2019, Coach Porta was named one of 8 “Finalists” for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Coach of the Year Award.
In addition to all this success, Coach Porta is so proud to see all baseball alums return to campus as successful “Men for Others”.
Andy and his wife Cherylyn have 2 sons; Sam (25) and his wife Emma live in Lexington and Zeke (24) lives in Louisville.
Ben Cottrell - Assistant Coach
Ben Cottrell enters into his seventeenth year as a coach in the St. Xavier baseball program. Currently Coach Cottrell works in Campus Minstry as a Retreat Coordinator for grades 9 and 10, moderates the Tigers for Christ organization, helps run the Tiger Mentors Program, and also works as a Viscusi Learning Support Center Assistant. Ben is a 2001 graduate of Central Hardin High School where he played five years of varsity basketball and baseball (beginning in the eighth grade). After high school, he continued his baseball playing career as a pitcher for Bellarmine University, where he earned a degree in secondary education and mathematics. Ben also holds a master’s degree and a Rank 1 in secondary education from Indiana University Southeast and a master’s degree in professional school counseling from the University of the Cumberlands. Coach Cottrell was awarded the “Joe Maupin Sr. ’49 Outstanding Teacher Coach Award” in 2012 and the Saint Xavier Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2015. He was also named 7th Region Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014. Ben has one fourteen year old daughter, Baylee.
Chad Lyons - Assistant Coach
Chad Lyons has coached baseball at Saint Xavier for the past eight years, and football for the past twenty years. He has coached various sports over a 29 year career in Kentucky and Georgia. Chad is a 1992 graduate of Kentucky Wesleyan College where he earned a B.S. in chemistry and was a two-time All-American in football. He was a 2014 inductee into the KWC Hall of Fame. Chad is married to the former Melissa Evans of Terre Haute, IN, and they have two children, Aric '19 and Amora.
Damon Amlung '03 - Assistant Coach
Coach Amlung is a 2003 graduate from Saint Xavier High School where he played four years of baseball, earning All-District and 7th Region All-Star honors as a third baseman. He enters his 20th year of coaching high school baseball in Kentucky and his 18th year with the Tigers. He has coached at all levels within the program, including JV head coach in 2012. As a varsity assistant, he was named 7th Region Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018. Damon earned a master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Louisville’s JB Speed School of Engineering and works for the US Army Corps of Engineers. He and his wife Kim are the proud parents of four children.
Aaron Flaker - Director of Baseball Operations/Player Development
Aaron Flaker is in his 2nd year on the staff as he joined the St. X baseball staff in 2021-2022 as the program's first Director of Baseball Operations/Player Development. His experience in the local, regional, and national travel baseball communities along with his connections with college baseball coaches will greatly benefit current and future St. X baseball players for years to come. Having this unique and trendsetting position on our staff will help keep St. X baseball at the forefront of high school baseball in the state of Kentucky and the surrounding region.
Flaker is a 1990 graduate of Louisville Male High School where he played 4 years of baseball and 2 years of basketball. He earned a baseball scholarship to Western Kentucky University, but later transferred to the University of Louisville, where he earned his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Business. Flaker is the former co-owner of JAM Brands/JAMfest (sold in 2015) and a current co-founder/co-owner of Athletx Sports Group in Louisville, KY, a youth sports event company who produces baseball and fastpitch softball tournaments across the U.S.
Aaron is married to Ashley Williams Flaker, and they have two sons, Braxton (20), a Tigers baseball alum, 2021 graduate of St. X and a current sophomore at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and Tyce (16), a current sophomore at St. X and member of the Tigers baseball program.
Fast Facts
Baseball Through the Years
- In 1909 Coach Martin Musselman led Saint Xavier’s first team onto the field.
- James Hagan ’10 threw the first no-hitter in Tiger baseball history in 1910, a 3-1 victory over New Albany.
- Charles O’Laughlin ’15 hit two grand slam home runs in the same game in 1915.
- Saint Xavier’s home-game season passes sold for $1 in 1922, and the team won 20 games on the way to the city championship and a first non-sanctioned state title.
- In 1937 the Tigers won another title and finished the season a single loss away from perfection.
- The KHSAA sanctioned its first Baseball State Championship in 1940.
- A furious 7th-inning rally carried the Tigers to a victory over the Male Bulldogs and earned them a trip to Lexington for the 1942 KHSAA state tournament. At the state tournament, “Fireman”Jack Barrett ’43 earned all three pitching victories as the Tigers captured their first KHSAA baseball title. Joe Mannel ’43hit .539 for the season.
- Eddie Martin took over as coach from Brother Firmin in 1945, and the Tigers earned another KHSAA crown. Ed Kinberger ’45 hit .667, leading the Tiger hitters at the state tournament. George Silliman ’47, Leo Meyer ’45, and Skip Baas ’46 each earned victories on the mound.
- Coach “Red” Hagan and his surprising Tigers captured the 1949 regional crown, advancing to Parkway Field for the state tournament. After the Tigers defeated Ashland in the first round, Jim McIntyre ’49 pitched a masterful no-hitter to carry them to the final game. Bob Haner ’49 blasted a long home run in the title game, and the Tigers defeated Madisonville to win the KHSAA championship for the third time in eight years.
- The Tigers knocked off Manual in the 1951 regional final to advance to the state tournament. When they beat Mayfield, Madisonville, and St. Joe in succession, they won their fourth championship in a 10-year span. The semifinal matchup with Madisonville was a 5-4 10-inning thriller.
- Frank Doninger ’69 fired consecutive no-hitters for Coach Leon Dunagan’s ’53 squad in 1969.
- The Tigers made back-to-back runs at the state title in 1972 and 1973. They completed the two seasons with a combined record of 57-6 under the direction of Coach Bill Glaser ’69. The ’72 squad finished 29-2 and advanced to the semifinal game, while the ’73 team was 28-4 after a frustrating 5-4 loss to Henry Clay in the championship game that began in a steady rain.
- Coach Al Burke ’68 led the Tigers to consecutive regional titles in 1975 and 1976.
- The first state title in 30 years was earned by outstanding pitching, solid defense, timely hitting, and great base running in 1981. The Tigers of Coach Dave Butler counted an incredible 11 shutouts among their wins, including four of their eight post-season games. Future Major League pitcher Jack Savage ’82 earned the victory in the final game.
- Coach Butler’s Tigers reached the 1986 final four and were led by St. X Hall of Famer Billy White ’86.
- The 30-win season in 1988 was a first for the Tiger Baseball team. The Tigers, under the direction of Coach Joe White, reached the final four for the second time in three seasons with a pitching staff that included future MLBâAll-Star Paul Byrd ’88 and St. X Hall of Famer Tab Brown ’89.
- A new standard was established as the Tigers captured the 1993 regional title and won a record of 32 games.
- Future Major Leaguer Chris Burke ’98 completed a stellar high school career in 1998, and the Tigers went 33-2, earning the state’s top ranking before a tough loss in the regional tournament ended their championship dream.
- The 2006 Tigers won 16 of their final 18 games on their way to the KHSAA semifinals in what would be Coach Joe White’s final season at the helm of the program.
- In 2007 Project X brought the opening of Carl ’45 and Rosemary Mueller Field, the new home for Tiger Baseball. The Tigers defeated Meade County 10-0 in the first game played in the new facility.
- Ian Tompkins ’11 fired a no-hitter against Trinity in 2010 as the Tigers defeated the Rocks in their annual showdown at Slugger Field.
- In Coach John Jefferson’s ’85 final season, the Tigers advanced to the 2011 Final Four in Lexington. Matt Spalding ’11 was drafted by the Boston Red Sox.
- In 2012, Coach Andy Porta ’85 and the Tigers won 30 games and advanced to the state tournament for the second consecutive season. The pitching staff matched the 1981 squad by tossing 11 shutouts.
- Austin Clemons ’14 led the 2013 Tigers with a .510 batting average as they advanced to the state tournament by winning their third consecutive 7thRegion crown and established a new record for wins in a season at 34.
- In 2014 the Tigers compiled a 30-10 record, won the 7th Region for the fourth-straight year, and returned to Whitaker Bank Park for another shot at a state championship. In the tournament, Andrew McCormick ’14 led the 2014 Tigers to Saint Xavier’s sixth Baseball State Championship and earned the Most Valuable Player Award.
- The 2016 team complied a 29-12 record and won the tough 7th Region championship to advance to the state tournament. Led by seniors Adam Elliott, Daniel Fischer, Dalton Dedas, Nick Nelson, Brian O’Neil and Sam Porta, the Tigers captured their second state championship in three years and seventh overall – the most in Kentucky history.
- Connor Holden ’17 pitched a three-hit shutout in the 2016 championship game and was named to the All-Tournament team with Daniel Fisher ’16 and Adam Elliott ’16. Elliott was named tournament Most Valuable Player. Head Coach Andy Porta was named Kentucky Baseball Coach of the Year by USA Today High School Sports.
- In 2018 the Tiger Baseball program spent most of the year ranked number one in the state. It ended the season with a program-best 37-2 record and its third state title in the past five years. Ryan Nicholson ’19 was named the state tournament Most Valuable Player. St. X fared well in a variety of 2018 National Baseball Rankings. The Tigers finished 3rd in the Max Preps Composite ranking and 10th in the Baseball America ranking.
- The 2019 Tigers went 26-6 in the regular season, and won the 26th District Championship before falling in the 7th Region Championship.
- The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The 2021 Tigers finished the season 28-11, defeated Male in the 26th District Championship, and advanced to the 7th Region Championship before falling in a 3-2 heartbreaker. Senior Sam Thompson was named 2nd team all-state by the KHSBCA and senior OF/P Parker Guillaume was named all-region by the coaches. Trey Sweeney '18 is selected in the first round of the MLB draft by the New York Yankees.
- The Tigers run-ruled Trinity in the 2022 7th Region Championship game, 11-0 in 5 innings, advancing to the state championship tournament. Senior catcher Jake Bennett was named the 7th Region Player of the Year, and was also named a 1st team all-state selection by the KHSBCA, after hitting 14 HR's and leading the state in RBI's with 67. Connor Holden '17 signs with the Detroit Tigers.
- The Tigers defeated Russell Co. in the 2022 KHSAA State Championship game, 11-1, to claim the 9th state title in program history. Junior 3B Cooper Smith was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, after hitting .571, and becoming the first player in KHSAA history to record at least three triples in a single state tournament (4). Senior C Jake Bennett and senior pitcher Ben Tedesco were also named to the all-tournament team.
- The Tigers finished the 2023 season with a 31-9 overall record, collecting a 26th District Championship and advancing to the Region 7 championship game. Saint Xavier became the first Kentucky high school baseball ever selected to play in the prestigious USA Baseball National High School Invitational Tournament in Cary, NC. Cooper Smith and Jake Gregor were named First Team-All State while Landon Akers made the Honorable Mention list.