The season may not have ended the way Danville High School coach Paul Morse had wanted, with a tough loss to Somerset in the 12th region championship, but it would be hard to call the season anything other than a success.

Boasting a 34-7 record, the best the Admirals have posted this century, Danville won its second consecutive 45th district title. They finished 10 wins better than the next best team in the 12th region, and went 19-3 in the region, and 7-1 in the district. In the final regular season poll released by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association, Danville ranked seventh.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Admirals are the most represented team in the Advocate-Messenger All-Area postseason awards, including Morse being named Coach of the Year.

“This is a great honor to receive because it is voted on by your peers and I want to thank them for it,” Morse said of the award.

Morse acknowledged that the success his Admirals had this year wouldn’t have been possible without his coaching staff and the players. 

“This award should really go to my assistant coaches. Without them I wouldn’t be receiving this honor and our team wouldn’t have accomplished what they did this past season,” Morse said. “I always say to be a successful head coach you have to have two things. One, you have to have good players and two, you have to have great assistant coaches. I had both this year!”

The Admirals certainly had a wealth of talent, with four players being named to the Advocate All-Area teams, and two players earning All-State nods from the KHSBCA.

The Morse led Admirals were one of the most dominant teams in the state this season. (File photo Matt Overing)The Admirals started the season off with three wins before heading to Tennessee for a pair of games, winning the second after losing the first. Including that last Tennessee game, Danville began a 15 game winning streak. The streak was eventually broken by crosstown rival Boyle County in an away game, with Danville getting the Rebels back the very next day at home. That would be the sole loss for the Admirals within the 45th district.

Danville ended the season ranked among the best in the state in almost every meaningful team category. The Admirals ranked second in home runs with 42, and its pitching staff was third in strikeouts with 322. Morse’s squad also finished 10th in runs (316) and RBI (271), 12th in hits (340), 18th in batting average (.338), 19th in doubles (64), and 23rd in stolen bases (116). The only category the Admirals did not crack the top 25 was triples.

This year’s Danville team is only losing three seniors, with a number of key contributors returning next year. Even after a season with a record high number of wins, Morse is excited about how the team will grow next year. If the Admirals are able to continue this level of success, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a third straight district title.