Matlock hired as PHS baseball coach

Keith Matlock said he found out Monday night he'd been hired as the new Pittsburg High School baseball coach.

"I am very happy," Matlock said late Wednesday morning. "This is a great opportunity for me and my family. It was very exciting news for me to hear."

Matlock served as Girard head baseball coach since June 2007, when he took over for Dan Smith. Girard went 52-50 overall and 33-35 in the Crawford-Neosho-Cherokee League during five seasons with Matlock at the helm. Girard made a Class 4A state tournament appearance in 2009, Tanner Poppe's senior year, and the Trojans recorded a 12-10 (8-6 CNC) mark in 2012, advancing to the Class 4A regional semifinals.

"I can't say enough about the people in Girard," Matlock said. "They gave me a first chance at the head coaching position. My five years were tremendous. Great administration, great staff and more than anything else, great kids. It's a great environment for kids. It was a hard decision because it (Girard) was such a great place."

Matlock addressed the attractions of the Pittsburg job.

"Pittsburg's had a very successful program for the past 20-30 years," he said. "It's a great school district. Tradition and success lured me."

Playing home games at JayCee Ballpark, with its field turf and its history, would undoubtedly play a factor in coming to coach at either St. Mary's Colgan or Pittsburg.

"It's a nice park and it has always been a great baseball atmosphere," Matlock said. "Pittsburg's always been a great baseball town."

Matlock knows that great baseball atmosphere and great baseball town firsthand, having played high school ball at Southeast Kansas League school Chanute in the 1990s and then his final two years of college ball at Pittsburg State in 1999-2000. Not to mention that Girard played both Pittsburg and Colgan on its baseball schedule.

He played his first two years collegiately at Neosho County Community College in his hometown of Chanute and then attended one semester at Murray State University, a Division I school in Murray, Ky. — a town with a population of 17,741 (2010 Census) and currently the 22nd largest city in the "Bluegrass State."

Matlock said that he felt home sick — Chanute and Murray are 473 miles and nearly 9 hours apart — and heard only good words about Pitt State. He came to Pitt State in 1997 and his feelings about the Pittsburg community have been expressed by other coaches.

"I fell in love with the place and have been here ever since," Matlock said.

Matlock pitched on two successful Pitt State teams, including the 1999 squad which claimed the first and so-far only Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association conference baseball title in Pitt State history. Matlock earned All-MIAA honors in both 1999 and 2000: honorable mention (1999) and first team (2000). He recorded a 6-6 mark with a 3.30 ERA, as well as 58 strikeouts and 17 walks over 73.2 innings, his senior year.

Matlock and his wife, Corey, have three children: daughters Kaydn, 10 and Kendl, 6 and son Cord, 2 months. Both daughters play in the Pittsburg Fastpitch Association and Matlock became a board member this year.

"It's been a lot of fun and I have two daughters involved with the Fastpitch program," he said. "The Pittsburg community is so driven and so involved with the kids."

Matlock said that he envisions a baseball camp for younger kids as a great way to be involved with the community and to establish across the board a philosophy in pitching, defense and offense.

Pittsburg finished its 2012 campaign 16-6 and qualified for state for the first time since 2008, during the last season of retired head coach Mike Wilbert.

The Purple Dragons relied heavily on the right arms of senior pitchers Broc Bennett and Joe Wimmer, as well as improved defense over the course of the season and some timely big-game hitting on the road to Salina and Dean Evans Stadium.

Matlock articulated his general baseball philosophy on Wednesday.

"This year, more than any, you saw a lot more low scores than ever before, a lot more 5-3, 3-2 and 2-1 games," Matlock said. "Of course, being a pitcher in college, I lean toward emphasizing pitching and defense, not that offense isn’t important. I think there's a lot of great athletes in the Pittsburg district and I want to develop some of them into pitchers. If you pitch it well and you don't give them extra chances, you've got a chance to win some baseball games."

Doug Hitchcock, Pittsburg activities director, talked Wednesday about why Matlock seemed the best fit.

"We're very excited to have Keith be on board," Hitchcock said. "He brings an extensive wealth of knowledge to our kids from his experience as a player himself and a level of high energy to our baseball program. We're hoping to bring a good product to the field and I think Keith will do that for us. We're hoping to get more kids at the next level and to continue the strong tradition of Pittsburg High School baseball."

Matlock said that he's not met new Pitt State head baseball coach Matt Murray in person.

For example, Matlock and Murray had different schedules at last weekend's Pittsburg Legion/Fort Scott Community College Classic. Murray went on Saturday and Matlock on Sunday as Murray paid a stop to Fayetteville, Ark., the day Pittsburg Post 64 rolled over Neosho and Mount Vernon.

"Absolutely, I look forward to meeting him and I think Pittsburg High and Pittsburg State can do some good things together to keep the community excited about the game of baseball," Matlock said.

Keith Matlock File
Head coaching record at Girard High School
2008: 10-11 (5-9 Crawford-Neosho-Cherokee)
2009: 12-7 (7-5)
2010: 8-11 (5-9)
2011: 10-11 (8-6)
2012: 12-10 (8-6)
Overall: 52-50 (33-35)