Oak Ridge’s Mike Pirtle Reaches 600 Win Milestone

The Oak Ridge War Eagles finished up their regular season with an 8-0 win over district rival Montgomery and their 6th consecutive win, clinching the #2 seed out of 12-6A. It was significant as the Oak Ridge team entered the playoffs on a roll after an 0-3 start in district.

It was also significant as it was Oak Ridge Head Baseball Coach Mike Pirtle’s 600 career win. Coach Pirtle’s 600th win puts him at #14 on the list of current coaches in with the most wins in Texas High School Baseball and 6th among all current 6A Coaches. Pirtle has been at Oak Ridge for 5 years. He has also coached at Spring Hill, Harmony, Caddo Mills, and Tyler Lee.

After serving as a graduate assistant at SFA, Pirtle returned to Longview, coaching for three years at Spring Hill, his first two as an assistant. His first year as Head Coach in 1987, the Panthers went 16-8.

In 1988, Pirtle began his 10 year career with Harmony where his teams were ranked in the Top Ten among 2A teams during his first nine seasons. While at Harmony, Pirtle won a State Championship in 1990 and were the State Runner-Up in 1996. In 1998, he moved to Caddo Mills where his team was 22-6 and a State Quarterfinalist in 1999.

Coach Pirtle was the District 19-2A Coach of the Year five times while at Harmony and was twice selected as the Tyler Courier Times-Telegraph Coach of the Year. In 1990, he was the Texas High School 2A Coach of the Year and in 1997 was a coach in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game.

Coach Pirtle has served on the  Texas High School Coaches Association UIL Baseball Advisory Board as well as a Regional Director for the Association.  He was elected to the East Texas Baseball Hall of Honor in 2005 and in 1996 he was honored by HSE Sports as “Coach that Makes a Difference.”

Coach Pirtle has many experiences in his 30 years as a Head Coach but several stand out among the others. He loved the opportunity to coach all three of his boys in their high school careers. He also is grateful for the opportunity to coach with one of his sons (Tyler) and one of his brothers (Terry).

One of the most exciting games in his coaching career was in 1996 while at Harmony. Down 11-4 to Alto in the Regional Finals, Harmony scored 8 runs in the 7th inning to win 12-11 and earn a trip to the State Tournament.

THSB congratulates Coach Pirtle on this great accomplishment.

Coach Mike Pirtle Baseball Record

1 Spring Hill 1987 16-8
2 Harmony 1989 15-8
3 Harmony 1990 23-4 STATE 2A CHAMPIONS
4 Harmony 1991 11-11
5 Harmony 1992 19-5 District Champion
6 Harmony 1993 25-2 Regional Finalist
7 Harmony 1994 24-4-1 Area Finalist
8 Harmony 1995 19-5 Area Finalist
9 Harmony 1996 25-2 State Semi-Finalist
10 Harmony 1997 22-3 Area Finalist
11 Harmony 1998 11-12
12 Caddo Mills 1999 22-8 Regional QuarterFinalist
13 Caddo Mills 2000 8-11
14 Tyler Lee 2001 8-16
15 Tyler Lee 2002 20-11 Area Finalist
16 Tyler Lee 2003 17-10 Area Finalist
17 Tyler Lee 2004 22-9 Area Finalist
18 Tyler Lee 2005 21-9 Area Finalist
19 Tyler Lee 2006 25-8 Regional Finalist
20 Tyler Lee 2007 30-8-1 Regional SemiFinalist
21 Tyler Lee 2008 19-11 Area Finalist
22 Tyler Lee 2009 25-4-2 Regional SemiFinalist
23 Tyler Lee 2010 27-10-1Regional SemiFinalist
24 Tyler Lee 2011 18-14 District Champs
25 Tyler Lee 2012 15-14-3 Bi-District Finalist
26 Oak Ridge 2013 20-12 Bi-District Finalist
27 Oak Ridge 2014 23-8 Bi-District Finalist
28 Oak Ridge 2015 29-4 Regional Finalist
29 Oak Ridge 2016 23-13 Regional SemiFinalist
30 Oak Ridge 2017 22-9-2 Regional QuarteFinalist

Total 604-250–9

-Tim Baugh