Photo by Kim North Linsly’s Jay Cartwright, left, and Barnesville’s D.J. Butler both recorded their 300th high school baseball coaching victories this season.

A pair of Ohio Valley high school baseball coaches achieved milestones this season when Barnesville’s D.J. Butler and Linsly’s Jay Cartwright won their 300th games

Cartwright has been a ‘lifer’ for the Cadets, serving as an assistant to Gary Sprague from 1993 to 2006.

“I started as an assistant with Gary Sprague,” Cartwright said with his emotions taking over. “I got a note from him earlier this season wishing me good luck.”

Cartwright played collegiately at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.

“I played the game growing up. I played in college and had a solid career, but I didn’t know how to work with kids or teach the game to them. That’s what I learned from Coach Sprague.”

Cartwright was elevated to head coach for the 2007 season after Sprague retired.

“I’ve had a great bunch of coaches, some are former players and a lot of great players over the years,” Cartwright noted. “Dom Gorrence is a St. Clairsville kid who played for me and just finished his career at Muskingum University. He has a great future as a high school coach somewhere. Jon-Michael Brunner is our hitting coach and had a great career at West Liberty. Scott Goodnight works with our pitchers and infielders.

“We work well together,” Cartwright said.

Butler started his head coaching career at the tender age of 22 at Jewett-Scio before moving on to Barnesville.

“I’ve been incredibly blessed to be able to coach long enough to reach this milestone,” Butler said. “I have been very fortunate to have been blessed with great players at Jewett-Scio and parents who were patient with a 22-year-old first-time head coach learning from mistakes.

“Then I was honored to be given the chance to work in a program at Barnesville that Coach (Brad) Wilson built,” Butler continued. “I am very appreciative of the players and families that I have developed relationships with since I have been here.

“It is surreal to think of some of the coaches in the Ohio Valley who have reached that milestone, but I definitely do not see myself at the same level as them. Coach Cartwright, for example, is a great coach who I have the utmost respect for. He has a lot of hardware to go with his win totals. I feel as though that is an area I have come up short in.”