Jim Perrin took the helm for the Lady Govs in June 2004 after winning four Kentucky State High School championships at Christian County High School in Hopkinsville, Ky. He’s a member of the Kentucky Fast Pitch Hall of Fame and is currently in his third season.
In his first season, the Lady Govs posted a 17-37 record, finishing 10-15 in Ohio Valley Conference action. Perrin and the Lady Govs were swept by Samford and Tennessee Tech. On the other side of the table, they were unbeaten against Morehead State and Tennessee State, while taking at least one game in every other league series. Then-junior slugger Brianna Venable paced the Lady Govs with a .311 batting average and 10 home runs with a .601 slugging percentage. Short on pitching, then-sophomore Natasha Anderson pitched the bulk of the innings, finishing at 12-15 in 178.0 innings. Venable was the Lady Govs only all-conference selection, being named second-team All-OVC.
Perrin and the Lady Govs improved in his second season, finishing 21-31-2 with a 10-16 OVC mark. The return of sophomore Sarah Longmire was evident in the team’s success. Longmire, who was awarded a medical redshirt in 2005, led the Lady Govs with a .307 batting average and 11 doubles. Perrin added much-needed depth to pitching squad with a pair of outstanding freshmen in Lacey Briscoe, of Flora, Ill., and Ashley Elrod, of Clarksville. The two combined to pitch 158.3 innings, with Elrod starting 22 games. Venable tied her own single-season home run record with 13 and eclipsed the career home run mark in her junior season and set the new mark at 39. The Lady Govs were the outskirts of a conference tournament berth, but dropped six of their last eight OVC games to fall just shy. Venable again was named second-team All-OVC.
Perrin, who worked as a volunteer APSU assistant spring 2004, replaced Tara McCoy, who resigned in June 2004 after coaching the Lady Govs for six seasons. This marks Perrin’s first head-coaching position at the collegiate level, but he hopes to continue the success he achieved as a high school coach.
He posted a 632-147 record in 20 seasons at Christian County, including four state runner-up and one third-place finish, 19 district titles and 11 regional championships in addition to the four state crowns. The Lady Colonels won three straight titles as a slow pitch program before switching to fast pitch in 1995. Christian County won its fast-pitch crown in 1996, a year after converting to fast-pitch play.
"I don’t there is any question about Jim Perrin’s ability to coach," APSU Athletics Director Dave Loos said at Perrin’s hiring. "His high school softball coaching record in Kentucky is unparalleled.
"In his one year working with our program, he earned a great deal of respect from our players in his knowledge of the game and his sincere interest in working with them.
"Jim also is someone who obviously has a lot of ties in this region that should aid in the recruiting process."
Perrin produced 32 all-state players while at Christian County, including several who went on to play at the college level, and was named Kentucky Coach of the Year four times. He was inducted in the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association Victory Club (600 wins) in 2002.
Perrin, a 1970 APSU graduate, wore many hats in his 30-plus years at Christian County, ranging from teacher to coach to athletic director. In addition to being softball coach, he was wrestling coach for 19 years and also served as an assistant for football and baseball during his tenure. In 1989, he became the school’s athletic director. He retired from the Christian County School system after the 2001 school year but was brought back to serve as Athletics Director on a part-time basis.
