Kearns works his way into being one of the best pitchers in the state

Dominance is a trait most every athlete aspires to. Most fall short of that lofty goal for various reasons. This scholastic baseball season had many impressive individual performances but no one was as dominant and impressive than West Chester Rustin pitcher Kyle Kearns.

In a superlative regular season Kearns pitched 52 and two-third innings and went 7-1 with one save. He allowed just 24 hits and six earned runs while striking out 94 and posted an earned run average of 0.79. Kearns also picked off six runners.

The senior also went 2-0 in the district playoffs as he led the Golden Knights to the PIAA 6A playoffs. He finished his senior season with 125 strikeouts.It is for these accomplishments that Kyle Kearns is The Daily Local News Baseball Player of the Year.

“Kyle really is the epitome of success,” Rustin coach Brad Harkins said. “Through all his hard work, Kyle has committed himself to becoming a great player and has worked his tail off to attain that goal.

“That means hours in the weight room, taking lessons, long tossing and studying the game and arm care. All this in an effort to become the best player he can be. As a teammate, he has been a tremendous influence to our young pitchers. His work rate and commitment to the game has rubbed off on the younger players.”

Kearns will head to James Madison University to play his collegiate baseball and stated how impressed he was during his visit to the Virginia campus.

“We took a trip down south last year and I loved the school,” Kearns said. “I also want to be a finance major and James Madison has one of the best finance programs in the country.

“They are going to be joining the Sun Belt Conference and that is a really good baseball conference. The coaching staff and myself really connected and with all this coming together, I thought it was a perfect fit for me.”

Kearns’ work ethic is something that will be remembered at Rustin for a very long time. Pitching coach Mitch Hoffman talked about the progress Kearns made since his freshman year through countless hours of work.

“Kyle is just a great kid and a great pitcher,” he said. “He has worked so hard to be the pitcher he is today. We threw him into the fire when he was a sophomore and he really worked and worked through things to get better. He is a great example also for our younger pitchers who watched him perfect his craft over the years.”

Kearns is quick to acknowledge that he progressed as a pitcher since his sophomore year. His freshman year was wiped out by Covid-19 and he said after that he dedicated himself totally to become one of the top pitchers in Pennsylvania.

“I feel that after my freshman year, I just started hitting the gym hard,” Kearns said. “I was working with my pitching coach and constantly working on my mechanics and I feel all that work made me a better pitcher. I really love baseball and I loved putting in the work to get better.”

Kearns’ time at Rustin will be remembered not only for his won-lost record or how many strikeouts he amassed. He will be remembered for someone who strived to get better each and every day and was a shining example of how an athlete should conduct himself. Kearns was certainly dominant.

He will be remembered as someone who was a great example too for all future and present Rustin players. And that is a testament to an incredible young athlete and person.