Not even a stress fracture in his lower back could keep Archbishop Murphy pitcher Tyler Kane from a spectacular season.
The senior finished the year with an impressive 0.91 earned run average and a 7-1 record — his only loss coming in a state semifinal, 7-6 defeat by eventual 2A champions W.F. West. Kane’s offensive skills are also notable with seven home runs.
Partially due to his strong performance this season, the Archbishop Murphy boys’ baseball team finished third at the 2A State Championships, after winning the league and district titles.
All of his hard work, perseverance and dedication have culminated with Kane being named The Herald’s 2010 All-Area Baseball Player of the Year.
A rocky start in the Wildcats’ baseball program left Kane sitting on the JV bench his freshman year. He returned the following season seven inches taller, stronger and ready to prove himself. Kane made the varsity squad, started about a quarter of the games at third base and pitched a couple of contests at the JV level.
The pitching mound is where he wanted to be, and it’s where he proved he belongs.
A T-ball player since early elementary school, Kane jumped at the chance to learn about fastballs, curveballs and changeups as soon as the Little League coaches stepped down from the mound and allowed the kids to pitch. He practiced pitching with his dad in his spare time and often played catch with his dad and older brother in the street.
“I like pitching the most because I feel in control of the game,” Kane said. “You’re involved in every play.”
He began his varsity pitching career at Archbishop Murphy as a junior, continued to improve as a senior and impressed the University of Washington baseball program. Kane has signed a letter of intent to pitch for the Huskies.
“I think if he continues with his great work ethic, Washington is going to have a very high-caliber baseball player as part of their program,” Archbishop Murphy coach Stan Taloff said.
Kane hit a slight road bump this past season when he was diagnosed with the stress fracture in his lower back and missed a few games in the middle of the season, including one in the district tournament when the pain got so bad that he couldn’t stand upright. Luckily, physical therapy helped him recover enough to play a pivotal role in Wildcat’s best post-season finish since becoming a 2A school in 2005.
On May 22, in his first trip to the mound after resting his back for two weeks at the end of the regular season, Kane pitched a four-hit, complete game and the Wildcats beat Burlington-Edison 8-2 to win the regional title.
Archbishop Murphy may have lost the close semifinal game against W.F. West but Kane was proud of his team’s performance.
“We were down in the last inning by three or four runs but my team was not giving up and was fighting back,” Kane said. “We were so close to winning that game that it was definitely a standout moment (in the season). There’s no team that I’ve ever played against or played with that has ever fought that hard.”
Advancing to the state tournament was amazing in itself for Kane.
“That was everything that we worked hard for,” said Kane. “It was everything that the team wanted to do since day one, that was our goal, and just making it there was the best memory.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
