There may a few less statistics that come to mind when considering achievements on the mound – strikeouts being the first to come to mind for most. Then you have wins, of course. Surely, too, there are walks and batters hit by pitch, the less dignified of pitching records. For now, we’re going to focus on the positives.

But aside from wins and strikeouts, there are the rare moments for pitchers, the games worthy of tracking down the gameday ball to put on the mantle for all the years to come – the no-hitter and the prize of all prizes, the perfect game, such a rare feat that even at the highest level of play there have been only been 24 pitched. That many, right? Not many when you consider that since records have been kept this is 24 of a grand total of approximately 238,500 games.

Keep in mind as we begin taking a look at these pitching statistics that KHSAA records are only current up to May 18, 2023. There may be some players already on the lists and who will be following this season. If you know of any players who are in this position, let us know in the comments!

Wins

Danville’s Paul Morse has won more games than any other high school pitcher in the state with 55 wins from 1988 to 1992, including 13 during the 1989 season.

From 2011 to 2014, Max Hall, who played for Letcher County, notched 31 wins for ninth-place all-time. Hall also shows up in the lowest ERA in a season with an astounding 0.83 in 2012 and career shutouts at 10. Harrison County’s Logan Dailey hold the top spot for the lowest ERA in a season when in 2008 over 34 innings pitched, he walked away with an perfect 0.00.

Another ace from the region, Pike Central’s Josh Elswick, is on the books for consecutive wins with 16. The most all-time is 24 straight when Madison Central’s Jeff Cruse cruised through batters in a three-year period between 1980 and 1983.

Strikeouts

For most people – die-hard fans and casual enthusiasts alike – strikeouts is the first stat that comes to mind. And why not? It’s probably the easiest to understand: a hurler takes the mound and tosses his best pitches, the hitter takes their swings without a hit then heads back to the dugout.

With a minimum of 340 Ks to qualify for the all-time list, pitcher Paul Morse shows up again for the most ever. Morse wiffed 651 batters during his high school career.

Most in one season belongs to Mike Blakeman, from Green County. In one of the longest-standing records on the books, Blakeman struck out 192 batters in 1968.

Twenty strikeouts in a single game has become one of the numbers pitchers and fans alike begin to root for when the total starts moving closer to that in the later innings. There are 14 pitchers who have hit that mark since Don Gullett racked up his 20 Ks against Portsmouth Clay in 1969. Also among those 14 is Johnson Central’s Matt Fyffe who did it in 2007.

But who was the most consistent over the course of one season with the strikeouts per game average? That record belongs to Alex Hamilton of Breathitt County with an average of 17.2 punches a game in 2013.

No-hitters

As it goes with statistics, there are plenty of categories, but, after wins and strikeouts, it’s the historic no-hitter that is one of the most revered.

In high school baseball, a no-hitter is a rare and celebrated achievement where a pitcher or pitching staff prevents the opposing team from recording a single hit throughout the entire game. While baserunners can still reach via walks, errors, or being hit by a pitch, the feat remains a pinnacle. Achieving this requires a near-perfect combination of velocity, location, and mental composure, supported by a defense that must remain flawless in the field to keep the hit column at zero.

Brennen Milby, of Green County, holds the top spot for most career no-hitters with seven, while Jimmy Osting secured first-place all-time in one season with four. In a nearly unbelievable stat for the most consecutive no-hitters, Rockcastle County’s George Durham, completed three straight no-nos in 1997.

Perfect games – To get an ever better idea heading into this last category to get an idea of how rare this actually is, have a look here.

A perfect game is when a pitcher, or pitchers, retires all 27 opposing batters consecutively in a full game, allowing no hits, walks, or errors.

Numerous high school pitchers have pitched one perfect game during their high school career. But, closer to home for that number, includes Pikeville’s Reese Ward against South Floyd in 2012 and fellow Panther Kolby Brinker facing Phelps two years earlier in 2010.

The most recent perfect game in this region was achieved by Paintsville Luke Stratton in a 10-0 win over Shelby Valley last month.

The most perfect games thrown was by both Jon Kirby, of Estill County, and Kiekhefer, with two.