Senior left-hander hoping to break record of 80 scoreless frames, and lead his team to state title in the process.
Brendan McKay has not allowed a run in 65 straight innings, which puts him just 15 innings away from the national record.
Courtesy of Blackhawk yearbook staff
Along with blood,
Brendan McKay must have been born with baseball coursing through his veins.
"When I was about two years old we were on vacation and I made my parents stop at a Pizza Hut," he told MaxPreps. "I got out of the car and hit wiffle balls in the parking lot. They were fine with it. I think I was just getting cranky."
Over the years, the
Blackhawk (Beaver Falls, Pa.) senior has become so adept at his favorite sport that he is hotly pursuing one of the nation's most coveted national high school pitching records. He has not given up a run in 41 innings this spring and will carry a streak of 65 straight zeroes into Wednesday's Class AAA WPIAL quarterfinal game against West Mifflin.
Brendan McKay, Blackhawk
Courtesy of Kim McKay
The national record is 80 consecutive scoreless innings by Joey Porter of South Natchez (Miss.) in 1973. McKay is within immediate range of No. 2 Mike Halperin of Barron Collier (Naples, Fla.), who had a streak of 72 1/3 in 1991.
Mike White has been covering prep sports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for 30 years and he is busily researching other great performances from the past.
White noted, "I honestly think this ranks up there with any of them — it's just amazing. There hasn't been a player in western Pennsylvania who has created such a buzz since Neil Walker, who was a first-round draft pick of the Pirates 10 years ago."
McKay was a natural from the first day he put on a baseball uniform at age five. Prior to high school, he actually played every position at one time or another. Today the 6-foot-1, 220-pound left-hander dominates not only on the mound but also as a hitter from the key No. 3 slot in the batting order. As if his pitching weren't enough, he has also led the Cougars in batting for four straight years.
"My curveball is my best pitch," he said. "It fools a lot of batters when it's in the dirt. I've been throwing it since I was 12. I learned it from David Lyons, who was a teammate on my travel team."
Veteran Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia adds that his young star has a lot more than a great curveball.
"He also has a good changeup and a 91 mile-per-hour fastball," he said. "Before he's done he's going to be throwing 94-95. He has God-given talent and a mind to go with it."
Two other qualities make McKay a cinch to be taken fairly high in this June's Major League draft: No. 1, he has nearly flawless control, and No. 2 he has great poise. Just throw in that he's left-handed as a nice bonus.
"That's what separates him from any other kid I've ever coached. He never gets rattled," Amalia said. "The bigger the stage, the better he is."
Providing proof of McKay's clutch ability, Amalia pointed out that during his career he has won five state playoff games without a loss and given up just one run.
McKay is the first freshman to start for Amalia during his 15-year coaching career. Facing a veteran team in his first varsity game, the 5-10, 170-pounder struck out the side on nine pitches in the first inning, but that game was rained out.
It didn't take long for Amalia to tell his assistant, "This kid may never go to college."
McKay completed his freshman year with a perfect 6-0 record and a 0.88 earned run average. In 48 innings he struck out 57 and walked only 12. He also batted .480 and drove in 20 runs.
As a sophomore, he led the Cougars to a 22-3 record and a district championship. He posted a 9-1 record and 0.69 ERA with three saves. In 81 innings, he fanned 98 and, again, walked just 12. He also batted an even .400 and drove in 22 runs.
Brendan McKay is also a standout hitter.
Courtesy of Kim McKay
His junior year was even more incredible. He compiled a 7-0 record and yielded just one earned run in 53 innings. He fanned 101, walked just six, allowed only 18 hits and finished the year with 24 straight scoreless innings. At the plate he batted .440 and belted three home runs.
During his junior year of American Legion competition, McKay received a special tribute when a college teammate jumped on him to protect him from being injured during a dogpile following a big victory. Amalia called it a supreme compliment.
This spring he got to pitch for a Canadian team against some minor league squads in Arizona. Against the Chicago Cubs he threw four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out eight. Against the Cincinnati Reds, he pitched three innings with three strikeouts and allowed three hits.
"It felt good that you can compete at that level as a high schooler," he said.
So far this year he has a 6-0 record with 94 strikeouts and seven walks in 41 innings for a 13-2 team. He is batting .395 with seven doubles and has driven in 11 runs. Twice he has struck out 20 of 21 batters in a game.
Amalia calls him a "tremendous hitter," and points out his statistics would be even better had he not been given 44 career walks.
Everywhere he goes McKay is shadowed by scouts, many of them supervisors. Amalia estimates there have been as many as 20 at a single game and as many as four at a practice session.
Though he has met a few scouts at such places as his home, school and even a restaurant, McKay spots the vast majority at games from the items they carry, such as radar guns, duffel bags and brief cases.
The unflappable teenager, however, is never bothered by the pressure. Even if he does give up a run, he said he will always focus on the victory above all.
"You just have to worry about the team," he emphasized. "If I do wind up with the record it would just be a great accomplishment."
He carries a 3.4 GPA and has signed with the University of Louisville, though the draft may put a halt to those plans.
He stressed that if he were to skip college and sign a pro contract this summer, "It would have to be a very serious offer in a pretty high round (of the draft)."
Amalia isn't sure how high his ace may be chosen, but he did say, "I'd be surprised if he's not in the top five rounds."
Meanwhile, Amalia hints that McKay also has the hitting ability to possibly be an everyday player, perhaps a first baseman, in professional ball.
Just last year he hit a home run so far that it broke a windshield in the parking lot, so it appears he also possesses an excellent backup plan if pitching doesn't work out.
