KINGSTON — As a North Kitsap Little League hot shot pitcher, Tyler Sullivan threw a perfect game.
He was 11 years old when he pitched the heat: 16 strikes, no walks and no runs.
“That was just a big accomplishment,” said Sullivan, now an 18-year-old senior at Kingston High.
Busting into the North End baseball scene at the age of 6, Sullivan’s Little League launching was just the beginning of the successes his strong and resilient right arm would bring.
At the age of 16 he was invited to a Baseball Northwest tournament and pitched a seven inning, one-hit shutout.
“That was probably the biggest one for me,” he said. “There were so many scouts and not many kids do that.”
He’s also the starting pitcher for the Kingston Buccaneers. During the Bucs’ district tournament playoff game last year, Sullivan threw nine strikes to bring his season total to 58 strike outs.
Sullivan’s attracted some big time attention to compliment his big time accomplishments on the diamond.
Most recently he was one of 300 athletes from 37 states, Puerto Rico, British Columbia, Ontario and the Bahamas to be invited to and compete in the Under Armour Preseason All American Tournament. Only four players from Washington were selected for the tournament in Tuscon, Ariz., Jan. 16-18.
Sullivan pitched one game in Arizona and tallied three strikes, a few hits and no walks. He said he didn’t throw as well as he would’ve liked, as at the end of last season he hit about 92 miles per hour and over the weekend he peaked at 88 mph.
Regardless Sullivan was humbled by the opportunity.
“I just like the fact I got invited to that,” he said. “It’s a big honor. And then having only a few kids from Washington just shows me how important that tourney is.”
Sullivan’s coach since 2004 and KHS’ coach, Scott McKay, knew early on Sullivan was “truly a power pitcher.”
He first saw Sullivan in the eighth grade and what grabbed his attention was Sullivan’s arm health.
“He had and continues to have a very resilient arm. As long as I’ve know him he’s been able to stay away from arm trouble,” McKay said. “It’s fair to say he’s one of the hardest throwing kids in the state.”
McKay said Sullivan’s a quiet and serious athlete, who has the entire package, not just pitching strength.
Sullivan claims a .415 batting average and tallied 14 runs batted in last season.
“Not only did he have a good average, but looking back he was constantly hitting one in the gap here and there,” McKay said.
Sullivan, who grew up playing baseball every spare minute he could find and does extra reps in the weight room and weekly individual practice sessions, will take his baseball arsenal to the collegiate leve. He’ll throw from the east side next year, as he’s accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Washington.
