Goretti baseball stars Kerns and Sweeney will team up again at Virginia Tech

Andrew Kerns and Parker Sweeney are two of the stars who led the St. Maria Goretti baseball team to a 20-2 record and the Old Line League title this year.

Their future as teammates is even brighter as both have committed to Virginia Tech to play for the Division I Hokies.

“Same team, unbelievable,” Goretti coach Greg Eversole said. “The dream of every kid that comes up through Little League, through travel ball, through high school ball is to play Division I. That’s where their heart is, but it’s a tough route to get to Division I. To have two young men who have worked hard and have earned that, it’s just fantastic.

“If you look at the percentages of how many kids get to play Division I, it’s special. And to have two on the same team, it’s unbelievable.”

Kerns feels at home at Virginia Tech

Kerns, who will be a senior, starred on the mound this year in his first season with the Gaels after transferring from Greencastle-Antrim.

The right-hander went 5-0 with a 0.71 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.

In the team’s season finale, Kerns pitched a one-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts as the Gaels topped Riverdale Baptist 10-0 in six innings for their third straight league title.

He also stood out at the plate this year, batting .400 with two homers and 15 RBIs.

Throwing heat sped up his recruitment process. He committed to Virginia Tech last week after talking with several other Division I programs, including Alabama, Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Wake Forest and West Virginia.

“It really, really picked up this spring after hitting some big numbers in my last two outings,” Kerns said. “I ended up topping 95 mph and then hitting 94 a couple of times in the championship game against Riverdale Baptist. It really picked up then. That’s when everything kind of changed.”

He said Virginia Tech stood out from the others. The Hokies went 30-23 this year after achieving 45 wins in 2022, when they were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country.

“They have really good facilities, a great coaching staff and everything just really felt like home whenever I walked on campus,” Kerns said. “It just all made sense to me when picking a college. I felt like I was at home.”

Kerns comes from a baseball home. His father, Mickey Kerns, played in the minors for the California Angels in the 1990s. And his grandfather, Dan Kerns, was a minor leaguer for the Baltimore Orioles in the 1960s.

“I’ve always had someone there to help me with everything, teaching me the game and how to play the right way,” Andrew Kerns said. “It’s helped me along the way, when your dad played professionally and also your grandfather. They’re telling you what you need to do and how you can be a better baseball player.

“I want to pitch as long as possible, enjoy it and see where it takes me,” he added.

He’ll have his buddy Sweeney with him for the next part of the journey.

“We’ve gotten to be pretty good friends over this past year, playing baseball together and spending time outside of baseball,” Kerns said.

“It’s pretty cool. We’re going to work together also in the college scheme. I’ve kind of passed some things down to him pitching-wise, and he kind of helps me pitching-wise. It’s just kind of a good bonding thing. And we’re going to the same college, so we can help each other out down the road as well.”

Sweeney commits early

Sweeney, who only will be a junior, has had a sensational first two seasons at Goretti.

This year, the left-hander went 5-1 with 36 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. And he made an even bigger impact offensively, batting .436 with two homers, three triples, four doubles, 22 walks, 21 RBIs and 25 runs scored.

As a freshman, he went 4-0 with 67 strikeouts and batted .304 with two homers and 14 RBIs, helping the Gaels finish 21-4.

Sweeney, of Hagerstown, was being recruited by college programs before he ever played a game in high school.

“Parker has played fantastic travel ball,” Eversole said. “He’s played for an elite team out of Gaithersburg, Dig In, and that coach is a great teacher, and they have assembled a very quality travel team. They’re committed to excellence. And the the tournaments they went to during Parker’s seventh-grade year, eighth-grade year and into his ninth-grade year, colleges looked at him and said, ‘Ah, this kid has some potential being a left-hander.’”

He committed to Virginia Tech in April of 2022 to be a two-way player — pitcher and outfielder.

“I started talking to colleges that January, and I talked to a good bit of schools, and it was really Virginia Tech that I liked the most in the beginning, starting with the coaches and talking with them,” Sweeney said. “It was so easy to work with them, and they were so flexible. Just talking with them, I enjoyed that more than other schools.

“Once I went there for the first time, the campus was really nice. The baseball was just awesome, just the energy they brought. Everything about it was amazing.

“My first time I was there, I went to a game in late February. It was cold and no one was there, but it was still really exciting because they were just full of energy and all in. And I loved every bit of it.”

Committing so early has its advantages.

“One thing that’s nice is that I don’t really have to worry about making a decision later on,” Sweeney said. “It takes stress off you.”

Sweeney and Kerns will play one more season together at Goretti, before reuniting as Hokies in the 2025-26 school year.

“We had a great year this year. We’ve really gotten along,” Sweeney said of Kerns. “He’s really helped us out. It’s just been awesome so far with him.”

Coach Eversole’s outlook

“These young men have been given the ability to be recognized,” Eversole said. “Now, do they have the work ethic that they’re going to need to go to D1 and play and mature and become that super D1 player that we hope that they can become?

“It’s really up to them. They’ve been given this huge opportunity that few get. The door is open. Now, they have to go in through that door and grasp what’s being offered to them.

“When you go D1, baseball is your life. If you’re not in class, you’re doing something baseball from the time the sun comes up until the time the sun sets.”

“We’ve talked about it on our team. When you become a D1 player, it’s a tough road to follow to be successful. Do they have it? I pray that they do and hope that they do, but only God knows if they will get there and make that commitment. I’ve had a couple others who’ve faltered by the wayside, but these two young men, I think they really want it.

“I’m super proud of these boys and excited for them.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Goretti’s Kerns and Sweeney to play baseball at Virginia Tech