KENT CITY – If you want to see some great pitching, just go where Kent City is playing on any given night.

That means the Kent City baseball team or softball team.

The teams are led by two standout pitchers who just happen to be first cousins, and they both put on quite a show last Friday while pitching at White Cloud High School.

On the baseball field, junior Kyler Larson threw a complete game two-hitter while striking out an amazing 18 hitters in a victory over the host Indians.

Right next door on the softball field, junior Jacee Hoffman threw a five-inning perfect game (no hits, walks or errors) while striking out 15 in a win over White Cloud.

Both cousins said that they pitched the best games of their high school careers that night.

“Everything was on, everything was working,” said Larson, who had 17 Ks in a game last year. “I just felt good. I gave up two hits in the first two innings, and my dad (and coach) told me to start mixing it up, so I just started doing that.

“I wasn’t even paying attention, so I had no idea I was anywhere near 18 strikeouts at all. I was really surprised when I found out.”

Hoffman said she had thrown a no-hitter before, but never a perfect game, and she admitted that she became excited and nervous as the game wore on.

“Probably around the third or fourth inning, I kind of felt like it could happen,” said Hoffman, who credited the team’s catcher, Samara Kholehouse, with calling a great game.  “In the last inning there was a lot of energy and excitement. I was kind of nervous. My first thought was that it was going to be on me and I was going to walk somebody.”

Larson and Hoffman said the evening turned even more exciting when they found out how well each other had done.

“I walked over to the softball field, they were already starting the second game, and her mom told me about it,” Larson said about Hoffman’s perfect game. ‘It was pretty crazy.

“She’s only a month older than me, so we’ve been together forever. We’re really close. In school we have all of the same classes together.”

Hoffman said she heard during her game that the baseball team was doing well, “but I didn’t know until afterward how good Kyler pitched. It was great. We’ve grown up doing everything together, really.”

Larson is very well known to Kent City fans as the standout quarterback for the football team and the leading scorer on the basketball team, but he says baseball is his favorite sport.

He would have played varsity as a freshman, but the season was wiped out by COVID. He had a breakthrough year on the mound last season, posting a 7-2 record with 121 strikeouts, 21 walks, and a 1.32 earned run average in 15 games.

This season he’s on pace to do even better, with a 3-0 record, 46 strikeouts, only five walks and a miniscule 0.41 earned run average through five games.

“I just like the feeling of being in control of things, and I like the challenge,” he said about pitching.

Hoffman has always been surrounded by family members who are pitchers, and not just Kyler.

Her mother, Krisha Larson (now Wainright), was a standout pitcher for Kent City softball in the 90s and a former head coach of the softball team. Last year, as a sophomore, Hoffman started the season as the Eagles’ No. 2 pitcher behind her cousin Alyssa Larson (Kyler’s sister). But Larson was injured, forcing Hoffman into the top role a year early.

She did well with the unexpected assignment, posting an 18-10 record with 175 strikeouts, 30 walks and a 2.83 ERA.

That experience prepped Hoffman for this season, and she’s been great so far, with a 6-1 record with 61 strikeouts, 16 walks and a 3.46 ERA.

“I had to step up and do the best I could and figure it out from there,” Hoffman said. “I think for the team in general it was a big learning and rebuilding year.”

Lots of family ties

The Kent City baseball and softball programs have more in common than just the pitching cousins.

Derek Larson, Kyler’s dad, is the varsity baseball coach while his brother Kyle Larson (Kyler’s uncle) is the assistant coach.

Derek’s Larson’s wife (and Kyler’s mom) is Amber Larson, who is the assistant varsity softball coach.

Derek, Amber and Kyle Larson were Kent City athletes back in their day.

The only person in that two-team coaching group who is not family, and not a Kent City graduate, is Don Todd, the first-year head softball coach.

Derek and Amber, 1996 graduates. both became varsity coaches for their respective teams 19 years ago. When asked if they ever dreamed, back in their younger years, that they would stay so close to their old high school sports programs, Amber said no, but added that they are glad they did.

“I think we knew we would be involved some way, like maybe in little league helping the kids get ready for varsity, but then opportunities opened up for us the same year,” Amber Larson said. “I started out coaching under Jacee’s mom, and I just stayed on. It’s been really great to watch kids grow up and teach them about life lessons and the game. I’m still in contact with some of the kids who graduated 10 years ago.

“I think it’s pretty much in our blood at this point. It’s something we thoroughly enjoy. It gets pretty busy in the spring, but we put that aside and just take it one day at a time.”

Of course the situation is less than ideal for the Larsons on game nights, when the baseball teams and softball teams both play.

As Kyler’s mom, Amber Larson would love to be sitting at the baseball field watching her son rack up the strikeouts, but as assistant softball coach, she usually can’t be. On the other hand, she loves to watch her niece mow down hitters in softball.

The opposite is true for Derek Larson and Kyle Larson, who get to watch Kyler pitch, but almost never get to see their niece on the mound.

“I rarely see Kyler throw a game,” Amber Larson said. “At certain fields I can kind of peek over sometimes. But I love what I do with the softball team, and I know my husband is there (with Kyler) so it works out. I get to watch him pitch in the summer, too, so that helps.”

You might guess that Derek and Amber Larson text each other during games, with updates about how the kids are doing, but they are far too busy with their coaching duties for that.

“We talk a lot when we get home at night,” Amber said.