Off the Bench: Pearson tosses three perfect innings in Showcase event

In a matter of a few days last December, Kyle Pearson went from paradise to purgatory.

Following a cruise to Mexico, Pearson stepped onto the pitcher's mound at a Perfect Game showcase, but his right arm was still on vacation.

Photo by KEVIN JOHNSON, Banner

On the comeback trail, South Fort Myers High pitcher Kyle Pearson threw three perfect innings at Perfect Game's Sunshine East Showcase on Saturday at Terry Park.

The 6-foot-4, 220 pound right-hander paid a hefty price, developing tendonitis that forced him to miss nearly all of his junior season at South Fort Myers High.

So when Pearson reared back between downpours on Saturday afternoon at Terry Park in Perfect Game's Sunshine East Showcase, he made sure this time that all parts were ready.

"I feel I did better than last time," he said. "I prepared more. I've been training a lot. I've been doing a lot of leg work and abdominal work and throwing harder."

Pearson is fully recovered from his injury, and it showed when he retired all nine batters faced on Clemente Field against a team that included players from Sarasota's Cardinal Mooney, Tampa Jesuit and Gainesville High.

"This is important because the start of the summer is coming and this is kind of a gut check to see where you're at," said Pearson, who was clocked in the mid 80s compared to the high 70s in December. He hopes to be throwing in the upper 80s by summer's end.

Held in Fort Myers, the Showcase attracted more than 200 high school upperclassmen, but less than a handful came from Lee County. Rosters were dotted with players from Naples, Miami, Key West, Sarasota, Tampa and Orlando as well as Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Northeast states.

Because of his injury-plagued junior season, Pearson, who is playing for an AAU team this summer, knows he has to open eyes in the next 12 months. His physique alone should attract attention, but now he has to put up numbers after throwing just eight innings for the Wolfpack.

"I'm looking at playing in college. My junior year hurt me a little bit. I'm kind of unknown right now so I've got to do these showcases to get myself out there," he said. "I'm on my way back up."

• In addition to Pearson, other local players on Sunshine East Showcase rosters included Bonita Springs resident Anthony Vlahovic, who hit .338 for Bishop Verot in 2006, Dunbar's Andrew Hopple, Gulf Coast High's Michael Johnson and Jason Redshaw, Community School's Will Ellert, Golden Gate's Adonis Billy and Rey Valdes and Naples' Tyler Koronas and Tyrone Willey. Barron Collier's Kevin Lindheim and Tyler Ross were the lone members of the class of 2010 on Showcase rosters.