The winningest pitcher in UMass Lowell baseball history, Ryan Kearney carried a 26-9 career record for River Hawk squads that won three New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championships and earned three trips to the NCAA Tournament.
With Kearney anchoring the staff from 1994-98, UMass Lowell enjoyed a pair of 30-win seasons and an overall record of 115-45 (.719). The right-hander set school records for most wins (26), career strikeouts (205) and fewest walks per 9-innings (1.96).
Kearney[apos]s finest season came as a junior when he ran a record of 8-1 with a 1.62 earned run average and 51 strikeouts. He was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Northeast Region First Team, the NECC First Team and was the starting pitcher in the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-Star Game.
[quote]Ryan was one of the very best we ever had,[quote] said Jim Stone, who coached baseball from 1966-2003. [quote]And he played a position (shortstop) on top of that. He was an excellent athlete. We pitched him as a freshman and he just got better and better.[quote]
For his career, Kearney carried an ERA of 2.94 and walked just 60 batters in 275.2 innings of work. He still ranks fifth all-time in career strikeouts.
[quote]Pitching and playing a position is not an easy thing,[quote] Stone added. [quote]He played every day, and that was from his freshman year on.[quote]
After graduating from UMass Lowell with a degree in liberal arts, Kearney pitched in the Cleveland Indians minor league system for three years. He is currently a lieutenant with the Londonderry Police Department and a member of the Southern New Hampshire S.W.A.T. Team.
Kearney earned his master[apos]s degree in Justice Studies in August from Southern New Hampshire University. He and his wife Catherine have three children - Nathan, Elisabeth and Cory - and live in Londonderry, N.H.
