It’s the year of the pitcher.

No, really. It is.

Just ask any high school hitter who has had to stand in the box against the likes of Mars’ David Bednar, Butler’s three-headed pitching monster of Mick Fennell, Colin McKee and Matt Baranchak, Karns City ace Derek Sadowski, Seneca Valley’s Matt Smith and Freeport’s Robbie Miller, just to name a few.

Do not pass first base. Do not collect a hit. Just go directly to the bench.

Even NBC has an easier time making a hit than those who go up against some of these guys.

There always have been dominating pitchers at the prep level. But rarely have so many had such sparkling numbers this late in the season.

Sadowski has been sadistic to opposing hitters for the Gremlins. He sports an 0.61 ERA and opponents are batting a mere .098 against him — or the batting average of Pittsburgh Pirate shortstops.

He’s fanned 46 and walked just three.

And he has a loss? Yes, A-C Valley’s Logan McNamara out-dueled him Tuesday and McNamara isn’t even the ace of the his staff.

That designation belongs, arguably, to Cole Terwilliger, who sports a 1.35 ERA.

Then there’s Zack Jewart of Moniteau, who tossed a no-hitter in his first varsity start early this season.

Even Stephen Strasburg thinks that’s a ridiculous debut.

So, why are high school pitchers dominating so much?

There are several factors. First and foremost, these dudes are just plain good. You don’t mow people down at that rate by being a slouch.

Another factor is the bats. Pitchers no longer have to fear their 80 mph fastball coming back at them at 160 mph.

The National Federation of State High School Associations tweaked its standards for aluminum bats in January, making the ones that resembled weapons of mass destruction illegal.

The new bats have less spring in them, making for fly balls that were once home runs into long outs and sharp grounders up the middle that were once singles into groundouts to the shortstop.

Mentally, pitchers can relax more on the mound without the fear of being decapitated, or worse, giving up 10-run innings.

Finally, there is the “Pullman Park Factor.”

No less than four local teams — Butler, Karns City, Moniteau and Knoch — use the venerable ballpark as their home field.

The infield is synthetic, eliminating bad hop grounders, and the fences in left and center are deeper than in most Major League stadiums.

Even a roided up Mark McGwire would have trouble poking one out of Pullman to dead center.

All these factors are leading to an amazing year for local pitchers.

It’s been fun to watch these aces.

Chicks may dig the longball, but sportswriters relish the pitcher duel.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.