Last May, Safeco Field represented something special for Kentwood High pitcher Avery Kain.

Shortly after throwing a two-hit, complete-game masterpiece in an 8-0 Class 4A state championship contest against Richland at the home of the Seattle Mariners, Kain took stock of his surroundings and was succinct with his feelings.

“It’s pure bliss,” the 6-foot-6 pitcher said at the time. “Just awesome.”

A little less than a year later, on the same field where Kain enjoyed the finest athletic experience of his life, came possibly the most difficult ordeal he has ever faced.

While playing first base in a nonleague game against Issaquah on April 2 at Safeco, Kain reached his long frame out to take a throw from third. It was a play he had been part of thousands of times before without a problem. One he could perform falling out of bed at 6 in the morning. All Kain had to do was stretch, wait for the smack of the ball on leather and listen for the “out” signal from the umpire.

But this time was different.

After sprawling out to make the grab, Kain fell to the ground in anguish.

“It was one of those weird things,” said Kain, who will play next year on scholarship at Washington State University. “I stretched to get the ball and my foot came off the bag. I reached back to put my (right) foot back on the bag and it buckled.”

That buckling was Kain’s knee giving way to his large, athletic frame.

“I felt a really loud pop, and couldn’t move,” he said. “After that, I was rolling around on the ground.”

Kain was assisted back to the dugout moments later, but the damage — just like his season — was done. The knee that had been so trusty in all those previous years was ruptured.

Two days after the swelling subsided, Kain was officially diagnosed with a torn medial patellar ligament (MPL) and was forced to endure surgery that will require him be on crutches for another couple of weeks.

“To me, it looked like he just stretched out, and then went down on his butt. The next thing I know, he’s rolled over on his leg,” Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad said. “I feel bad for Avery because it’s his senior year, and it’s the year you’re supposed to have and look forward to.”

And instead?

“He’s got a pretty big scar on his (right) leg with about 20 staples,” Aarstad said.

Where do the Conquerors go from here? Kentwood entered the season as the consensus favorite to win the South Puget Sound League North Division crown – and Kain was one of the key reasons for that projection. No doubt, the Conks will certainly feel the loss of their top pitcher and a power bat in the middle of their lineup.

“Everybody else is going to have to step up,” Aarstad said. “It’s a hit for us, obviously. But we’re still a good team. We came out and beat a good team in Kentlake on Wednesday (five days after the injury).

Our goals and expectations aren’t changing.”

Despite the ordeal, Kain has remained as committed as ever to the Kentwood team. A hard-throwing right-hander who dials up his fastball between 84 and 87 miles per hour, he fully intends to be as much a part of the Conquerors this spring as possible. And he made that clear immediately following the injury, finding a spot on the bench — crutches and all — during both games and practices.

“I am trying not to make this a big deal,” he admitted. “At this point, I feel the best thing I can do is help my teammates from the dugout.”

Yet the loss of Kain certainly will impact the Conquerors going forward — especially considering the team didn’t have a better postseason performer last spring. In Kentwood’s final five games of 2010 —  a run that included a district title followed by four straight state victories — Kain went 10-for-17 with two home runs and nine runs batted in at the plate.

Yet, as good as the big kid was with the bat, he was just as effective on the mound, where he picked up a pair of victories, including that two-hit masterpiece against Richland in the title game.

Without Kain, the Conquerors are still doing what it takes to succeed, according to Aarstad.

“We’re making the right steps that we need to,” the coach said. “We’ve gotten better.”

And despite the loss of Kain, the Conquerors expect to have enough firepower offensively and on the mound to make a run at another state title.

After Kain’s injury, Kentwood proceeded to knock off SPSL North challenger Kentlake (9-1) along with Kentridge (8-5) and Mount Rainier (14-3). During the string of wins, Kentwood’s pitching staff —  the same staff that last month Aarstad said was the best he had ever had – got victorious performances from Skyler Genger, Taylor Jones and Kyle Green.

Meanwhile, Genger supplied plenty of offense, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs in the victory against Kentridge, and Kyle Doyle added a pair of hits and a home run in the win over Mount Rainier.

Throughout, Kain remained the team’s top supporter from his spot in the dugout while the Conquerors have stayed neck-and-neck with Tahoma atop of the SPSL North standings.

“If I can’t be out there, I am going to be the biggest supporter they have,” he said.