Arizona senior reaches 1,000 strikeouts

A high school softball pitcher in Arizona recorded her 1,000th career strikeout on April 20. Tamara "T" Statman now holds the state record.

Brennt Eads of USA Today reports that Statman is only the third pitcher in the country to reach 1,000 strikeouts since the pitcher's mound was moved from 40 feet to 43 feet for the 2000-2001 season. She is 24-6 with a 1.40 ERA and 257 strikeouts through 180 innings this season. Overall, she's 84-29 with 1,049 strikeouts in her four-year high school career. Impressive numbers – but not her top priority.

“Strikeouts are awesome,” she told Eads, “and you can strike out as many as you want, but if you don’t win, it doesn’t matter. My goal is to win state and when we come together as a team, we have as good of a chance as any to win it all.”

Perhaps more impressive than her performance on the field, though, are her efforts to make every strike out count. Statman started a charity called "T's K's Skin Cancer." According to Eads,

She has collected thousands so far, he writes, while also volunteering with other charities. By the way, she also holds a perfect straight-A record for all four years of high school, and a black belt in karate. That's one impressive high school senior.

Statman will pitch at the University of Arizona next year.