Ashlin Lawyer isn’t just a pitcher for the Fountain Hills High School softball team; she is “the” pitcher.

Only a sophomore, Lawyer has been on the mound nearly every inning over the past two seasons, honing her skills and earning more and more strikeouts along the way.

During the 2015 season, Lawyer racked up some pretty impressive stats that, coupled with her leadership role on the team, recently earned her recognition as the Max Preps Fountain Hills Softball Player of the Year.

This past season, Lawyer put up an ERA of 5.47. She played a whopping 146 innings, with 15 wins over the course of the season and 87 strikeouts. All three of those stats were about three times the national average for high school softball.

Her on-base average was .325 this past season, with a fielding percentage of .976. Both of those stats were also above the national average.

With two years left in her high school career, head coach Bill Nye said he believes Lawyer has the potential to be the best player to come out of the FHHS program. To do that, though, he said she’ll need to keep working hard both on and off the field.

He said he’s also hoping that she’ll serve as a mentor in the years to come.

“I hope she starts to bring the leadership skills to the team with the new talent that’s coming up through the ranks,” Nye added.

“This will make her a better player and prepare her that much for the college ranks. I know she has the ability and the knowledge to do so, she now just needs to do it.”

Looking ahead, Nye said he’s hoping to see the Falcons continue to soar higher, anticipating some standout seasons for the local ladies.

“I hope that will be the case, but the bottom line is that you have to score more runs than your opponent,” Nye continued.

“With [Lawyer’s] experience, she knows what she has to do. Pitching is the key, so we shall see.”

As for how she got into softball, Lawyer said she played baseball throughout her childhood. That’s also where she began her pitching career, eventually shifting into softball. She didn’t start out on the mound though.

“In sixth grade there was this pitcher we had on the team and I remember thinking that it looked like so much fun,” Lawyer said.

“I think I was playing third back then, which I didn’t really like. I got some pitching lessons, moved to shortstop and second, and eventually started pitching.”

Lawyer said she was excited when she found out she had risen to the top of the team standings for the season.

“I put a lot of work into it,” she added.

“I was nervous pitching my freshman year, but everyone was nice to me, so that was fine. I was really excited for my sophomore season [2015] because I knew I had gotten better and I like my team.”

When she’s not pitching for the Falcons, Lawyer plays for a year-round club team, made up of athletes from around the Valley.

She’s currently the second string pitcher, starting most games at second base.

“Club ball is more competitive,” Lawyer said, adding that it’s a nice change of pace when, playing for the local squad, as she gets to have fun with her friends.

As for the 2015 season, Lawyer said she was happy to see the Lady Falcons make improvements over their past year, a trend she hopes to see continue during her junior year.

“I hope the freshmen come out and join the team. They’re good and we could use them,” Lawyer said.

“Otherwise, I’m really excited.”