2 days ago
Minnesota softball sensation racking up unreal strikeout totals
Minnesota softball sensation racking up unreal strikeout totals originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
There's a softball pitcher in Minnesota who is putting up jaw-dropping numbers, and there's a very high likelihood that she'll shatter the state record for career strikeouts by the time she graduates from United South Central High School in 2026.
Mariah Anderson is a 5-foot-3 superstar who has led her team to the Class A state championship game, and she'll be on the mound for Friday's 6:30 p.m. title tilt against Badger/Greenbush-Middle River.
Anderson is 24-1 this season with 388 strikeouts in 170 innings, according to MNSoftballHub. She has 20 shutouts and seven no-hitters, including three perfect games. A stunning 76% of the outs recorded when she's on the mound have come via strikeout.
Anderson pitched a five-inning perfect game against Blackduck in the first game of the state tournament, and she followed later that night in the semifinals with a 20-strikeout, two-hit shutout against Braham.
According to MNSoftballHub, Anderson struck out 403 batters as a sophomore last season. How accurate are those stats? It's not really clear because the Mankato Free Press reported on May 19 that she had 293 strikeouts over 124 innings, and she's struck out 109 batters in 47 innings since. If that's accurate, she's up to 402 for the season.
Either way, it certainly appears to be a state record. The single season record, per the Minnesota State High School League, was 341 by Aubrey Quern of Dassel-Cokato in 2024.
Anderson is also sprinting towards the career strikeouts record in Minnesota. In the May 19 athlete of the week story from the Mankato Free Press, Anderson was believed to have had 1,264 strikeouts in her career. The 109 she's piled up since then would put her at an unconfirmed total of 1,373, good for second all time.
1,642 Maddie Damon, Kasson-Mantorville, 2010-2015
1,373* Mariah Anderson, United South Central, 2021-2025
1,309 Carlie Brandt, LeSueur-Henderson, 2011-2016
1,178 Lindsey Predovich, Virginia, 1998-2003
1,158 Danielle Schmidt, New Life Academy, 2004-2009
With another year of high school left, Anderson is on pace to shatter the record.
As dominant as she is, Anderson hasn't committed to play softball in college just yet. It's an option, but she's also an incredible gymnast and could go that route.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
