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Timberview pitcher Mariah Denson's 20-strikeout perfect game one K from record book

MANSFIELD — Mansfield Timberview pitcher Mariah Denson could have put her name in softball’s national record book with one more strikeout last week.

The sophomore struck out 20 of the 21 batters she faced while throwing a perfect game in an 8-0 win over Grand Prairie last Friday.

The National Federation of State High School Associations’ online record book only lists players with 21 or more strikeouts in a seven-inning game. The record book has certified 37 such performances. The national record for strikeouts in a seven-inning game is 24 by Kelly Holmes of Plymouth Canton (Mich.) in 1992.

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Denson, who committed to Oklahoma State as an eighth-grader, kept dominating this week.

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In a battle for first place in District 7-5A, Denson threw a one-hit shutout, struck out 10 and was 2-for-3 with four RBIs as Timberview beat Mansfield, 10-0, in five innings Tuesday. Then Thursday, Denson pitched a no-hitter and hit a grand slam in a 22-0 rout of DeSoto.

“She’s pitching a lot stronger this year,” Timberview coach Donya Mooney said. “Last year she was coming off the back injury going into the season. I feel like she’s picked up a little bit of speed.”

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Despite taking six months off from softball before her freshman season because of a fractured vertebra in her back, Denson was 20-4 with a 1.24 ERA in 2013. She is 12-2 with 1.57 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 67 innings this year.

“I feel a little more confident,” Denson said. “The back’s not bothering me.”

Timberview (13-5, 5-0) can also rely on a potent offense as it tries to win a second straight district title.

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Ashley Timmons has homered in three of her last four games and is hitting .585 with five home runs and 29 RBIs. Gabby Littles homered twice Thursday and is batting .467, and Baylea Higgs (.460), Denson (.453), Alex Taylor (.444) and Chelsea Luddeke (.429) are hitting better than .400.

Star’s injury doesn’t hurt Poteet

Mesquite Poteet senior shortstop Madison Yannetti, an Arkansas softball signee who was last year’s District 10-4A MVP, missed nine games with a shoulder injury. But Poteet still has a winning record (11-9) and is tied with North Forney for first place in District 10-4A at 4-0.

Aubree Turbeville, a transfer from Mesquite Horn who has committed to McNeese State, is hitting .585 and leads the team in home runs (four) and RBIs (25). Southern Arkansas signee Selena Mendoza moved from second base to shortstop to replace Yannetti and is hitting .544. And Shelby Wilson is batting .509 with 24 RBIs for a Poteet offense that averages 7.9 runs per game.

Yannetti returned to the lineup at the start of district play but is being limited to hitting for now. She is 7-for-13 since returning and is hitting .531 for the season.

Perfect game for Berkner senior

One of the best pitching performances of the young baseball season was turned in by Richardson Berkner senior Jacob Patterson last week. The Texas Tech signee pitched a perfect game and struck out 17 in a 5-0 win over Lake Highlands. Earlier in the season, Patterson (2-2) threw a one-hit shutout and struck out 16 against Missouri City Ridge Point, which like Lake Highlands was a playoff team last season.

“Right now he probably throws about 88 to 90 [mph], and when it’s warmer, he is up to about 91,” Berkner coach John Tovar said. “He has a real good chance [to get drafted]. I’m getting emails from MLB scouts all the time, asking for a schedule, when is he going to pitch. The Rangers looked at him in the fall. They brought him and like 20 other guys down to the ballpark.”