T Statman had a remarkable year—and career—at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Horizon where she won a career high 25 games this season with a 1.54 ERA in 30 complete games including 14 shutouts and a .509 batting average.

The senior, who signed with the Univ. of Arizona last November, set the state strikeout record with 1,071 including 279 this year alone.

Entering the Final 8 of the double-elimination Arizona High School playoffs, Statman looked like she and the team had a chance to go deep into the playoffs, but going into the sixth inning of their game with Xavier Prep, T’s Horizona team lead 1-0, but would eventually fall 2-1.

On Saturday, Horizon played Sandra Day O’Conner in the loser’s bracket and had a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the 7^th.

With T in the circle, the lead looked safe, but things didn’t exactly go as planned.

The first batter grounded out to first base, but the next batter lined a shot off the pitcher’s thigh for a hit (and a rather large bruise).

The scary shot back to the circle may have shaken Statman as the next batter was a pinch hitter who took an inside pitch off the elbow and the following hitter singled to make the score 4-3.

However, the second out was recorded with a pop up to short and that meant Horizon was just one out from advancing.

Standing in its way, however, was one of the top players in the country—Grace Lyons, the outstanding shortstop who has committed to Oklahoma and was rated as the No. 3 player overall in the 2018 Hot 100.

It was senior All-American versus young super star and the count went to two balls, two strikes.

Statman threw an inside rise “right where I wanted to,” but Lyons was waiting for it and with a fantastic swing crushed it over the left field fence for a walk-off home run.

For Lyons, it was an exciting way to advance in the playoffs, but for Statman it meant her stellar high school career was over.

Not exactly how you want your last pitch for your alma mater to be remembered, but her reaction to the heart-breaking loss was interesting.

She went out with her father, David, and had their customary post-game hamburger.

“As a parent I thought it was going to be sad when it was over or with the way we lost,” he reflected over the weekend, “but T and I went out for an In-N-Out burger like we always do after these games. We hugged it out and then later T went to a political function to meet Barry Goldwater Jr.”

Admitting she was disappointed to not make it to the championships game, T looked at the bright side.

“I’m relieved it’s all over and I have no regrets.”

Helping ease the loss and the shocking last pitch was the reaction the family received from the softball community. T’s father was surprised with the reaction the family received Saturday night when the final game was in the books.

“T has been getting phone calls and texts the past few hours congratulating her on her career,” he marveled, “and I am truly amazed at the love and support she is getting from all the parents and kids from the softball community here in Phoenix. It’s truly amazing, I just thought it was going to be sad but it turned out really well.”

Although T wouldn’t address it during the season, she was hobbled by a leg injury through much of the season that doctors say should heal prior to a big summer ahead of her.

“We will never know how much the injury affected her this season because T has been taught too well to disregard pain and her line is always when you ask her how she feels she says, ‘Good Enough To Win!’ which, even to me as a parent, is concerning sometimes.”

“On the positive side, T now can get off the anti-inflammatory and pain medication and has the three weeks of rest with no pounding on her pitching leg.”

That will take her up to graduation, then club ball over the summer with the Birmingham Thunderbolts and then “off to my next journey, with the Arizona Wildcats,” she says.

An Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year finalist and a likely All-American for the second year in a row, T will always look back on the last play of her high school career with bittersweet emotions, but her amazing four years of success is already being put into perspective.

“We love the softball accomplishments,” her father explains, “but what I’m most proud of is T will graduate in the top 10 percent of her class with a perfect 4.0 unweighted GPA while playing four years of varsity golf as well as softball along with all her other extracurricular activities including student government.”

“Having a night or two to sleep on it with all the calls and texts we both received really did put closure on her high school career and accomplishments,” concluded David Statman.

“Not only is T ready to move on to the next phase of her life, as a parent I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do and accomplish in life on the field and off.”