In her 11th game as a Centralia junior, Jaylynn Brown reached 500 career strikeouts.

The countless games and hours leading up to that moment on Sept. 16 at Gallop Field in Mexico were crucial for that milestone, according to her and head coach Liz Bostick. Brown was at the center of Centralia’s 8-2 win over district foe Mexico (7-7), striking out 12 and only allowing three hits.

After the game, a glitter-covered sign emerged from the dugout that read, “Jay Brown 500 Ks.” This was only the second time in program history a moment like this happened as three-time all-state pitcher Baylee Douglass was the only other Lady Panther to have at least 500 strikeouts. Douglass, who pitched in college for Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Syracuse, accomplished the feat as a senior.

Centralia at Mexico Photo Gallery

“That was a big milestone for me,” Brown said. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this soon. It feels nice.”

Brown is no stranger to collecting strikeouts. In her prior two games for Centralia (9-2), she matched her school-record 18 strikeouts in a 6-1 victory over district foe Moberly and had 17 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Clarence Cannon Conference rival and Class 2 state champion Highland. 

Going into the Mexico game, Brown said she knew she was close because her father talked to her about it the night before. She carried a 0.58 ERA into the evening, which isn’t far off from her 0.55 ERA as an all-state pitcher for the Class 3 runner-up Lady Panthers. 

“It’s the hard work I put into it,” Brown said. “It’s nothing without the hard work. At practice, I am definitely working on my spins and the things I need to. For the mechanics, I’m going to lessons and making sure that when they give me instructions, I fix them and continue to work on them.”

Bostick has coached Brown since she was 10 years old. She has witnessed Brown make a “tremendous” jump in the circle to the dominant presence she is today.

The younger Brown couldn’t pitch in a pressure situation, Bostick said, but that eventually was not the case anymore. As a freshman, Bostick said she “threw her to the fire” against teams like Blair Oaks and Class 3 state champion Fatima, and Brown handled it well until she was “a whole different kid” as a sophomore.

“That kid doesn’t just sit around and not work on her craft,” Bostick said. “When she was 10 and I was coaching her, I was like, ‘I’m not sure if mental focus and mental toughness is going to get her there.’ You can see through the years the growth of this kid. I’ve been privileged to watch it.”

Bostick said Brown, who had a 1.129 OPS going into Mexico, is a “skilled softball player” and further proved it by hitting a RBI double in the win against Mexico. Before that, Centralia hit three home runs to give her plenty of run support to work with and it happened at a good time with the hot and muggy conditions.

Brown’s fellow all-staters, Madi Johnson and Cora King, each hit two-RBI home runs in the second inning after her batterymate Ealynne Bostick hit a solo home run in the first inning. Johnson went into the Mexico game with an OPS of 1.352, King had a 1.266 and Bostick owned a 1.079. Senior Kassena Ridgel had a 1.019 OPS heading into the day and went 2-for-4 for her sixth multi-hit game.

“That’s another kid that hasn’t sat around while not doing anything,” Bostick said. “The key for these kids is, to play softball at a high level, you’ve got to do it all the time. She’s never satisfied with what’s happening in the moment. She’s always wanting more and pushing herself to get more.”

Bostick said she asks that her players just keep playing like themselves, meaning that they give maximum effort in every game. If the Lady Panthers do that, they can have another great season.

Brown said she can trust her teammates like she could after allowing one run in the first inning against Mexico. She settled down and allowed one hit in the final six innings, doing her job like everybody on this year’s team.

“This team’s great,” Brown said. “We all work as one. It’s very family-like. We are there for each other.”