It’s a number that will help lead Audrey Gauthier to go down as one of the best softball pitchers in Dexter High School history.

The big moment came for Gauthier against Skyline when she collected her 500th career strikeout. A lot of hard work and effort went into it, so for Gauthier it was a strikeout to remember.

The Sun Times News (STN) caught up with her to ask about this career accomplishment.

“I’m quite happy with hitting 500 strikeouts,” she said. “When I started high school I don’t think there was ever a time where I imagined getting that many, so it’s somewhat shocking but very exciting.”

Asked if she was thinking about it going into the game, she told STN “To be honest I had looked back through the GameChanger (an app for sports, that includes stats and game viewing) maybe two weeks before the game and noticed I was close to 500, so going into the game it was at the back of my mind, but the second I stepped on the mound I forgot all about it.”

In thinking about what led up to this, she said she’s been pitching since she was 9 so this all feels like it’s been a long time coming.

“But after Covid I decided to put a lot more effort into pitching and getting recruited so I feel that a lot of the extra work and time I put into the game outside of practices and school season really helped get me to where I am today,” she said.

Looking ahead, Gauthier is a senior, who was just about to graduate. She’s very excited to be done and move on to the next chapter of her life. She will be playing softball in college at Framingham State University in Massachusetts and said she “absolutely cannot wait.”

STN asked her about the help and support she’s relieved over the years in preparing for this and helping her reach such an achievement.

She pointed to the ones closest to her.

“I really just want to thank my parents for their constant and consistent support of me and my dreams of pitching at the next level, they’ve helped me in so many different ways over the years,” Gauthier said.