Alexa Pavese had seen a few of the area pitchers being acknowledged for strikeout milestones and started wondering where she stood.

When she got her answer before the Huskies’ 16-0 win over the Webutuck Warriors on May 1, she found out she was at 395. She struck out 10, getting her 400th to start the top of the third inning.

“It was exciting,” said Pavese, a junior who has been pitching for the varsity Huskies since she was in eighth grader. “My friends and my teammates cheered, but I just stayed composed. I didn’t want to rub it in their faces because we were beating them really bad.”

That didn’t stop her teammates from celebrating it vocally.

“It was nice,” Pavese said. “Ciara Teamer was yelling from right field, and everyone was just excited. I was silently excited.”

She finished that game with 10 strikeouts and finished last week’s game against the Wallkill Panthers with five strikeouts for a career total of 418.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Pavese said. “I feel like it’s really hard to get to that big a number because I know other people are better and some in my grade are just hitting 200 and I’m double that. It’s nice to know I’m doing well at this level, and I have been for a while.”

A while, meaning since she first arrived on the varsity team in 2021 as an eighth grader. She might have been on the Huskies as a seventh grader if the 2020 season hadn’t been canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic continued to affect her eighth grade season as the Huskies only played 10 games in an abbreviated season.

As an eighth grader, she struck out 33 batters in 70 innings. Then, as a freshman, she struck out 85 in 95 innings. Lat year, she struck out 110 batters in 91 2/3 innings.

As her comfort grew, so did the strikeout totals.

“I have more fun playing now, so doing good means a lot more to me,” Pavese said. “Back then I was really hard on myself, and now I’m just able to have fun and I’m still succeeding.”

The celebration was muted until after the game ended on May 1. Pavese was presented with the game ball, the first milestone ball in her possession as coach Kathelene Canosa didn’t total her strikeouts until Pavese started asking.

As of last week, the ball was still in her car until it finds a more permanent home.

“I have a wall at my house with my trophies and medals,” Pavese said. “I guess it will go there until I hopefully beat the record next year.”

That record is in sight as the school record is believed to be 513. But that’s a 2025 concern. Right now, celebrating 400 is enough.

“Just now, 400 means a lot, but now I just want to get more and beat the school record,” Pavese said. “That’s what I’m thinking about now. I mean, 400 is a lot of strikeouts, but I just want to be able to get to that next milestone now.”