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Pella Christian’s Paige Blom became the softball program’s career strikeout leader this past season. The junior hurler has whiffed 970 batters in four season in the circle for the Lady Eagles, putting her well ahead of the previous record of 789 strikeouts. That mark had been held by Emily Grimes and was set in the late 1980s.

Pella Christian co-Head Coach Kevin Van Wyk says the think Grimes set her record in just three years of pitching at the Varsity level, while Blom has reached 970 in four years. However, Van Wyk says if Blom’s strikeout total from her first year of pitching is subtracted, she’d still have 842. She’s also just a junior, so there would be the potential to raise the number much higher in her senior season.

Blom struck out 255 batters in the 2010 season, which led the Little Hawkeye Conference, and was seventh-best in Class 2-A.