Anoka’s Amber Elliott may want to reconsider her high level of exertion in gym class.

 

The junior pitcher, who battled a knee injury last season, suffered an ankle injury during class last week playing volleyball. 

 

“The coaches keep telling me to (stop being so physical in gym),” Elliott said with a laugh.

 

Elliott was able to overcome the ailing ankle enough to set a new Tornadoes record with 17 strikeouts in a 6-0 win over Spring Lake Park on Monday, breaking the previous record of 16 held by Allison Bakke (2002) and Julie Vancura (2003). 

 

Anoka coach Toni Jesinoski said after the game that the coaching staff was not going to pull Elliott from the circle with the record so close to her grasp. 

 

“What she does on the mound, it’s tough to beat,” Jesinoski said, adding that the coaches and a trainer kept an eye on the Augustana (South Dakota) commit's ankle for signs of discomfort. 

 

Elliott’s efforts in the circle were supplemented by timely hitting from her own bat (two hits) and the rest of the lineup, with junior outfielder Alyssa Wicks cracking a double that drove in two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

 

Wicks was the eighth hitter in the lineup Monday after being slotted in the top half last week, and Jesinoski said she's been shuffling the lineup around regularly.

 

Wicks says she brings the same mentality to the plate regardless of her position in the order.

 

“No matter where I’m hitting in the lineup, I just go up to the plate thinking ‘yes, yes, yes’,” Wicks said, adding that “yes” means attack the ball. 

 

The Tornadoes are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A in the latest coaches’ poll, a mark that goes virtually unnoticed by the team, Wicks said. 

 

“We have to keep working. If we stop, everyone around us is going to get better,” Wicks said. 

 

According to Jesinoski, Wicks also refuses to stop working in the classroom, ranking first in her junior class of nearly 600 students. 

 

While the team ranking may not be given much thought by Anoka players, Elliott confesses that she was completely cognizant of her nearing the school strikeouts record late in the game. 

 

“Oh, yeah,” Elliott said. “I was counting as I was going.”

 

That level of confidence correlates with the expectations the Tornadoes have after reaching back-to-back state tournaments and having several core players back this season. 

 

Is it state title or bust for Anoka? 

 

“Totally," Elliott said.

Junior pitcher Amber Elliott struck out a school-record 17 batters in a one-hit shutout to lead Anoka to a 6-0 victory over Spring Lake Park in Northwest Suburban Conference action on Monday afternoon at Anoka. 

 

Elliott also added two hits at the plate, and junior outfielder Alyssa Wicks went 1-for-2 with two RBI for the Tornadoes (7-1, 6-1), ranked No. 1 in the latest Class 4A coaches’ poll. 

 

Junior pitcher Halley Jones struck out eight batters in six innings of work for No. 17 Spring Lake Park (6-5, 4-2).