Getting noticed for sports prowess is a little tough in Annandale, on the fringe of the metro area. Junior Sarah Johnson, the Cardinals’ ace softball pitcher, has come up with her own solution: Be so good you can’t be overlooked.

Johnson has been on an incredible run this season, commanding the pitching circle and dominating opposing batters in a manner rarely seen since the pitching rubber was moved from 40 to 43 feet from home plate in 2011.

After losing her first game of the season to Class 2A’s No. 1 team, Maple Lake, Johnson has reeled off 13 consecutive victories and put up remarkable numbers in the process. In 96 innings, she has struck out 194 batters (more than two per inning), given up only 46 base hits, 10 walks and six earned runs for an ERA of 0.44. She’s already tossed two perfect games and a no-hitter.

“She’s just owning it now,” said Johnson’s stepmother, Kayte Klesk, who was a Star Tribune All-Metro selection as a pitcher for Big Lake in 2004. “She just doesn’t walk girls. It’s rare if a girl gets on base with a walk or by getting hit. She has such great control. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Klesk has worked with Johnson for more than five years, improving technique and emphasizing her approach to the game. Johnson, an avowed hard-work addict — she is a 4.0 student who also works two jobs and toils on the family farm — has soaked up the instruction and responded with some eye-popping efforts.

“She strives for perfection in everything she does,” longtime Annandale coach Skip Dolan said. “She puts an unbelievable amount of time into her pitching. I always tell her she’s mastered the art of pitching. Now, my biggest job has been to make sure she enjoys what she’s doing and understands not everything has to go her way for her to be successful.”

A tough sell, seeing as pretty much everything has gone her way. The reason? A tireless work ethic.

“I definitely like to stay busy,” Johnson said. “I love working toward the future, and I like to take the initiative to put myself ahead. School means a great deal to me, but softball is what I love.”

A large part of her success is her deep arsenal of pitches, all of which she can throw at anytime.

Her favorite is a devastating slider that breaks away from righthanded hitters, followed by a riseball that leaves batters shaking their heads. She owns a fastball that routinely clocks in at more than 60 miles per hour and a knuckle-change that is always good for a whiff. She’ll occasionally mix in a dropball and has been experimenting with a screwball.

Six pitches, all tantalizingly close to the plate. That explains the lofty strikeout totals.

“When I was in high school, there was a group of us pitchers who would strike out a lot of batters and be on the leaderboards,” Klesk said. “But that was before they moved the rubber back. I keep telling her that she’s the only one doing now what a bunch of us used to do.”

Dolan remembers those days. When the rubber was backed up, it meant more in-game coaching for him, moving defenses around and playing for situations. He admits that Johnson has made things much easier this year.

“I’ve been at this for 30 years now, and I’ve seen when girls like this used to really dominate at 40 feet,” he said. “Sarah reminds me of that time. If [an opponent] puts the ball in play and gets on base, we literally just think that Sarah will be able to strike out the next two, three batters.”

If there’s been a downside to Johnson’s dominance, it’s been that Annandale’s defense hasn’t had much of a chance to show its stuff.

“This is one of the better teams I’ve had, but they don’t get to show it much,” Dolan said.

Johnson has heard the joking laments, but it’s not in her nature to leave the work to others.

“I take a lot of pride in strikeouts,” she said. “I like to help the team as much as I can, so I try to take much of the work into my own hands.”

There’s still the matter of playing on the state’s biggest stage. The Cardinals lost to Rockford in the Section 5 playoffs last year (Rockford was the victim of a Johnson perfect game earlier this season) and still have to get past Maple Lake to reach the state tournament.

“We have a shot this year,” Johnson said. “We’re feeling confident.”