Lauby’s Rising Pitches Have El Toro Soaring : 3-A Division: Batters can’t resist her rise pitch and, as a result, she has allowed just one earned run this season.

It’s no secret where Paige Lauby’s pitches are going or where they have taken the El Toro High School softball team.

In a rapid reversal of gravity, Lauby’s pitches usually wind up on a higher plane than the one on which they started. The pitch is called the rise, and batters try to avoid swinging at it, because when they do make contact, it’s usually a pop-up.

El Toro’s opponents know what to expect, but it doesn’t seem to help. Lauby is 15-2 with a 0.05 earned-run average (she has allowed one earned and three unearned runs) and 237 strikeouts in 127 innings.

“I think they know it’s coming,” Lauby said, “but they haven’t been able to stop swinging at it.”

The senior will be aiming for her eighth consecutive shutout when the Chargers meet Don Lugo in the Southern Section 3-A championship game at 5:30 tonight at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

When the season began, Lauby was one of three El Toro starting pitchers. Charger Coach Jim Daugherty said he wanted to develop more than one pitcher and make sure Lauby didn’t wear out her arm.

However, during the last month of the season, Lauby has reclaimed the top spot on the Chargers’ staff.

Lauby has pitched every inning of El Toro’s past seven games, including four playoff games. She has 59 strikeouts in her four playoff shutouts, including 20 in a 14-inning victory over Trabuco Hills in the second round. She closed out the South Coast League season by throwing two consecutive no-hitters against San Clemente.

“It’s not that she’s overpowering,” Daugherty said. “I think that there are a lot of pitchers who are faster. But it’s that good spin and rotation on the ball that makes her successful.

“She has some funny pitches. I don’t know what they all are.”

Though Lauby admits to depending more on her rise this season, she said she still uses a curveball, screwball and changeup--whatever it takes to hold the opposition scoreless. El Toro’s offense hasn’t scored much in Lauby’s support all season.

The Chargers are batting .176 in the playoffs but have uncharacteristically scored eight runs in four games. Lauby is used to pitching in closer games.

“(Close games) make me do a lot better,” she said. “I know if there is someone on third base, I can’t let her score. But I can’t put down our offense because I’m not doing very well at the plate, either.”