Mariah Anderson is only 5-foot-3, but she stands taller than just about anyone in Wells, Minn.

Or the rest of the state’s softball community for that matter.

Anderson, a senior pitcher at United South Central — a school in the southern reaches of Minnesota less than 20 miles from the Iowa border — is arguably the state’s best pitcher.

Over the past two years, softball fans have learned to arrive at USC’s home field early if they want to get a good seat to watch Anderson throw a fastball that hums at 63 miles per hour. She will demonstrate those talents at Minnesota State Mankato next spring.

Last June, with Anderson on the mound at the Gophers’ Jane Sage Cowles Stadium, the Rebels won the Class 1A softball state championship, the first team state title in school history.

This season, she is on track to break the state record for career strikeouts, a feat she could reach before the section tournament.

Dominant, yet humble

As a junior, Anderson was 26-1 on the mound with a state-leading 407 strikeouts and 19 shutouts. She didn’t give up a run through the first eight games and finished her season with a 0.32 ERA.

In three games at the state tournament, she had 52 strikeouts and gave up only four hits with no runs. One of those victories was a no-hitter.

Anderson entered her senior year with 1,378 strikeouts, only 264 shy of the record of 1,642 set by Maddie Damon of Kasson-Mantorville in 2015. Anderson already has 48 strikeouts this season through four games — all wins.

But Anderson isn’t after setting the mark. True to her nature, she’s focused on one objective: her team.

“She is the most humble and kind person I’ve ever met in my life,” USC coach T.J. Schmidtke said.

Despite the individual acclaim that seems to grow louder with every outing, Anderson doesn’t seek attention. For her, she’s simply another player on the team.

“Last year, we knew we had the potential to go to state and that was our goal,” Anderson said. “To go and win the whole thing in our first time there, that was crazy. We know we can’t just go out there and take it easy this season. I view myself as a leader on this team and I need to go out there and be calm and confident.”

It’s a lesson she learned after years as a gymnast, which was long her primary pursuit.

“In my younger years, I hated softball,” she said. “I’d have pitching lessons right after gym practice and I never wanted to go.”

As she got older, her perspective started to change. When she improved with every instructional session, softball took prominence.

“I got pulled up to varsity in seventh grade. I was really shy and I was freaking out,” Anderson said.

To calm those nerves, she leaned into her gymnastics background.

“On the balance beam, if you’re shaky and not calm, you make mistakes,” she said. “I tried to use that same approach on the mound.”

And for a pitcher standing a few inches short of the ideal softball prototype, gymnastics proved to be an equalizer.

“It made me strong and helps my endurance. I can pitch a few games in a row and not get tired,” she said.

Said Joe Kuchenmeister, an assistant coach for USC who calls pitches for the Rebels: “She just oozes athleticism. And she’s very strong when she drives off the rubber. She’s always been good at focusing on what she needs to do and shutting out other things around her.”

When USC won the state championship last spring, though, Anderson knew it was time to change her focus. In February, she capped her gymnastics career by competing in the state meet for the first and only time. She placed third in the Class 1A all-around competition, second on the beam and third in the vault and floor exercise.

“I’m glad I did it and got the chance to compete for my school, but what I like about softball is having the team behind me,” said Anderson, who said she is officially done with gymnastics. “In gymnastics, if I mess up, that’s all on me.”

A local celebrity

The residuals of the state championship and the accompanying attention travel with Anderson wherever she goes. From the hallways at school, where young girls clamor for her attention, to the grocery store, where well-wishers go out of their way to let the reigning homecoming queen know how much she means to the region.

In Wells, in the spring, softball games are the biggest events around.

USC is a school district that draws students from six nearby communities: Bricelyn, Easton, Freeborn, Kiester, Walters and Wells. Wells is the largest community, with around 2,400 residents, and is where the school is situated.

Anderson loves her community and can’t see herself anywhere else. She committed to Minnesota State to stay close to home.

But college can wait. Right now, her focus is squarely on chasing another state championship.

“It would be super cool to win another one,” Anderson said. “And like last year, when there was a sea of red at Cowles Field, we know the whole community is behind us.”