By MIKE NEW • Staff Writer • April 14, 2009

 It's not easy to top the kind of numbers South Plainfield's Alyssa Sutherland put up last season.

But even as she pitched her way to Home News Tribune All Area first team as a junior, Sutherland was still learning. Now she's a senior, and she's putting those lessons to use, much to the chagrin of the Greater Middlesex Conference.

The Tigers' ace is off to a dominant 4-0 start in her final varsity campaign, thanks to throwing smarter, and not just harder.

"I didn't know what people could hit and couldn't hit," Sutherland said. "I didn't know that I wouldn't be throwing fastballs. I went into my junior year thinking I'd blow them away with speed. But then you realize it's all about movement on the ball and what to throw in certain situations. It's really about the mental aspect."

By mixing speeds and locations, Sutherland has pretty much blown by everyone she's faced. Heading into Monday, she'd given up just one hit and four walks, while fanning 45 in 26 innings. She threw no-hitters against Cardinal McCarrick and Sayreville and a perfect game against North Brunswick. That lone hit came against Colonia in the third inning of Opening Day.

"She's just a competitor," head coach Don Panzarella said. "She works hard, and she wants to win. And she has a good team behind her. Defensively, we've been good behind her. I'm just looking for a good year."

The senior has also given South Plainfield (3-0, 2-0 GMC White) a boost out of the two-hole in the lineup, behind fellow sparkplug Jackie Kukich. The two have combined to go 9-for-18 with two walks and seven runs scored. In four wins, the Tigers have scored 21 runs.

"Last year, we did all right offensively," she said. "This year, we're more aggressive. We're ready to swing at first strikes instead of waiting for the perfect pitch. So Jackie's been raking the ball, because she's aggressive. That goes for basically everybody in the lineup."

But the way Sutherland's pitching, a run or two would be more than enough. Ultimately, though, the goal is to improve on last year's postseason, in which the Tigers reached the GMC Tournament and North 2 Group III semifinals.

"This is her last year," Panzarella said, "and I'd like to see her have a good one."