Chinn is Carlmont's latest chapter

It's that singular focus and tunnel vision that has Chinn following in the footsteps of a long line of great Carlmont pitchers. Chinn is 12-1 and hasn't allowed a single earned run this season. The precocious 15 year old averages two strikeouts per inning and sports a ridiculous 13-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. She tossed a perfect game and struck out 14 in the Scots' 1-0 win over Aragon on Thursday and two days earlier pitched a complete-game, two-hitter, with eight strikeouts, retiring the last 15 hitters in a row in a 5-0 waxing of Burlingame.

For her efforts, Chinn is the Daily Journal's Athlete of the Week.

"Ashley hits her spots with the best of them," Carlmont coach Jim Liggett said. "She doesn't overpower you, but she obviously knows how to get people out. She's improved and worked very hard to become the pitcher that she is today."

Last year, as the No. 2 hurler behind Jerrica Castagno - who is now playing at Santa Clara University - Chinn finished 5-1, pitching 40 innings and yielding 33 hits while striking out 45. Knowing she would inherit the ace role this year, Chinn did nothing out of the ordinary in the offseason. That's because the 5-foot-6-inch Chinn has an ironwoman work ethic - "Right now softball and school take up all my time," Chinn said - and an attitude to match. Her fierce demeanor has come in handy considering she saw or played with all of Carlmont's previous aces: Castagno, Monique Castillo and the legendary Tori Nyberg, who graduated in 1999 and later starred at Stanford. Nyberg is considered to be one of the top 10 high school pitchers to come out of the Bay Area in the last 20 years.

"It's really important to hold up the Carlmont reputation," Chinn said. "Putting on that blue and silver uniform feels wonderful. At the same time, there's a tradition to uphold. There's definitely pressure to keep up with the past pitchers we've had here, but it's exciting knowing you're in the exact same position as they were with a chance to do something special."

Chinn, who first started playing softball at 9, grew up idolizing Nyberg from afar, reading about her in the local papers and watching her in a couple of games. Then she met Nyberg when she participated in a Stanford softball camp. Nyberg gave Chinn a couple of pitching lessons, a relationship was forged, and the two still talk today via e-mail (Nyberg is currently an assistant coach at Northwestern).

"She's my goal," Chinn said. "I was so stunned when I saw her pitch. To see the movement that she had on her pitches and the way she went about things was incredible. She taught me how to pitch."

Chinn also took copious notes under Castagno, watching the former Carlmont star's meticulous preparation and everyday approach to the game. Chinn sports a curveball, rise, drop and a wicked change-up. She throws each pitch at different speeds, mixing and matching to keep the opposition off-balanced. Her location is immaculate, her movement a force of nature. Chinn's pitches seem to break a foot off her release point - making for some sweet Chinn music.

Although her pitches average in the high 50 mph range, it may stun many that Chinn hasn't thrown a single fastball this season - and she doesn't plan to, either.

"I don't like to throw pitches that stay flat," she said.

Never mess with a good thing.