Pahrump Valley freshman first to 200 strikeouts in Nevada this season

Starting pitchers are seldom lucky to earn a single no-hitter in a regular season.

In fact in Major League Baseball, there are only roughly three to four of these outings a year, averaging a minuscule occurrence of 0.13% a season.

For some, it can take a career spanning decades and they’ll still never accomplish the feat.

But for Jaycie Hayes, the freshman already has three in her back pocket this season.

On Tuesday, the Pahrump Valley High School hurler entered a league of her own.

The hard-throwing, ambitious starter became the first woman in Nevada to reach 200 strikeouts this season.

Hayes reached this milestone on a full count in the bottom of the sixth inning, striking out the side against Moapa Valley on the road in Logandale on April 21.

“I’m going to get 200 before the season ends,” the freshman told the Pahrump Valley Times following her game in Boulder City.

And that she did.

201 strikeouts to be exact with her eight against Moapa Valley, but who’s counting? (It’s me, I am counting.)

Jaycie has flirted with perfection this season as her last no-hitter against The Meadows on April 10 darn near ended in a perfect game after surrendering just one measly walk.

“I was so mad,” Hayes passionately shared following her outing.

The intensity in her three-worded response embodies the amount of self-pressurethe y oung pitcher handles well beyond her early years.

So, what truly does makes Jaycie so lethal in the circle?

With her Paul Skenes-like velocity and an off-speed arsenal that might have even fooled Tony Gwynn during his prime, high school girls in Nevada haven’t truly fared much better either to be fair.

“Her fastball is a pretty deadly combination with what we’re doing,” Trojans head coach and father Brian Hayes said. “Yeah, believe me,” Hayes said with a grin across his face, “she reminds me every time I get home: ‘Dad, I need more innings today!’ I’m like, be nice to your brothers, and I’ll think about it.”

Following her recent outing at home to close the split-league series against the Pirates, Hayes retired via strikeout ten more batters, bringing her grand total to 211 this season.

Pahrump Valley Times sports editor Jacob Powers sat down with Hayes over the phone this week to break down what drives the freshman’s magic behind the scenes.

Q What does reaching 200 strikeouts here in Nevada mean to you?

A Reaching 200 strikeouts means a lot to me personally because I think that it is something that I’ve worked hard for ever since I was a little kid and now that work is finally paying off and I’m able to perform for my school and my town so it means a lot to me.

Did you realize you were approaching this milestone, or did it sneak up on you?

I didn’t realize that this was coming up until a couple weeks ago when I saw how that I was lead for strikeouts, so yes, you could say it snuck up on me. It just kind of piled up after that.

Who has been the biggest influence on your journey to this point?

My coaches, especially my pitching coach, Shelbi Denman from Dani Spaulding pitching academy. I look up to a lot of college pitchers, as I want to pitch in college like them one day.

Was there a specific moment or game where you felt like everything clicked for you as a pitcher?

Not really, I think that over time I just got a little bit better each season and each game. However, there was one specific game a while ago where I got hit off of really bad, and I think that after that game specifically I really worked on myself to locate better. I really think that after that game, I’ve done so much better with locating my pitches.

What’s going through your mind when you’re one strike away from closing out a batter? How do you reset after a tough inning or a home run?

Nothing really goes through my head when I pitch, it is just something that I can do without thinking. After a tough inning or a home run, I try not to get down on myself because I know that stuff like that is going to happen, and it’s part of the game. The next inning I just focus on one pitch at a time, and try to have a better outcome the next inning.

Do you approach each batter differently, or stick to your strengths no matter what?

I approach each batter mainly the same, but I am especially careful with the middle of the lineup.

What pitches have been most effective for you this season?

This season my curveball and my riseball have been most effective, and I also rely on my off-speed to get them off timing. I’ve been working on them for a while.

Who has helped you evolve as a pitcher since the beginning of your career?

My dad has been sitting on a bucket since I was 9 years old. He said we needed a pitcher for our Pahrump rec team called Girls of Troy. For a while it was annoying to me but I’m very grateful now for all the time that he spent with me. Sharon Nichols was my first pitching coach, and I’ve been working with Shelbi for a couple years now.

How important is it to have a good catcher calling the game behind the dish?

Very important, I’m fortunate to have two great catchers in Madison Rodriguez and Mariah Gray at my high school and they are the ones who make me look good. A good catcher is everything.

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.