ADAMS TWP - Excuse the smile on the face of Mars High School softball coach Michele Goodworth these days.

She's just thinking of how good freshman pitcher Monica Glomb is going to be in three years.

"I can't begin to imagine," Goodworth said. "All I know is she's going to be here for a while."

And she knows her pitcher will be good - very good.

Glomb is not a tall girl. She's not a physically imposing girl. She's not a particularly strong girl. She just knows how to pitch a softball.

"I've never seen somebody her size throw that hard," said Mars senior catcher Kara Stroup. "And she knows where it's going.

"Monica never gets rattled. She never gets nervous. She shows no emotion out there. She's the perfect pitcher," she added.

Standing 5-feet-6 and weighing 115 pounds, Glomb has 90 strikeouts in 68

innings pitched this year. She owns seven of the Planets' nine victories and helped them win their first section championship since 1993.

She has walked only 11 batters and thrown just five wild pitches all season. She has surrendered only 44 hits.

What's made her such a dominant pitcher at such a young age?

"I practice a lot," Glomb said.

Since she was 8, Glomb has been attending fast-pitch softball pitching clinics and camps while playing in summer leagues and tournaments.

Glomb already has more than 40 softball championship trophies in her room and has 43 wins in tournament games that involved first- or second-place finishes.

Last summer, she pitched for the Beaver (County) Hornets 16-and-under team, which placed ninth at a national tournament.

"Softball is the only sport I play," Glomb said. "I've always loved it and I've always loved pitching."

And she's not all that surprised she's started so many games for the Planet varsity as a freshman.

"I did OK in tryouts, and, like I said, I do practice a lot," she said. "Having Kara at catcher has really helped me. She gives me all the signs. … I wouldn't have done any of this without her."

Stroup had caught Glomb in summer leagues before.

"I knew she was coming and I knew she was special," Stroup said. "I'm not at all surprised she's done what she's done."

Goodworth credits Stroup for much of Glomb's success.

"I can't take anything away from Monica because she's been fantastic, but Kara is a four-year starter and we trust her to call the pitches," Goodworth said. "More importantly, Monica believes in her. What pitch to throw is one less thing she has to worry about.

"Monica can throw to spots and she has a variety of pitches at her disposal. I don't want to list them because I don't want to give them away."

Opposing hitters aren't figuring them out. In Mars' regular season finale Monday, Glomb shut out Knoch on two hits, struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.

And the Planets' lead was only 1-0 until the sixth inning of a must-win in terms of the section race.

"Most of our games have been close like that," Goodworth said. "Monica has so much confidence, so much poise. She may be a freshman, but she's been pitching for close to seven years now.

"She practices every day. Her Dad (John Glomb) works with her, she has the ability and the desire to get better. Who knows how good she's going to get? I don't."

The Glomb family has a batting cage and pitching area set up inside their house. Glomb is on a training program six days a week throughout the off-season.

"She's really into this and we support her," her father said. "Monica's not just some freshman who's stumbled upon fast success. She's been pitching in high-pressure games all her life."

It's four years away yet, but Glomb admits her long-range goal is to pitch in college.

In the meantime, Stroup plans to follow her alma mater's softball team long after graduation.

"I have a feeling this team is going to be good for a while," she said.