High school softball coaches look for a lot of things out of their starting pitchers, consistency being one of them.

And Martina Burk has not disappointed this season.

Burk, a senior pitcher for Moniteau, will lead the Warriors (9-6) into the District 9 Class AA playoffs against Brookville today.

The three-year letter winner's pitching statistics have spearheaded Moniteau's march to the playoffs.

Starting all 15 games, Burk has tallied 119 strikeouts and just 14 walks. Her earned-run-average entering the postseason stands at 1.35.

"Without her, we wouldn't be where we're at," said Moniteau coach Dan Hindman. "She has worked extremely hard her entire career."

"I've always had good control," said Burk. "But it's improved as I've learned to throw more pitches."

When she steps inside the circle, Burk has eight pitches in her arsenal.

"When I need a strikeout, I go to either a changeup curve or a drop curve," she said. "I'm working on a ninth pitch, a knuckleball."

Burk's development has been hastened by her play on several summer-league teams, one of which is coached by Hindman.

"Playing in the summer definitely bumps you up and helps you to get better instead of coming into each high school season cold," she said.

Burk began pitching for Moniteau during her sophomore campaign, when she would spell junior Sara Vinca.

"Her sophomore year, I threw her in a playoff game against Cranberry," said Hindman.

Burk was the winning pitcher in a 6-2 victory that day, giving up the two runs on seven hits.

"She showed me a lot in that game," added Hindman. "That's when she started to throw a lot of the different pitches and she's just progressed since then."

Moniteau's catcher that season was Martina's older sister, Laken.

"It was great having her behind the plate," Martina said. "She'd help me with my pitching and we would push each other.

"A lot of times, pitchers and catchers form a bond, but we already had one because we were sisters," she added.

With Vinca graduated from last season's team, Burk entered her senior campaign knowing that she would be Moniteau's ace.

"It was kind of nice knowing I was going to be our main pitcher," said Burk.

While she has been part of a conference championship team and squads with better records than this season, Burk still has a chance to be part of something that would set the 2007 Warriors apart.

Moniteau lost District 9 Class AA title games in 2002 and 2005, both defeats coming to Brookville.

The Warriors were knocked out of the district tournament last year, again by Brookville.

The two teams met earlier this month in a regular season game and Brookville won, 5-4.

Burk is striving to be part of the Moniteau squad that finally returns the favor to the Raiders ... and she and her teammates will get their shot in today's first-round playoff meeting.

"That would be great," she said. "And every one of us is pushing for it."