Athlete of the Week: Shaw’s final chapter at Poway High coming to a close

Kourtney Shaw has roamed the pitching circle at Poway High for four years now.

She has tossed shutouts (20) and no-hitters (three). She has won big playoff games and a Palomar League title.

The focus, poise, competitiveness and even-keeled attitude the Cal-bound senior brings to the mound with every start has always marveled Poway High softball coach Jim Bennet.

He calls it extraordinary. And he would know, having watched several hurlers in his 13 years.

Bennet also knows this is Shaw’s last shot at a San Diego Section championship, a prize that has eluded the Titans since 2002.

He knows a section title would mean a storybook ending to a career that will go down as one of the best in Poway history.

But he also knows Shaw doesn’t look at it that way. She looks at it from the team perspective.

“Kourtney is so team oriented, she would just like to win it with her teammates more than anything else,” Bennet said. “She doesn’t really like all the attention. She feels it takes away from her teammates.”

She has often been pushed into the spotlight over her four seasons at Poway, though, turning in one solid performance after another since winning the starting role part way through her freshman year.

“She did great in the ‘Game at the Lake’ (that year),” said Bennet, recalling when Shaw tossed a three-hitter against Rancho Bernardo in 2012. “That was the ‘wow’ moment. She has progressively gotten stronger, smarter and better.”

One thing Shaw learned as a freshman is how important the mental side of the game is while playing at a high level. Learning that helped make her one of the elite pitchers in the county.

“I think the mental side of pitching and hitting your spots is the most important part of the position,” she said. “I think, especially in high school, you face the same batters over and over again. So you have to present yourself differently each time. I learned that quickly my freshman year.”

Shaw, who earned Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass Second Team honors as a junior, seems to always shine in the biggest games.

She is 3-0 in the annual “Game at the Lake,” which pits rivals Rancho Bernardo and Poway against each other under the lights in front of hundreds of fans on a Friday night at Lake Poway.

She tossed a no-hitter against Calexico in the playoffs as a sophomore. She held the nation’s No. 1 team, Mission Viejo, scoreless for six innings in the championship game of the 2015 Michelle Carew Classic, before tiring in the seventh.

“The bigger the moment, the bigger she gets,” Bennet said.

Shaw says there is no extra focus or motivation that overcomes her for those games. She simply prepares how she always does and it tends to lead to success.

“I have the same focus and mind set regardless of how big the game is,” said Shaw, who entering this week has led Poway to a 16-4 record with a 1.63 earned run average. “Before every game, I think perfect game, no-hitter, shutout and then win. Having those goals prepares you for every game.”

Shaw is looking forward to her time at Cal and working with some of the top coaches in the country.

But right now she is thinking about her senior year and helping her teammates win a league championship and section title.

“I know my time is running out and I am trying to make this the best year,” she said. “A league title is the goal first and foremost. That is what is in our minds right now. But once we get in the postseason our goal is to win a section title.”

And that would be the perfect ending, a banner and a spotlight on the entire team.

That’s all she has ever wanted.