High school softball pitcher Taylor McQuillin stars despite Duane Syndrome

Taylor McQuillin had outstanding seasons as a freshman and sophomore, but she really stepped into the spotlight this spring during her junior year as a pitcher for Mission Viejo (Calif.).

First of all, the 5-foot-7 left-hander led the Diablos to their first California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division 2 championship with a brilliant 1-0 victory over two-time defending champion Chino in nine innings. She allowed a line-drive single to the leadoff hitter, then retired the last 27 batters while finishing with 17 strikeouts.

Catcher Kayleen Shafer, her friend since age 12, drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded single. 

Her effort also lifted the Diablos to No. 3 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings with a final record of 26-1. Her personal record was 25-1. In 173 2/3 innings, she struck out 316, walked only 18 and fashioned a microscopic 0.69 earned run average.

The spotlight - for the first time - also revealed something different about McQuillin when compared with most other players.

McQuillin was born with Duane Syndrome, a rare condition that caused permanent blindness in her left eye and partial hearing loss in her left ear. Before age 6 she had four surgeries on her eyes and three on her ears.

She told MaxPreps, "Since I was born with it, I don't find it as a handicap. It's a normal every-day thing. My coaches know and most of my teammates know, but this is the first year I've talked about it (publicly in the media). Nothing is hidden this year. Everyone discovered it."

Even while undergoing some early (and painful) surgeries, McQuillin already was a very active youngster.

She began taekwondo and dance at age 3. She later added soccer and piano. Then at age 7 she tried softball. She was skilled enough in self defense to earn a black belt at age 11, however at age 12 she decided to concentrate solely on softball - and it has paid off in a big way.

She explained, "It was more competitive in softball than any other sport and more intriguing. It was surprising how I adapted to hand-eye coordination."

Overcoming physical problems at such a young age has made the junior star absolutely fearless on the mound.

"I think that would be a good adjective to use," McQuillin agreed. "I'm not really afraid of anything athletic-wise. It taught me to come back stronger and motivated me."

Her high school coach, Troy Ybarra, was asked what makes her so great beyond her pinpoint control and repertoire of seven pitches. He replied, "Her heart and work ethic and her desire to win."

Even as a freshman, McQuillin was a standout. She compiled a 23-6 record with 280 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 190 innings. Her ERA was 0.88. She fired back-to-back no-hitters, five one-hitters and twice struck out 15 batters.

McQuillin was even better as a sophomore, posting a 25-2 record with 266 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 173 innings. Her ERA was 1.01. She also starred at the plate with a .417 average and eight home runs. Included was her first perfect game, against Valencia.

"I didn't even know that was a perfect game," she recalled. "I found out a couple hours after the game."

Despite her gaudy statistics as a freshman and sophomore, McQuillin blew everyone away as a junior. She was so dominant that she fired two perfect games, four no-hitters and five one-hitters. She also batted .323.

Her only loss was to eventual Division I champion Pacifica (Garden Grove), 2-1 in nine innings. That game was added to the schedule to help the Diablos in the playoffs.

Kenny Connolly, who covered her team for the Orange County Register, nicely summed up McQuillin's banner junior campaign.

He noted, "From start to finish, Taylor has been the most dominant pitcher in Orange County this season. In the playoffs, she struck out a total of 72 batters and only allowed seven hits in five games. She's a gamer that played her best softball against the top competition in the area. The CIF Division 2 championship game against Chino was one of the best-played games I've ever seen ... She was locked in and brought Mission Viejo home to its first CIF softball championship in impressive fashion."

Ybarra calls her championship-game triumph "the best game she ever pitched because everything was riding on it."

He cited her 4-0, one-hit victory over tough Chino as her second-best performance because she struck out 18 of a possible 22 batters in the Best of the West Tournament.

McQuillin said the latter gem was "kind of like our revenge game (because of a playoff loss to Chino during her freshman year). I threw a ton of rise balls in that game. I was going to keep throwing them until they stopped swinging at them. Only a handful (about 10 or 15) were not rise balls."

She also throws a fastball, changeup, screwball, curve, drop and drop curve.

The junior standout now will move right into summer competition with the powerful Orange Country Batbusters. Coach Gary Hanning describes her as a "very intelligent, hard-working girl. She is basically unshakeable and her future is unlimited. She's a quality young lady and will be a very good player in college."

Her college choice is the University of Arizona. As a freshman she chose Oklahoma State, but she switched this year because her father, Ron, is suffering from heart disease and she wants to be closer to home. She has an "A" average and wants to study psychology.

"My priorities changed," she said of her college switch. "I thought it needed to be made. Family always comes first."

Don't be surprised if the Diablos again contend for CIF honors in 2015 because they graduate just three players and they will continue to rely on their motto: "Clear eyes, full heart, can't lose."

Asked what she can do for an encore in her senior year, McQuillin replied, "There's always room for improvement, even if it's a minor adjustment. If anything I'd want to focus more on hitting. We are going to continue (winning) - don't let up or give up. We want to go out with a bang."