High school softball: Faith Raburn, Kendall Dorey shine as top pitching performers this season

As the Nebraska high school softball season approaches its midway point, Faith Raburn of Holdrege and Wayne's Kendall Dorey are the only pitchers in the Cornhusker State to toss no-hitters through at least six innings in any single appearance.

With their mastery on the mound, we're awarding them the top two pitching performances in Nebraska to date.

After striking out 13 Lexington hitters in Tuesday's 2-1 win, Raburn takes top honors by throwing nine innings and tossing a near perfect game. Dorey, meanwhile, walked four batters but struck out 15 to grab the No. 2 spot this week. In an 8-0 win over Pierce, Arlington's Hailey Brenn gave up just one double and struck out 11 batters to sit in the No. 3 spot.

Omaha Marian junior Maddia Groff, meanwhile, is making a strong case to being named the Cornhusker State's top pitcher through the first half of the season by grabbing the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 spots in the Top 10 this week. In 10 appearances this year, the junior has struck out 10 or more batters seven times and gave up a total of five hits in the three performances that made our list this week.

Only six different pitchers made this week's Top 10 since Kynzee McFadden of Raymond Central and Dorey grabbed two spots each. According to our statistics database, 14 different pitchers in Nebraska have struck out 10 or more hitters after throwing at least six innings. All three classes are represented in this week's Top 10.

In order to be considered this week, a pitcher had to strike out at least 10 batters while throwing six innings or more.
Nebraska's Top 10 softball pitching performances

1. Faith Raburn, Holdrege, Senior
9 Innings Pitched, 0 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 1 Walk, 13 Strikeouts, 28 Batters Faced, 2 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 112 Pitches in a 2-1 win over Lexington, Sept. 7.

2. Kendall Dorey, Wayne, Senior
6 Innings Pitched, 0 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 4 Walks, 15 Strikeouts, 23 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 109 Pitches in a 6-1 win over Arlington, Aug. 21.

3. Hailey Brenn, Arlington, Senior
6 Innings Pitched, 1 Hit, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Walks, 11 Strikeouts, 1 Double, 20 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 69 Pitches in an 8-0 win over Pierce, Aug. 21.

4. Maddia Groff, Marian (Omaha), Junior
7 Innings Pitched, 2 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 0 Walks, 15 Strikeouts, 24 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 115 Pitches in a 4-0 win over Papillion-LaVista South, Sept. 7.

5. Maddia Groff, Omaha Marian, Junior
7 Innings Pitched, 1 Hit, 0 Earned Runs, 2 Walks, 11 Strikeouts, 23 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 105 Pitches in a 3-0 win over Papillion-LaVista, Aug. 27.

6. Maddia Groff, Omaha Marian, Junior
7 Innings Pitched, 2 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 1 Walk, 16 Strikeouts, 24 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 98 Pitches in a 5-0 win over Bellevue East, Sept. 1.

7. Kynzee McFadden, Raymond Central (Raymond), Freshman
7 Innings Pitched, 2 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 2 Walks, 10 Strikeouts, 27 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 108 Pitches in a 5-2 win over Weeping Water, Aug. 19.

8. Hannah Keith, Ashland-Greenwood (Ashland), Senior
6 Innings Pitched, 2 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 2 Walks, 11 Strikeouts, 22 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 99 Pitches in a 7-1 win over Douglas County West/Concordia, Sept. 7.

9. Kynzee McFadden, Raymond Central, Freshman
6 Innings Pitched, 2 Hits, 0 Earned Runs, 3 Walks, 10 Strikeouts, 28 Batters Faced, 0 Wild Pitches, 1 Hit Batter, 100 Pitches in a 3-2 loss to Arlington, Sept. 7.

10. Kendall Dorey, Wayne, Senior
6 Innings Pitched, 3 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 2 Walks, 13 Strikeouts, 26 Batters Faced, 2 Wild Pitches, 0 Hit Batters, 100 Pitches in a 12-4 win over Columbus Lakeview, Sept. 7.