top-5 for inning and shutout records in an NCAA season. Along with USA conference pitching Triple Crown, her career best strikeout ratio of 11.6 led the nation. On March 1, 2000, Blades struck out 18 batters in a 7-inning, 7-1 win against the Samford Bulldogs, her career-high for a regulation game. The performance tied her with the NCAA fourth best (third at the time) regulation game record holders. Beginning on April 15 and lasting until May 7, Blades pitched a career best 80 consecutive scoreless innings, a school and conference record and ranked top-10 for the NCAA. In one of the games on May 6 against the USF Bulls, she broke Michele Granger's previous NCAA Division I career strikeout record of 1,640 by reaching 1,643. During the NCAA Tournament to reach that year's Women's College World Series, Blades would notch her career, school and conference record best 21 strikeouts against the LSU Tigers in a 1-0, 13-inning loss on May 20, 2000 The game total was also the tournament record that held until 2004. At the WCWS, Blades twirled her second season perfect game on May 25. It was the fourth perfect game ever pitched at the World Series. Blades fanned 11 of the No. 2 seeded, 2000 NCAA batting champs, the Arizona Wildcats, on opening day to also break the NCAA season wins record. Southern Mississippi would end the season with a third-place finish at the series and ranked 4th nationally under the command of Blades, who was selected to the WCWS All-Tournament Team. She finished the season with a total of 663 strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher to break 500 and 600 strikeouts in a season. That mark brought her career total to 1,773, a record that would stand until February 25, 2006 when Texas Longhorns pitcher Cat Osterman passed the mark against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The eagle owns the school career records in just two seasons for wins (95), strikeouts (1,160), ERA (0.93), shutouts (50) and innings pitched (717.2). Blades also owned the conference USA career strikeouts crown and now ranks second all-time, while her wins, ERA and innings are all top-5 for a career. For both schools, Blades is ranked second in wins, 5th in strikeouts, 4th in innings pitched and 8th for shutouts, while being tied 5th in perfect games for an NCAA career. Playing career Blades played with the Stratford Brakettes for