But teammates knew that Lane wasn’t focused on her ERA, nor would she be satisfied with a 297-strikeout season that ended without hardware. Winning another state title has been her top priority all season. Jefferson Forest stood in the way of that final goal at Western Albemarle High Saturday.

One 11-strikeout, three-hit shutout later, Lane’s job was finished. The Wolverines’ ace closed out her high school career with a flourish, shutting down the Cavaliers in her typical dominant fashion in a 7-0 win.

“That was just amazing, so surreal,” Lane said. “After the last out, we all dog-piled each other for our last game ever together, it was just so amazing.”

Lane, Woodgrove’s only senior, finished her final high school season with a 0.15 ERA and 297 strikeouts, including 19 shutouts, six no-hitters and two perfect games. Saturday’s win marked the program’s seventh state title since the school opened in 2010, the second-most of any Virginia program behind only Madison (8).

Woodgrove head coach Joe Spicer, who spent the spring watching Lane dominate with a calm, confident presence in the pitching circle, noticed his ace start to kick it into an even higher gear when the district playoffs started. Her velocity went up. Her pitch placement was precise. She and pitching coach Rob Cole scouted each playoff opponent meticulously, picking apart the flaws of each batter so Lane could expose their weaknesses come game time.

In Saturday’s title game, Lane matched up against a Jefferson Forest team with several left-handed batters, forcing her to adapt. She knew she needed to throw inside on the Cavalier hitters, but needed to place her rise and screw balls on the other side of the plate to hurl the most effective pitch.

Lefty or righty, the result was the same. Lane struck out seven of Jefferson Forest’s first nine batters as the Wolverines (26-0) raced out to a 5-0 lead through five innings.

“We were expecting her to be a little tired after she pitched the whole game yesterday, but Abbey is a competitor if nothing else,” Spicer said. “When she came out and threw the first pitch it was really moving, I was like ‘Oh my!’”

Junior Erynn Thompson, the hero of the team’s miraculous semifinal win against Hanover Friday, got Woodgrove on the board with a sacrifice fly in the third inning and Lane doubled the lead in her next at-bat by reaching base on a Cavalier error.

Jefferson Forest, like every other opponent Woodgrove faced this season, never figured Lane out. The lead continued to grow as seven Wolverines recorded hits. The final out of the season was caught in left field, prompting a sea of green jerseys to flood toward their senior leader.

“She had her eye on the prize,” Cole said. “There was nothing that was going to stop her.”