Surry County High School Cougars pitcher Oakley Pierce scored his 300th career strikeout on April 30 in a home game against Brunswick County.

It’s a milestone for any high school ball player, one Pierce is the first in Surry’s history to achieve, according to the school’s head coach, Stephen Ross.

Pierce, who set the school record with 20 strikeouts in a single game on April 18 against Greensville County, struck out another 16 two weeks later at the game versus Brunswick. The April 30 game, which the Cougars won 4-0, also marked his 100th strikeout this season.

Surry, according to Ross, is ranked second in the 1B region with an 11-4 record and is gunning for a regional and state title.

“A kid like Oakley could definitely be the difference in those games,” Ross said.

Surry County High, which has just over 200 students this school year, is one of the smaller schools in the region, but Pierce is “a kid who can play at any school and be productive at the end of the day,” Ross said.

Pierce, a senior, plans to play baseball at the college level but hasn’t committed to a specific school. He’s a member of Surry County High’s National Honor Society chapter with a 3.7 GPA and a member of the Technology Student Association, or TSA. Pierce is also an active member of Mill Swamp Baptist Church.

He is the son of Carrie and Mac Pierce.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:50 p.m. on April 2.