Whenever Cardinal softball needs a pickup, Missy Penna delivers. She did it again last weekend, coming through in the biggest way when the team needed her most.

Instead of panicking with Stanford facing elimination at the Amherst Regional — and the end of her junior season — the star pitcher went out and threw a no-hitter against a team that had beaten her just hours earlier to lead the Cardinal into the Super Regionals.

Penna struck out nine in the complete game, but more importantly, she absolutely demoralized the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen. Her performance left no doubt that, as long as she is pitching, Stanford can beat anyone.

“She is definitely a clutch player,” said sophomore catcher Rosey Neill. “She knew what she had to do and the adjustments she had to make and did a good job of going out there and getting them.”

Head coach John Rittman raved about the performance of his ace.

“Missy was outstanding,” he said. “She pitched to win. She showed a lot of heart in keeping her composure after a tough loss.”

This composure is part of Penna’s effectiveness. She retires her opponents with a cool, calm demeanor in the circle. You won’t see her pumping her fist or screaming at teammates — she lets her pitching do the talking. Possessing excellent command on a variety of pitches, she makes it near impossible for opponents to get comfortable in the batter’s box.

It is because of this levelheaded approach that Penna was able to stay calm going into the decisive game of the Regional.

“I knew if I did my job and kept them off the bases, my team would score runs and we would win,” said Penna.

Rittman sees Penna’s stoic approach as her form of leadership.

“Missy leads by example,” he said. “She works extremely hard and everything she says to her teammates, she means, and she truly believes we will win every time out.”

Pitching games like that is nothing new to Penna — who threw her second no-hitter of the year — and has put up absolutely phenomenal numbers all season. So far this season she has a school-record 37 wins and 411 strikeouts while boasting an ERA of just 1.00.

Penna has also become a workhorse for the Cardinal, having pitched all four games in the Regional and 327.2 innings on the year.

Despite the mileage, Penna still feels strong.

When asked if she can feel an effect on her stamina, Penna smiled and simply said, “not yet.”

That’s a good thing, because with the team heading to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M in a three-game Super Regional, Penna will likely be asked to pitch every inning against the No. 5 overall-seeded Aggies.

“I don’t foresee any problem [with her pitching that much],” said Rittman. “She is used to the workload from the Pac-10 season, plus she is used to the heat from growing up in Miami.”

Penna corroborated her coach’s claims, and added that she is extremely excited to be pitching in the hot weather she got used to growing up in South Florida, instead of the rain she was subjected to in Massachusetts last weekend.

Penna knows the challenge will not necessarily be pitching so much, but being able to adjust as the opponents become more familiar with each other.

“In the first game I have to go at them and learn their strengths and weaknesses so I can make adjustments as the series continues,” said Penna.

On a team in which the hitting has sometimes looked unstoppable, and at other times has disappeared, Penna has been the one consistent cog.

The Cardinal will ride her into the weekend, and if she continues to pitch the way she has been, Stanford could soon be punching its ticket to Oklahoma City and the College World Series.

Contact Daniel Bohm at bohmd@stanford.edu.