When Tomi Garrison pitches, there are plenty of nervous moments. But it's not Garrison who is uneasy.

"I get real nervous," said Garrison's mother, Maria. "Usually, I get sick all day before the game."

"She gets nervous for me, because I don't get nervous," Tomi said.

An 18-year-old senior, Garrison has enjoyed an illustrious high school softball career, helping Garland become the first Class 5A team to win back-to-back state championships, in 2006 and 2007. There has been a great deal of pressure.

Not counting state title games, Garrison has pitched in 18 career playoff games in which a loss would have ended Garland's season. She is 18-0 in those games, including Saturday's 3-2 win over Plano West in Game 3 of a best-of-3 5A Region II quarterfinal series.

"She's a great competitor, and she doesn't like to lose," Garland coach Cindy Mosteller said. "She tries to be a great leader for everyone else and also brings our other kids' level higher."

Garrison is fearless off the field – she wanted to go skydiving on her birthday this year but her mother nixed the idea – and in big games.

As a freshman, Garrison pitched 14 scoreless innings in the 2005 5A state final before Keller, then the nation's top-ranked team, scored in the 15th inning to win. In the 2006 state title game, Garrison held Keller, again ranked No. 1 in the nation, to one run in 13 innings in Garland's 4-1 win.

In a 5-0 win over Austin Bowie in last year's state semifinal, Garrison came within three outs of pitching what a UIL official said would have been the first perfect game in the history of the state tournament. She then threw a three-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over Katy in the state final.

Garrison will face another elimination game today, when Garland continues its quest to become the first UIL softball team to win three consecutive state titles and battles Klein Oak in a one-game regional semifinal. Garland (28-5-2) is ranked No. 2 in the state in 5A, and Klein Oak (25-1) is No. 3.

Garrison is 21-3 with a 0.80 ERA and is hitting .473 with 43 RBIs. For her career, Garrison is 93-11, giving her a better winning percentage (.894) than former Crowley star Meagan Denny and ex-Justin Northwest standout Brittany Barnhill, who now pitch for Texas. Garrison has won more state titles than ex-Keller pitcher Kirsten Shortridge (now at Baylor) and former Cypress Springs and UT pitcher Cat Osterman, the only players from Texas to be named Gatorade National High School Softball Player of the Year.

But impressing college scouts was a tall order for Garrison.

"Some of them said I was small," said Garrison, who stands 5-5.

So while Osterman (who is 6-2), Barnhill (5-11), Shortridge (5-11) and Denny (5-10) got a chance to play for Big 12 powers that combined for five trips to the Women's College World Series from 1998 to 2007, Garrison signed with Sam Houston State, which earned its first NCAA Division I regional playoff berth in '07.

"I think some people put some boundaries on her – maybe she's a little too small, maybe she's not strong enough," Sam Houston State coach Bob Brock said. "You can't measure heart and desire when you're recruiting. Tomi's got the desire to be a winner, and she'll focus and work hard. I think she's going to have a really good college career."

Garrison is superstitious, but following the same routine on game days helps make a do-or-die game seem like any other game. So before a game, Garrison eats at Olive Garden, listens to the same country songs on her iPod and gets her hair braided by a friend's mom. She wears the same socks, wristband and hair tie for every game. And she'll drink only blue Powerade or a 20-ounce strawberry-banana smoothie during games.

Garrison has a six-pitch repertoire: fastball, change-up, screwball, curveball, dropball and riseball. She baffles hitters by changing speeds and getting great movement on her pitches, and she can overpower batters. She has 214 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings in '08.

"When she's throwing hard, she'll throw 63, 64 [mph]. The only person that throws harder than her around here on a consistent basis is Whitney Canion," said Kevin Shelton, who coaches the Texas Glory Gold select team that Garrison and Aledo's Canion, a Baylor signee, pitch for. "[Garrison] throws plenty hard. She throws the same speed as Cat Osterman."

How Garland's Tomi Garrison compares to the last three players to win the Gatorade Texas High School Softball Player of the Year award – Justin Northwest's Brittany Barnhill (2007), Keller's Kirsten Shortridge ('06, '05) and Crowley's Meagan Denny ('04):

Garland's Tomi Garrison is 18-0 in elimination games (not counting state title games) in her playoff career. Here's the breakdown:

Class 5A Region II semifinal: Garland (28-5-2) vs. Klein Oak (25-1), 7 p.m. today, Austin Westwood High School