When the final out has been recorded and the book is closed on an athlete's career, the effect they had on their team and school will be their greatest legacy.

For Brittany Danilov, her legacy will never be debated. The senior from Canfield, Ohio, has had a profound impact on the fortunes of the John Carroll softball program over her four years as a Blue Streak.

If a pitching record exists in the JCU record book, chances are Danilov's name is next to it.

Four years after a state-title winning performance at Canfield High School, Danilov has a chance to cap off a record-setting career by leading the team a tournament championship. She currently owns 32 John Carroll season and career pitching records, including wins, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts.

She has also been named first-team All-OAC four times, the John Wells Pitcher of the Year three times, and the Gayle Lauth Award as the Most Valuable Player of the OAC nce.

Despite the accolades, the greatest reward for Danilov was the chance to play for Coach Erin Brooks.

“Winning the first conference tournament and getting that banner hung in the gym—that's the best record to break,” said Danilov. “Coming to Carroll and playing for a head coach who, for the first time, had the utmost confidence in me is really the most amazing thing [about Carroll].”

Danilov's career began with a 20-7 freshman campaign coupled with a 1.55 ERA, the second lowest in team history. She established herself as the ace on a 28-11 team that went deep into the OAC Tournament. The following year was less successful for Danilov as she finished 15-9, but her leadership propelled the Blue Streaks to the OAC Tournament Championship.

Sophomore year was also the first time that Danilov played with catcher MacKenzie Griffin, who would become her battery mate for the next 100-plus games.

“[Kenzie] totally understands me as a pitcher and knows exactly when to say something and when to say nothing at all.”

The next year, Danilov led the 26-14 Blue Streaks to a second consecutive regular-season title, but the team fell short of an NCAA tournament berth after failing to win the tournament. She finished with a 16-10 record and set the single-season mark for strikeouts, fanning 191 of the 778 batters she faced.

2012 was an up-and-down year for Danilov, but she recovered from early-conference struggles to regain her dominance at times. She threw her first collegiate no-hitter on April 15 against Otterbein, striking out six and walking two in the effort against Otterbein.

“I had no idea that I even had a no-hitter going.  Brooks gave me the game ball after the game and informed me that it was a no-hitter,” Danilov said of the effort. “I focused on the batter and hitting my spots and keeping the ball low.”

Low pitches are Danilov's trademark; between her screwball, changeup, knuckleball and dropball, batters have quite a bit of poison to pick from. When asked, Danilov said her dropball was her most favorite.

“When my drop ball is working, people will literally swing when the ball is in the dirt and it's awesome, especially when I'm ahead in the count.”

With an OAC Tournament title and the program's first ever NCAA playoff appearance tucked away, anything that happens from here on out for the Blue Streaks would make history. Danilov and the Blue Streaks will look to extenhd their season as long as possible before the real world beckons.

Speaking of which, the next step for the star pitcher is graduation, followed by a fifth year MBA at John Carroll and perhaps helping out the next crop of Blue Streak pitchers.

That being said, she isn't concerned about what is in the future.

“Softball has been a part of my life for so long and I absolutely love it so I definitely want to stick with it somehow,” said Danilov. “I couldn't have accomplished anything without Brooks, [former assistant Kim]Tackett, Pam [Dreslinski], and my teammates."