LACEY — For most, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, a fascinating gas behemoth located approximately 484 million miles away from the sun and featuring the infamous “Great Red Spot” 1.3 times the size of Earth.
But for the Saint Martin’s softball team, Jupiter is a system, a style, a brand, and a philosophy.
Even the most veteran of Saints don’t quite know why longtime head coach Jim Peterson dubbed the team’s identity after the planet, but senior Shelby Lawson had an educated guess.
“How I think about it is we’re just bigger and better than everyone,” she said. “We have to go into games believing that.”
The Jupiter philosophy, implemented early in Peterson’s tenure, revolves around practicing with an exceptional focus and attention to detail, as Peterson asks his team to practice 95% of what happens in the game. Through those repetitions, the Saints have developed an “eye of the storm” mentality, the opposite of Jupiter’s “Great Red Spot,” which has been observed to wobble and even shrink amid the turbulence.
That’s why when the Saints trailed by four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning against Simon Fraser in the first game of Friday’s double-header, they remained calm under pressure and scored four runs to force extras.
And that’s why when senior Haley Agena missed on two bunt attempts to fall behind 0-2 in the count in the bottom of the eighth, she didn’t flinch. With Elissa Dewees at first base and no outs, Agena let it rip on the next pitch, lining a double to bring Dewees all the way home for an 8-7 walk-off victory.
“We were just playing as a team. It was a really important game for us because it’s our last home series. We want to do what hasn’t been done in a while. We want to win the regular season title,” Agena said. “I missed my first two bunts, so I knew I had to do something with my at bat. I was kind of struggling before that, but I had it in my head that I had great hitters behind me. I just wanted to do a job as a hitter.”
Saint Martin’s defeated Simon Fraser 6-1 in the second game of the double-header behind a five-run third inning and a complete game from Kayla Vaughan in the circle. With the sweep, the Saints now control their own destiny toward a GNAC regular season title, which would be the first under Peterson and the first since 2015. If Saint Martin’s wins out, the outright conference title would return to Lacey.
“This is the best team we’ve had since I’ve been here. We have depth throughout the team, and we have a full pitching staff, so we can use multiple pitchers in different scenarios,” Peterson said.
In game one, Saints starter Bridget Johnson worked around a pair of Simon Fraser singles in the first inning and kept the Red Leafs off the scoreboard, stranding a runner. But the Red Leafs broke through in the second inning, scoring on an Anika Janzen RBI single, one of three hits in the frame.
Saint Martin’s responded in the second thanks to a double by Jennessy Lopez and an RBI single from Jules Detrinidad to tie the game. The Red Leafs retook the lead in the third, but in a key play, a two-out single by Cassidy Affeldt with a runner at second found its way to left fielder Elissa Dewees, who threw out the runner at home to prevent a third run from scoring.
In the bottom of the fourth, Faith Prosch converted with the bases loaded, reaching on an error to score two runs and give Saint Martin’s a 3-2 lead.
Johnson exited after five innings, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out two batters. Simon Fraser’s bats erupted in the sixth against reliever Keagan Norfleet, as four hits turned into three runs and a 5-3 advantage for the Red Leafs. Amanda Peterson took over in the circle with two outs in the frame and held two runners on base. But the Red Leafs extended their lead in the seventh via a two-run double by Ella Booth.
The top of the Saints’ lineup led off the seventh inning, needing four runs to tie or five to win. Agena and Lawson both walked, and they moved into scoring position on a groundout by Heather Ebner. On the first pitch of the ensuing at bat, Kaylee Walker delivered a two-run single to score the two seniors.
Lopez singled to cap off a 4-for-4 game, and Taylor Orgeles scored Walker with a single down the right field line to make it a 7-6 ballgame. Wild pitches got the best of Simon Fraser with two outs, as one moved Orgeles and Detrinidad into scoring position and the second allowed Orgeles to slide home for the game-tying run.
“Going in, we just had this idea of passing the bat,” Lawson said of the seventh-inning rally.
After a leadoff single in the top of the eighth, Peterson and the Saints defense clinched three big outs to set up a potential walk-off scenario in the bottom half of the frame. Dewees, who typically uses the slap-hitting technique, stood in the batter’s box and ripped a single on a 3-1 count to lead off the eighth. And up stepped Agena, who was 0 for 3 to start the game but had reached base twice.
Agena looked to bunt on each of the first two pitches she saw, missing both. On an 0-2 pitch, she barreled up a double to left center, and Dewees turned on the jets to score the winning run standing up.
“It was amazing. I just wanted to leave everything here on the field and do it for my teammates, especially with my family being here,” Agena said.
“I literally cried tears of joy for Haley. Her and I have been through a lot, so it was so cool to see that, especially the come-from-behind win,” Lawson added.
Thirty minutes later, the Saints and Red Leafs faced off again. Lopez, a freshman coming off her first career four-hit game earlier in the day, stayed red hot at the plate with an RBI single in the first inning.
After a perfect two innings, Saints starter Kayla Vaughan ran into trouble in the third, allowing one run before earning a clutch strikeout with the bases loaded to end the inning. The Saints rolled in the bottom of the third, scoring five runs on four hits. Layla Royle picked up a pair of RBIs on a single to center field, and Dewees’ double scored two before defensive mishaps allowed her to sprint home.
Vaughan earned her 12th win of the season in the circle and pitched her second complete game of the spring. She allowed just one run on five hits and three walks, striking out five. Dewees, a Yelm High School graduate, finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs, while Lopez totaled six hits on the day.
Saint Martin’s (31-17, 16-6 GNAC) has a one-game lead on Western Washington in the GNAC standings entering the final double-header of the regular season. The Saints will face Simon Fraser for two games Saturday, with the first starting at noon. If Saint Martin’s wins both, the GNAC title will belong to the Saints for the first time in 11 years.
While plenty of talent and leadership makes up the Saint Martin’s roster, Peterson gave credit to Lawson and Agena, his two seniors, for anchoring the team forward toward its goals.
“We’ve made the league playoffs the last six years in a row now, and they’ve been here for four of those. They’ve been a big part of our program evolving and elevating every year,” Peterson said. “They bring their experience, and they do a great job for us out there.”
