Good times seemingly lie ahead for Thomas Jefferson fastpitch as the Raiders finished a very respectable first half season with a .500 record.

Now they have jumped into the second half of the South Puget Sound League North season with early victories, including over the visting Federal Way Eagles, 11-1, Thursday.

The Raiders improved to 5-4 on the season while the Eagles dropped to 2-7 in the SPSL North.

Only believe. That is what Raiders' head coach Chad Fahnlander is asking of his team.

"I told them we have 17 games left until we are in the state semifinals, and, if they believe that, they will do just fine," said Fahnlander, whose team lost last year in the SPSL playoffs, one round short of districts.

This year's Raiders are experienced and believe they can do better.

"We only lost one player," said Fahnlander.

That player was Kristy Sigafoos, a good hitter for power and average. Fortunately, the maroon, gold and white have hitters that are replacing Sigafoos' numbers, like Erin Fujita and Jayme Carbon.

"We have two outstanding hitters -- Fujita and Carbon," said Fahnlander. "Both are hitting over a .500 batting average."

Then they also have their ace pitcher back from last season, senior captain Jill Halverson.

"She has pitched against all the elite teams," said Fahnlander. "She has very good control. She keeps the ball down, moving it inside and outside."

"I have done alright, pretty good," said Halverson, who has a 3-4 record.

The Eagles were in the driver's seat after the first two innings. They were winning, 1-0, on a first-inning RBI single from Amanda Earlywine.

"I had butterflies," said Eagles coach Rosemarie Burke. "I was saying, 'We rock.'"

And then the Eagles were rocked. The Raiders came back to make it 4-1 in the bottom of the third as Sara Byrne led off with a single, followed by a Fujita single and a Carbon single. The bases were loaded for Stephanie Ogle, who smacked the ball for a 2-RBI hit. Brittany Creek upped the lead a couple more for the Raiders with a 2-RBI single.

The Raiders were off and running from there.