Little did Thomas Jefferson High's girls fastpitch coach Chad Fahnlander know his new starting pitcher would become a dominant force in the South Puget Sound League in 2008.

"If you told me before the season started that she (Jessica Dickson) was going to become the kind of pitcher she is now, I would've made a double-take," Fahnlander said.

Jessica's maturity and mound presence have grown markedly during the course of this season, he said.

This past week, Dickson, a junior left-hander, hurled three successive shutout wins during a three-day span, including a 3-0 win over previously unbeaten Kentlake April 30.

The Raiders beat Tahoma 13-0 April 29 and Federal Way 17-0 May 1, each in five-inning games abbreviated by the 10-run rule.

Kentlake was riding a 26-game winning streak in league and hadn't been shut out in SPSL competition in two years.

"We felt elation and excitement," said Fahnlander about the big win over the Falcons. "We had a sense we knew we could do it. We set a goal and completed it."

His players regularly filed by Fahnlander's mathematics classroom the next day, he said, savoring and sharing in their accomplishment with their coach, their fans and each other.

In an earlier confidence-building matchup against Kentlake April 15, TJ had jumped to an 6-0 lead, only to see the game get cancelled due to rain in the bottom of the second inning.

In their matchup with the Falcons last Wednesday, the Raiders took up from where they left off, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, the only runs they would need to decide the outcome.

In that inning, senior Sara Byrne led off with a bunt single. She stole second before senior Stephanie Ogle drew a walk. Junior Erin Fujita, a left-handed hitter, followed with an opposite-field double to left field, scoring Byrne with what proved to be the eventual game-winning run. Sophomore Christie Bruin's one-out, two-run single up the middle closed out the scoring. Bruin and Fujita had two hits each in the game.

Against Kentlake, Dickson was able to get out of serious two-out jams in each of the seven innings she pitched, four via strikeouts and three credited to the defense. The Raiders turned a double play to end the inning one of those times. Kiyohara fielded a grounder at shortstop, threw to sophomore second baseman Cassidy DeWaele for the force. DeWaele then fired to Ogle at first to get TJ out of the inning.

Dickson gave up seven hits, struck out six and walked three against the Falcons. Dickson, who has a 1.35 ERA, has recorded nine shutouts in league play and has won seven consecutive league games to help secure a second-place finish for the Raiders in the SPSL North Division.

"She understands our philosophy of going after hitters, hitting spots and being 100-percent focused," Fahnlander said.

Fahnlander said pitching coach Dana Finnegan, Bruin (catcher) and Dickson have their own "team within the team."

"They all work together," he said. "Dana has done a tremendous job working with Dickson, helping her hit her spots."

Dickson tossed a five-hit shutout against Federal Way, striking out nine. She fired a two-hit shutout win over Tahoma. Her teammates scored 30 runs on 29 hits in those two games.

TJ's offense has figured in largely all season long, having five hitters batting .470 and above: Hannah Kiyohara, Byrne, Fujita, Jayme Carbom and Bruin.

"Our top six hitters went 13-for-19 against Tahoma," Fahnlander said.

"When we get on a roll, there's no stopping us."

Add good pitching and defense to the mix and there's no telling how far the Raiders might go in post-season play this year.