By the looks of Tuesday’s game against Mexico, Jaylynn Brown has lofty goals in mind.

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The Centralia sophomore collected 15 strikeouts and carried a perfect game until the seventh inning to lead the Lady Panthers to a 4-1 victory at home. Brown allowed her first baserunner on a Hannah Loyd leadoff single that turned into a run via error but only faced two batters over the minimum with that one hit and one walk allowed.

Brown said she was aware of her perfect game and moved on quickly after the first blemish to her line. She had been dominating Mexico (5-9) all game and reached 10 strikeouts through four innings. The performance is Brown’s seventh double-digit strikeout game and her season-high being 17 strikeouts Sept. 10 against Highland, which was one shy of the school single-game record of 18 strikeouts.

“I’ve had a goal to beat a record for a while so I kept that in my mind the whole game, working toward that goal and getting closer and closer every game,” Brown said. “I set goals, and I want to accomplish them over the time I am playing.”

Head coach Liz Bostick said even though Brown has been focused on this goal, she hasn’t let any pressure affect her results on the field, such as her sub-1.00 ERA. Bostick said Brown has consistently been relaxed while taking over the No. 1 pitcher’s spot for Centralia (10-2) this season. 

Brown didn’t let hitter’s counts against Mexico faze her either. During one at-bat in the third inning, Brown fell behind No. 9 hitter Kenley Jones 3-0 only to strike her out with the leadoff hitter and all-conference and all-district catcher Loyd looming on deck.

“She is staying relaxed,” Bostick said. “She knows what pitches she can throw, I know what pitches she can throw and that’s the biggest key for her. As long as she stays relaxed, her ball will spin. People have trouble when she is relaxed. If she tries to start overthrowing, then the ball is going to flatten out like any pitcher.”

Brown credits her spin and ability to rack up the strikeouts to her pitching coach Chris Heinlein. He has worked with Brown closely on it and then Bostick helps her decide on the best pitches to throw during games. 

Even though Mexico didn’t muster any offense during the first innings, Brown acknowledged its hitting skills and thought it was important to throw the right pitch in any given situation. The Lady Bulldogs were late on many swings until putting more balls in play later in the game.

“The good hitters will hit any pitch that they can possibly hit,” Brown said. “They swing to try and make contact and make it go far. When you just need contact, it will go somewhere.”

Bostick complimented her defense for staying engaged during Brown’s starts because they can be a double-edged sword — having so many strikeouts can be a benefit but cause the defense to be complacent. 

Defense is magnified during low-scoring games like Tuesday’s as proven by the first inning when Centralia scored two runs. The Lady Panthers had both scored on the same play, which was a bunt by Ealynne Bostick following a walk by leadoff hitter Madi Johnson — two runs, two walks and one double. Loyd made a throwing error that sailed into the outfield and turned into another error on the outfield.

“I knew their catcher has a good arm,” coach Bostick said. “Stealing over to second isn’t great so I’ve got a great bunter up there and have some speed at the plate so why not try it? It was an error that got us two runs, and we’ll take that. It always helps us just settle in if we can score in the first inning.”

Bostick said Tilly Fox had another good game by going 2-for-3, Kassena Ridgel had a RBI single and Johnson scored on a passed ball to give Centralia some insurance. 

Centralia winning 10 of its first 12 games gives the program its best start since 2016’s state championship season when the Lady Panthers won the first 13 games on their way to a 29-1 record. For Bostick, it has been an enjoyable season so far due to the winning but wants the girls to enjoy every aspect of the season.

“I want the kids to enjoy this sport,” Bostick said. “I want them to walk away from Centralia softball and go, ‘Man, I’m so glad I did that.’ It may be that they didn’t play, like I have a senior sitting on the bench right now, but we try to do enough fun things together and try to make it impactful, making it a life experience. There’s something to be learned here, and the kids are doing that.”

Bostick said the fun seasons don’t always come but is glad several have happened in Centralia. She also mentioned Brown didn’t pitch in those two losses in the opening season tournament so she, like Brown, has high hopes for her.

“This is my first year being the main pitcher,” Brown said. “Last year, it was an experience seeing the varsity level. This year, actually playing in it means a lot because I know that my teammates depend on me and I depend on my teammates to make this whole thing work. It’s going to be a great season.”