OLP’S PRINCESS OF PITCHING
Ma’ake likes being in spotlight, leads way into playoffs
Once Stefini Ma’ake discovered soccer wasn’t her sport, softball became the focus.
“I needed a sport when I was little, and I wasn’t going to run around the field all day playing soccer,” Ma’ake said. “If I couldn’t play softball, I’d play football.”
Then it boiled down to finding the best position.
Ma’ake liked playing third base, at first.
She soon found a better spot, the one where all eyes would be on her.
“I thought I should try pitcher,” said Ma’ake, now a sophomore standout on Our Lady of Peace High’s softball team. “There is a lot of pressure on you, especially in the last inning when the game always seems to come down that final moment.
“Before a game I tell myself to just be me, no matter what happens.
“I found out early on that when I stand in the circle to pitch, I’m the princess out there.”
The 5-foot-9 hurler is one of the driving forces behind the Pilots’ run to the San Diego Section Division III playoffs.
The second-place team in the Eastern League and No. 4 seed in the playoffs drew Westview in the first round, beating the Wolverines 10-7 before dropping a 5-3 decision to top-seeded Holtville.
That dropped the Pilots, now 17-10, into the loser’s bracket with a game today against Coronado.
Ma’ake, who lives in La Mesa, is batting .453 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs, and she has scored 34 runs.
In the circle, though, the girl with the Tongan heritage really has excelled.
She’s 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 802⁄3 innings, allowing 26 walks while striking out 126.
Opposing batters are hitting just .188 against her.
“It helps me to pitch,” Ma’ake said. “I know how I wouldn’t pitch to me, and that helps my preparation.
“I’ll swing at everything, so I have to have a plan up there.”
Jim Davis, the coach at OLP, has been pleasantly surprised by the slugger who hit .569 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs to lead her team as a freshman.
“She’s a once-in-a-generation player,” he said. “Almost immediately, even the older kids starting looking up to her.”
With a handful of seniors graduating in 2021, the prospects for this season were dim.
“It was tough waiting for this season to start back when I thought we would be losing a lot,” Ma’ake said. “I had to be positive, but I was positively nervous about that.”
Ma’ake is so mature she always has a plan in place.
Though she can’t really begin the college recruiting process until junior year, Ma’ake has begun looking around.
Oregon, Central Florida and Tennessee have piqued her interest.
“I’m so ready for college now,” Ma’ake said. “This year has gone by fast, so maybe those last two years at OLP will go by just as fast.
“I’ve tried to get ready for college, like learning how to cook meals, but my aunt is afraid I’ll burn the house down in the process.”
Ma’ake would also like to hit and pitch in college.
Some teams allow their pitchers to hit, but most do not.
Schools that allow pitchers to hit are an attractive entity for Ma’ake.
“I also like the cold weather as opposed to really hot days,” she said. “I have to be active because I can’t sit at home and do nothing all day.
“Go to the gym, lift weights, run or do homework, but I can’t sit on the couch all day.”
The thought of one day leaving home already has Ma’ake wishing it wouldn’t happen.
“I’ll cry, cry, cry, cry when I leave home,”she said. “Softball has been my escape from everything that gets to most people.
“I’m a happy camper right now with school and softball.
“How can you not like my life?”