On her way out to the pitching circle to begin the fifth inning, she stopped after spotting Buen sitting a few yards behind the backstop.

"Hi, Mom!" she yelled, waving her right hand.

"I knew it was only 1-0, but I was comfortable," Kessell said after the game. "We were having fun out there."

A dominant force

The right-handed Kessell has felt at ease in the pitching circle since bursting upon the high school softball scene as a freshman, when she made The Advertiser's All-State first team after going 8-3 with 76 strikeouts. She was especially impressive in the state tournament, when she tossed a four-hitter with seven strikeouts against Iolani in the quarterfinals, a game the Surfriders won, 4-1.

In a 2-1 semifinal victory over Leilehua, Kessell pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts and no walks. And in the championship game loss to Kamehameha, Kessell struck out five of the first six batters she faced.

Mililani coach Mike Okimoto said her tournament performance was the best he had seen by a freshman pitcher since Kailua's Pomai Kapule in 1994.

"She always had the confidence," said Chris Hart, Kessell's father. "Even when she was a freshman, she didn't look like a freshman and didn't act like a freshman. It was amazing, because even the seniors and juniors on that team were depending on her and they were happy for her when she did well."

As a sophomore, Kessell was even better.

She went 16-0, with a 0.25 earned run average and 131 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched. Kessell also batted .391 and most importantly, led the Surfriders to their first state title since 1997.

"She had all the press (before the season), and she lived up to it," Kamehameha coach Ty Sing Chow said after Kessell pitched a four-hitter and struck out eight in the state championship victory over the Warriors.

Last year, she again was the state's most dominant and best strikeout pitcher, although Kailua lost the state championship game to Kapolei.

Kessell pitched four no-hitters, combined with Chaunte Wallwork on another no-hitter and struck out an astounding 177 batters in 99 innings.

This season, her only loss came against Mililani in the OIA semifinals last Friday after pitching eight shutout innings.

"Every year, her strikeouts have increased because she's gotten stronger and (throws) faster," longtime Surfriders coach Bernard Victor said. "Pomai (Kapule) threw fast, but she didn't have as many pitches as Courtney. With her rise ball, everybody thinks it looks straight and then when it rises, there's nothing you can do because you're already swinging."

More than talent

Victor said Kessell's riser does not come from just natural talent.

"She spent a lot of time working on it, practicing on Sundays," Victor said. "That's why she's where she's at today. A lot of kids think they're throwing a riser but it's really just a high fastball. Courtney's riser has so many rotations, it keeps going up.

"But it ain't that easy to learn. A lot of kids think they can learn it today and throw it in a week. But it takes hard work and a lot of practice."

Kessell knows all about hard work, partly from observing Buen scramble as a single mother and partly from having to watch over her three young siblings (ages 11, 9 and 4) when her mom is not home.

But Kessell takes it all in stride, posting a 3.8 grade point average, serving as student body treasurer ("Yeah, I'm a nerd," she says) and also recognizing her teammates' work.

After pitching no-hit ball for six innings in Saturday's OIA third-place game against Pearl City, Kessell gave way to reliever Ashley Hopfe for the final three outs. When she received OC-16's Player of the Game trophy following the 1-0 victory, Kessell went to the dugout and presented it to Hopfe, who saved the game by getting all three outs with the bases loaded.

"She has a big heart," Victor said. "She's really soft-hearted."

Kessell's high school career will end this weekend, but she is looking forward to four more seasons in college after signing with Hawai'i Pacific University.

"It kind of feels like I've been (at Kailua) forever, but this season has really gone by fast," Kessell said. "I don't really think ahead; I just try to think about the next game."

After all, there's too much fun to have in the moment. Kessell recently was officially voted as "Senior Class Clown," but she's willing to share that title with her teammates.

"We're all clowns on this team," Kessell said. "But it helps us to have fun. Even if we're down 1-0 or whatever, if we're cheering and having fun, we always believe we can still win."

Playing winning softball and having fun at the same time?

DUH! It feels great.