Published: April 24, 2008 10:19 am         

One big inning lifts Concord softball team over Goshen

One big inning was all Concord needed to hand the Goshen Lady Redskins a 6-2 Northern Lakes Conference high school softball loss Wednesday at Dunlap.

The hosts scored five runs in the first inning as freshmen Melanie Meyer and Breanna Towne both singled home two runs.

“Scoring five runs in the first put a tremendous burden on Goshen,” Concord coach Robb Freeze said. “It was nice to be on the other end of that for a change.”

Redskin coach Lee Mast said, “We were not mentally or physically focused at the beginning of the game. After that we settled down. We had an excellent practice Tuesday and we told the girls that they need to start bringing that attitude to the games.”

Goshen (2-8, 0-4 NLC) hosts Wawasee and Concord (6-5, 4-2) visits Warsaw, both on Friday.

Junior pitcher Courtney Cameron recorded the win for Concord. She allowed five hits while striking out 10 and walking one.

The only real trouble Cameron had was in the sixth. Juniors Britta Abney and Emily Kerns both singled. Freshman Natalie Newell drove both of them home with a double to the left field fence.

“Cameron was on stride and she hit her spots,” Freeze said. “She threw her pitches and kept Goshen off stride. The double was my fault. I called for a pitch that our scouting report said Newell could hit. The report was right.”

Mast said, “Cameron did a nice job of moving the ball inside and outside.”

Newell started the game for the Redskins and settled down after the first inning, allowing only four Concord runners to reach base.

Freshman Cassandra Cook pitched the other inning for Goshen.

“Newell and Cook did a great job pitching,” Mast said. “We have told the girls that we can play with anyone. A few bloop hits lost this game. It’s a mental thing. The girls have to go out and do it. The coaches can’t do it for them.”

The Redskins got a fine effort from freshman catcher Kaitlyn Troyer who threw out three of four Concord runners that were trying to steal.

“Concord has always been aggressive on the bases,” Mast said. “Troyer did an excellent job throwing runners out.”

Freeze said, “We try to steal bases and do other things to confuse teams. The Goshen catcher did a nice job throwing runners out.

“Goshen made some great plays. Goshen has a strong freshman pitcher (Newell) and a lot of other positives in the program. This is exciting for our conference. I want the NLC to be one of the best in the state.”