Published: May 21, 2009 08:29 am      

Goshen's Newell shuts down Northridge in relief

Fortunes of the Goshen High School girls softball team change dramatically once Natalie Newell steps into the pitcher’s circle.

Trailing the NorthWood 4-0, the sophomore hurling sensation shut down the Panthers’ offense and the Redskins went on to an 11-4 Northern Lakes Conference win Wednesday evening at Shanklin Park in Goshen.

“I didn’t want to have to put Natalie in, but (sophomore starter) Cassi Cook told me her arm didn’t feel right,” Goshen coach Scott Hutcherson said.

Newell pitched the final four innings, striking out 11 of the 13 Panther batters she faced. The lone baserunner she allowed was junior Chelsea Stutzman who walked in the top of the seventh.

Newell fanned the first nine hitters she faced and Cook her last for a total of 10 consecutive Ks.

“Newell shut the door,” NorthWood coach Ryan Mattern said. “Coach Hutcherson has a quite a blessing in her. You might get a run off her, but you are not going to score in bunches.”

Goshen (18-8, 10-4 NLC) hosts the Redskin Classic on Saturday, beginning at 9:15 a.m. NorthWood (6-19, 0-14) entertains Triton on Saturday.

The Redskins started climbing back into the game in the bottom of the fourth. Cook scored on a grounder by sophomore Kaitlyn Troyer and junior Katelynn Flory tallied on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 4-2.

Goshen took the lead for good in the fifth as Newell, senior Emily Kerns, Cook, Flory and Troyer had consecutive hits. Cook slapped a two-run triple down the right field line and Flory a run-scoring single. Senior Kirstie Medford then chipped in with a two-run single.

The Redskins plated four more runs in the sixth. Flory got an RBI on a bases loaded walk and Medford ripped another two-run single.

Hutcherson had some concerns about this game after a 2-0 win over Concord on Tuesday.

“We are better fastball than slowball hitters,” the coach said. “I was a little nervous about this game, because I felt it would take us a few innings to adjust to the different speed.

“We had some mental errors early on, but you have to give NorthWood credit. They played hard.”

Stutzman had two singles and senior Megan Wesson drove in two runs with a single and a walk for the Panthers.

“The frustrating thing about this game was our defense,” Mattern said. “Up until the last two games our defense had been good. We have a couple of days to get things turned around before we play again.”