Softball Notes: Concord took erased season in stride

The stars were aligned for a title run in 2020 for the Concord High School softball team. Unfortunately, schools shutting down due to Covid-19 plucked those stars from the sky one by one.

Now Concord’s softball program, which graduated five seniors – who all went on to play in college – enters this spring with a young and inexperienced roster. It’s not stopping head coach Duke Sawyer from reaching for those stars again.

“We have four returning players, three of which had significant playing time on varsity in 2019,” Sawyer said. “We have 11 players without varsity experience – three freshman and two sophomores with no high school experience at all.

“Communication is going to be key for us. We have the talent to go far, it’s all about everyone being on the same page.”

Turning the pages from a successful 2019 campaign – one that saw the Crimson Tide roll to 14-6 and a Division I semifinal appearance – to 2021 is the battery of senior pitcher Alice Rosenberg and senior catcher Lillian Rienstra, who have played together since fifth grade. That duo, along with senior middle infielder Jaelyn Kelleher and junior corner infielder Elizabeth Blinn are the veterans Sawyer is leaning on to bring it all together this spring.

It’s a leadership role that Rosenberg is excited to take on as Concord pushes to get back to the final four for a 12th time in 16 seasons and maybe hoist the trophy again as it did in 2018.

“We’re setting our goals high, but we’re being logistical about it.” Rosenberg said. “It’s setting our overall goal high, but reaching that goal in phases.

“First we need to use these regular season games to work out any issues and get some quality playing time for the younger girls. Then it’s getting past the initial play-in games and seeing how we stack up. Then we can really eye that end goal.”

That first phase is what Sawyer is using to his advantage. With a young roster he’s going to treat the regular season as spring training.

He can get away with this thanks to the NHIAA’s decision to have all spring tournaments open, essentially making regular season wins and losses meaningless for brackets. The setup will be structured in regional cohorts where tournament placement will be based upon a random draw.

While a good number of coaches threw their hands up in disgust at the idea, Sawyer is only stressing the positive aspects of the ruling.

“I can see why a lot of people are upset about it,” Sawyer said. “I think there are a lot of unknowns around the state this year, and now going into tournaments with no real seeding based off of records adds another wrinkle.

“All I can do as a coach is figure out how to put our girls in the best position to compete when we do start the tournament.”

That means giving some of the younger talent a chance at different positions, and trying different batting lineups to see who fits best at what spot in the order.

“We’re in the same spot as everyone else with no preseason, no scrimmages,” Sawyer said. “ So with the open tournament, the early part of this regular season is taking on that feel. It’s how I’ll work on adjusting the batting order and get these girls some quality time on the field.”

It’s worked so far for Sawyer, whose Crimson Tide lost their season opener 4-0 to Bedford (only one earned run allowed), then bounced back with a pair of wins – 5-3 over Bedford and 12-2 over Goffstown.

As for the tournament set-up, Rosenberg has already had a similar experience playing field hockey in the fall.

“It’s fine as far as I’m concerned,” she said. “I’m confident in this group growing into a championship contender by the time the tournament starts. It’s a little different, but you know Winnacunnet, Londonderry, Salem and Merrimack are always tough. I don’t think that much has changed. All we can do is focus on improving ourselves as the season progresses and get ready for the playoffs.

“Then we play our hardest to reach that ultimate goal.”

Game On

Four Division I teams have opened the season without a loss in two weeks of action.

Winnacunnet and Pinkerton Academy sit atop the standings at 5-0 and 4-0 respectively – Winnacunnet beating Timberlane Regional (14-0, 15-3) and Windham (4-2, 8-3) twice and St. Thomas (6-0) once; with Pinkerton besting Alvirne (10-8, 5-4) and Bishop Guertin (5-1, 10-9) twice.

Keene sits at 3-0 with a pair of wins over Trinity (1-0, 7-2) and rout of Manchester Central (14-0). Salem rounds out the top four with wins over Spaulding (13-3) and Portsmouth (19-2) for its 2-0 start.

Oyster River (2-0), Bow (2-0), Laconia (1-0) and Sanborn (1-0) have all started on the right track in Division II, while Division III and IV have eight and five undefeated teams respectively.

D3 unbeatens are Mascoma Valley (3-0), Campbell (2-0), Mascenic (2-0), Bishop Brady (1-0), White Mountains (1-0), Conant (1-0), Newport (1-0) and Gilford (1-0); while Sunapee (3-0), Woodsville (2-0), Lisbon (2-0), Newmarket (2-0) and Moultonborough (1-0) are pacing D4.

Peak Performers

Here’s a look at some standout performances from the first few games of the spring season:

• Keene senior Emma Bartlett hurled a no-hitter, striking out 13 walking three as the Blackbirds improved to 4-0 with the 3-0 win over Manchester Central in Keene on April 22.
• Winnacunnet’s Macie Harkovich struck out three and allowed only one earned run in a complete game 8-3 win over Windham April 21. Harkovich helped her own cause at the plate with two hits and an RBI as the Warriors improved to 5-0 on the season.
• Every Mascenic starter reached base and scored in the Vikings 22-1 season-opening blowout win over Hinsdale on April 12.

To report standout diamond performances, or offer ideas for the softball notebook, send an email to scioneg@gmail.com.