Elizabeth Blinn stood in the batter’s box and swayed her bat in tandem with the slight breeze that blew through Memorial Field.
Crimson Tide softball teammates stood behind her, their hands clutching the chain-link fence between Concord’s dugout and the third-base line. The game was already put to rest, but the chants and cheers of encouragement toward Blinn to make it on base had it seem like the Tide needed one more run.
What followed the cheers – a hit – had been routine for Blinn and Concord during all of Monday’s 16-0 run-rule victory over Nashua North (0-8).
Monday’s performance hasn’t been an exception to the start of the Crimson Tide’s season but rather a microcosm of it. They have the best record in Division I (9-0), the third-most runs scored (101), the fewest runs against (13) and one of the better victory margins (9.7 average per game).
“We always have that fire, that want to win,” Blinn said. “Staying focused on that goal each game which is one game at a time.”
The goal to take it one game at a time is attainable and it shows every time the Tide take the diamond. But that also parlays into the bigger goal, one that was set when Concord came up short of reaching a championship 11 months ago.
Yes, that 5-1 loss to Salem for the D-I crown still resonates with Concord. Though the wound has healed to a scar, it reminds what not to do, and every pitch thrown, at-bat taken and pop fly caught has all been geared toward a spot at the top, not just a second-place finish.
“We lost in the championship game last year, and since that time it’s been a really determined team” Concord coach Duke Sawyer said. “They’re great athletes, great ballplayers.”
Sawyer, who’s coached three championship-winning teams at Concord, believes this year’s squad has the potential to be the fourth, and not in the cliche, coach-speak way that permeates sports. He notes the unique blend of talent, intelligence and chemistry is creating the perfect model to a trophy-hoisting team come mid-June.
As important as it is for Sawyer to notice it, it’s doubled when the athletes are aware of it. On the surface, one would think having high school athletes aware of their talent and their potential would lead to boosted egos. But the Tide prove the opposite, even in the midst of a 12-run inning against an opponent who’s yet to find a win.
“It’s definitely shone and helped us, especially in our first game when we didn’t have any preseason scrimmages” senior captain Kyleigh Gray said about the team’s chemistry. “A lot of it’s came from team-building exercises, like team dinners and winter workouts. We were a young team last year, and we were all together.”
The second half of the season begins Wednesday when Timberlane visits Memorial Field.